The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his
favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. It was built in memory of his third wife. It was
built in 1632. The Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the
walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharajah Jai Singh with a large
palace in the centre of Agra in exchange for the land. The cost was about 32
million Indian rupees during the years that it was built in 1632-1653. The Taj
Mahal is widely recognized as the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the
universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. The Taj Mahal is
viewed by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that
combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman, Turkish and Indian architectural
styles. Back then, one rupee was worth 30 Dutch stuivers. Five stuivers were
worth 6 British pence. It takes 240 pence to make a British pound. With this
information you can figure that in 1640, one rupee was worth 0.15 British
pounds. Therefore, the Taj Mahal cost 4.8 million British pounds in 1640. Using
an inflation calculator for the British pound, it was determined that a British
pound in 1640 is worth 141 British pounds today. So that means the Taj Mahal
cost 678,800,000 of today's British pounds. Converting that to today's American
dollars gives the Taj Mahal a cost in modern American dollars of
$1,062,834,098. To this day, the Taj Mahal is considered as one of the most
visited sites around the world. It is still in perfect condition.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over
India and Asia. The glowing white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan,
the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from
Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri
Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and
semi-precious stones were decorated into the white marble. Over 1,000 elephants
were used to transport the building materials. The construction of the Taj
Mahal was delivered to a board of architects including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat
Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahaur and Isa Khan are considered to be the
principal designers. There haven't been any changes to the structure since it
was built. Isa Khan was an architect from Shiraz in Iran. He designed the Taj
Mahal and then, the Emperor, Shah Jahan had the architect's hands cut off so
that he'd never be able to design a unique building like it again. A labour
force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India. Sculptors
from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern
India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, and a specialist in building turrets,
another who carved only marble flowers were part of the thirty-seven men who
formed the creative unit. There are no encountered problems during the
construction of the Taj Mahal.
The importance of the Taj Mahal came from its unique
structure and its emotional symbolism. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the
World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It's the history of the
Taj Mahal that adds a passion to its magnificence: a passion that is filled
with love, loss, and regret. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife,
that even after she passed away, he made sure that she would never fade away.
This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was in love with Mumtaz Mahal,
his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name was Arjumand Banu
Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and
grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and
fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married. Taj
Mahal history provides many details on how this extravagant building came to
exist. The Taj Mahal was built in honour of Mumtaz Mahal, who was the wife of
Emperor Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal died while birthing their fourteenth child.
This building was designed with influences from the Persians and Mughal
architecture. There were specific buildings, such as the Jama Masjid mosque
that were used as inspiration for the building of the Taj Mahal.
http://www.worldsiteguides.com/asia/india/taj-mahal/
century, t. l., & 1857, p. o. (n.d.). Taj Mahal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
Welcome to Golden Triangle Tour.. (n.d.). India Travel Agency, Package Tour Of India, India Travel Packages, New Delhi India Tour Operator, Travel Agents In India, Cheap Tour To India.. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from http://www.indiaculturaltours.com/golden-triangle.asp?gclid=CLH4tciq7bYCFcQc6wod1woA8g
"Taj Mahal India." Taj Mahal India. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. http://www.tajmahal.com/.
"History Of Taj Mahal, Tajmahal History, Taj Mahal Info, Taj Mahal Story, Taj Mahal Building." Taj Mahal India, Taj Mahal India Tours, Taj Mahal Agra Tour, Agra Taj Mahal Tours, India Tajmahal Information, Agra Taj Mahal Tour India. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. http://www.tajmahalindia.net/history-of-taj-mahal.html.
"Taj Mahal History - History of Taj Mahal - History of Taj Mahal Agra - Taj Mahal India History." Agra India - Agra Tourism - Agra City - Travel to Agra - Travel Agra - Tourism in Agra. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. http://www.agraindia.org.uk/taj-mahal/taj-mahal-history.html.
"History Of Taj Mahal, Tajmahal History, Taj Mahal Info, Taj Mahal Story, Taj Mahal Building." Taj Mahal India, Taj Mahal India Tours, Taj Mahal Agra Tour, Agra Taj Mahal Tours, India Tajmahal Information, Agra Taj Mahal Tour India. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. http://www.tajmahalindia.net/history-of-taj-mahal.html.
"Taj Mahal History - History of Taj Mahal - History of Taj Mahal Agra - Taj Mahal India History." Agra India - Agra Tourism - Agra City - Travel to Agra - Travel Agra - Tourism in Agra. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. http://www.agraindia.org.uk/taj-mahal/taj-mahal-history.html.
