Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is one of the most well-known buildings from the Mughal Empire - it is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built in the 1600s by Emperor Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal after she died in 1631.¹ The Taj Mahal was used as a tomb for his wife to express his love through the extravagant architecture and honor her death in a way the world has never seen before. While it was indeed built for the Emperor’s love for his wife, it also ended up being a way to show off the empire’s wealth, richness in architecture and beauty, and truly just the breathtaking ability to create a one of a kind building that served as a symbol that would forever stand as a representation of the Mughal Empire’s long lasting legacy. The Taj Mahal was made out of white marble, architected with hand made domes, towers, carvings, and a large garden surrounding it.² This type of structure, while originated from culture like Persian and India art, was so unique to the empire because it was so fragile yet was executed in a way that the builders were able to make the building very large.³ This showed the empire’s wealth because a masterpiece like that had to have taken a vast amount of of time and money for the marble and landscape.⁴ It also represented the Empire mixing different cultures/traditions together. There was also writing on the walls in Arabic - verses from the Qur’an.⁵ Which demonstrates how the very walls of the building are held up by faith which is Islam. When thought of the symbolism, it opens your eyes to the importance that Islam had in the Empire. Furthermore, the garden surrounding the Taj mahal was based on the idea of paradise in Islam, which includes water, trees, and perfect symmetry which the garden embodies.⁶ Which further illustrates how Mughals used religion in architecture in order to make it spiritual not just pretty.  Lastly, a part that is not always thought about is location. The Taj Mahal was built in Arga, which was a capital of India at the time, so it helped make the city and really the  country more prominent - establishing the power as more prominent and one of a kind.⁷ 

1. Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal: Architecture, Symbolism, and Urban Significance (London: Thames & Hudson, 2006), 23.
   
   

2. Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal, 26–27.

3. J. M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam (London: Laurence King Publishing, 2008), 99.

4. Giles Tillotson, Mughal India, 114.

5. Giles Tillotson, Mughal India (London: Thames & Hudson, 2018), 112.

6. Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal, 30.

7. Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal, 40.

8. Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal, photograph by author, 2006.