History of the Taj Mahal - Architecture and design

 

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (1628–1658), to house his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses Shah Jahan's tomb. The mausoleum is the centerpiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set within formal gardens surrounded by a parapet wall on three sides.

Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work on the second phase of the project continued for another five years. The first ceremony at the mausoleum was performed by Shah Jahan on 6 February 1643, the 12th anniversary of Mumtaz Mahal's death. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in 1653, with a cost estimated at the time to be approximately ₹32 million, which would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million) in 2015.

The building complex incorporates design traditions from Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It utilizes symmetrical construction, using distinct shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is made of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, the other buildings in the complex were made of red sandstone, reminiscent of Mughal-era buildings of the time. The construction project involved over 20,000 laborers and craftsmen under the guidance of a board of architects led by the emperor's court architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

The Taj Mahal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "a jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the most cherished masterpieces of world heritage." It is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction, attracting over five million visitors each year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding land, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Architecture and Design

The Taj Mahal incorporates and extends the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. Inspiration for the building came from Timurid and Mughal buildings, including the Gur-e-Amir (the tomb of Timur, the ancestor of the Mughal dynasty) in Samarkand and Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, which inspired the Charbagh Gardens and the site's Hasht-Behesht plan. The building complex employs symmetrical construction using distinct shapes and symbols. While the tomb is made of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, the other buildings in the complex were made of red sandstone, typical of Mughal-era buildings of the time. The entire complex is built on a platform 300 meters (980 ft) long and 8.7 meters (28.5 ft) high, along the banks of the Yamuna River. The platform is composed of varying patterns of dark and light sandstone.

Exterior of the Taj Mahal

The mausoleum building is the central structure of the entire complex. It is a white marble structure standing on a 6-meter (20 ft) high square platform with sides measuring 95.5 meters (313 ft). The base structure is a large multi-chamber cube with chamfered corners, forming an eight-sided structure approximately 57.3 meters (188 ft) long on each of the four long sides.

The building has four identical sides with iwans (arch-shaped doorways) topped by a large dome and finial. Each side of the iwan features a 33-meter (108 ft) high pishtaq (domed archway), flanked by two similarly shaped arched balconies. This archway motif is repeated on a smaller scale on the chamfered corner areas, giving the design a perfectly symmetrical appearance. On the southern side of the platform, facing the garden, there are two staircases on either side that are slightly covered and provide the only access from ground level to the tomb building.

The mausoleum's most striking feature is the 23-meter (75 ft) high marble dome that crowns it. The onion-shaped dome rests on a 12-meter (39 ft) high cylindrical drum with an inside diameter of 18.4 meters (60 ft). The dome is slightly tapered and topped by a 9.6-meter (31 ft) high gilded finial. The space between the drum and the dome is decorated with decorative moldings featuring twisted rope designs.

Four smaller domes, or chhatris, are located around the main dome's corners, mimicking the main dome's onion shape. The smaller domes are supported by pillars that stand atop the main structure and help bring light into the building. High pinnacles, called guldas, project from the sides of the walls, serving as decoration. The main and smaller domes are decorated with lotus-like designs. The domes are topped by decorative finials that incorporate Persian and Indian design elements. The main finial was originally made of gold, but was replaced in the early 19th century with a gilded bronze replica. The finial is topped by a crescent moon, a distinctive Islamic design, with its horns pointing skyward.

The tomb building is flanked by four minarets, one at each corner of the platform, facing the chamfered corners. Each minaret, each over 40 meters (130 ft) tall, is positioned in a similar fashion at the corners, facing the chamfered corners of the main building. Each minaret is composed of three nearly equal sections, with balconies at the intersections. The towers are topped by small chhatris (umbrellas) featuring similar design elements to the main dome, including a finial. Stairs lead to the top of the minarets, which have rectangular openings beneath the domes, providing light and ventilation. The minarets were designed to resemble traditional mosque elements, used by the muezzin to call for prayer. The minarets were built slightly outward from the platform so that, if they fell, their contents would fall away from the tomb.

The building's exterior surfaces are decorated with a variety of delicate relief art, incorporating various precious and ancient stones. Decorative elements were created using paint, plaster, stone inlay, or carving. In keeping with Islamic prohibitions against human-like figures, decorative elements can be categorized as calligraphy, abstract shapes, or plant-like designs. The white marble dados feature decorative bas-relief depictions of nature and plant elements. The marble is polished to emphasize the exquisite detail of the carvings, and the frames and archway spandrels are decorated with pietra dura inlays featuring stylized geometric patterns of vines, flowers, and fruit.

Interior of the Taj Mahal

The main inner chamber is an octagonal room with 7.3-meter (24 ft) sides, designed to allow entry from all sides, with the main door facing the garden on the south side. Two layers of eight Pishtaq arches run along the walls, similar to those on the outside. The four upper middle arches form balconies or viewing areas, and each balcony has an external window with a fine latticework. The inner wall is open along the axes with lattice screens that allow light from the outside into the main chamber. Except for the south side, the other three sides are a long, open room flanked by two square chambers on either side, each covered by decorated roofs on a platform. The central chamber has arched openings on three sides with glass panes in the lattices, and a small rectangular window in the central latticework. The square chambers, accessed from separate doors, were likely originally used as resting places for visitors and Quran reciters. Stairs lead from the ground floor to the roof, where corridors between the central hall and two corner rooms to the south contain a system of ventilation shafts.

The inner walls are approximately 25 meters (82 ft) high and are topped by a "false" inner dome with a sun motif. The inlay work is lapidary with precious and semi-precious stones. The walls of each room are richly decorated with dado bas-reliefs, intricate lapidary inlay, and exquisite calligraphy panels, echoing design elements seen throughout the complex's exterior. The main room houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, while the real ones are located in the basement. Perforated marble lattices (Mahjar-e-Mushabbak) flank the tombs and are composed of eight marble panels with intricate perforated work and intricately detailed inlays of semi-precious stones. On the second anniversary of Mumtaz Mahal's death in 1633, the tombs were originally covered with a gold curtain, which was later replaced by a marble curtain in 1643.

The upper main room contains the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, who were originally buried in the lower tomb room. From the southern main entrance room, a staircase leads to the lower tomb room, which is rectangular, with marble walls and an undecorated ceiling. Mumtaz's tomb is in the center of the room, on a 1.5 by 2.5 meter (4 ft 11 in x 8 ft 2 in) marble base. Shah Jahan's tomb is located on a larger base to the west, in a different style. At the top is a traditional sculpture of a small pen box, indicating it is a male tomb. The tombs are aligned north-south, with heads facing north, and the bodies were laid on their sides, facing west, towards Mecca.