The Taj Mahal is essentially a romantic love-story. It is an integrated complex of structures with a grand mausoleum built within it and is located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during Mughal's period of greatest prosperity, was griefstricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrates the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. The construction of Taj Mahal begun soon after Mumtaz's death with the principal mausoleum completed in 1648. The surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Empror Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:
"Should guilty seek asylum here, like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion, all his past sins are to be
washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the Creator's glory".
Soon after Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb. It was said that he could then only see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal next to his wife.
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