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The Taj Mahal in Agra India is considered one of the best
examples of Mughal architecture in India. The history of the
Taj Mahal is one of the great love stories of the world.
The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ruled from 1628 to 1658 and
was married to Arjumand Bano Begum in 1612 A.D. He called
his wife Mumtaz Mahal or Crown of the Palace, because she
was so precious to him. Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan had 14
children and the queen accompanied Shah Jahan everywhere,
even on military campaigns. It was on one of these campaigns,
in Burhanpur in central India, that Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631,
shortly after giving birth to her 14th child. Her dying wish
to Shah Jahan was that he should "build a tomb in her memory
such as the world had never seen before." The history of the
Taj Mahal begins with Mumtaz Mahal's tragic end.
Shah Jahan fulfilled her wish, creating the most beautiful
mausoleum the world had ever seen. Shah Jahan was deposed
by his son Aurangzeb. He spent the last years of his life
under house arrest in the Agra Fort. He used to spend his
time looking across the Yamuna River at the beautiful tomb
he had built for his beloved empress, waiting for the day
they could be united again. After Shah Jahan's death in 1666
A.D., he too was laid to rest beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal.
Their real tombs are in a basement of the Taj Mahal. The two
ornately decorated tombs on the ground floor, sheltered by
the dome of the Taj Mahal are part of the stylistic design
of this beautiful monument in Agra India. The history of the
Taj Mahal is the history of the steadfast love of a Mughal
Emperor for his Queen.
It took 22 years for the Taj Mahal to be completed. A huge
labor force of 20,000 workers led by Muhammed Hanif,  the
head of the masons and the Persian architect Ustad Isa or
Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, were employed in its construction. Finished
in 1648, the Taj Mahal cost the Mughal exchequer 32 million
rupees. The Taj Mahal has been described by the poet Sir Edwin
Arnold, as"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings
are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in
living stones."
The aesthetic beauty of this beautiful mausoleum is enhanced
by the romantic story that inspired its construction. Tourists
come from around the world come to Agra, to feel the aura of eternal love
that surrounds the Taj Mahal. The history of the Taj Mahal
is a love story that transcends time and continues to be retold
each day to the tourists who visit the Taj Mahal in Agra India.
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