THE TAJ MAHAL
G'day guys,
Today I introduce a well known structure - the Taj Mahal. It is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India and was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. 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."
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.
In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest
prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during
the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum. Construction of the Taj Mahal
began in 1632. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love
story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal
mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were
finished five years later.
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. This large, white marble structure stands on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial.
Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or amrud (guava dome). The top is decorated with a lotus design, which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners, which replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements.
The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made
of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. This feature provides a clear
example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.
The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point
heavenward. Because of its placement on the main spire, the horns of the moon
and the finial point combine to create a trident shape.
The minarets, which are each more than 40 metres (130 ft) tall, display the designer's penchant for symmetry. They were designed as working minarets — a traditional element of mosques, used by the muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The chattris all share the same decorative elements of a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that, in the event of collapse, (a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period) the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.
The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays, or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
The calligraphy was created by a calligrapher named Abd ul-Haq, in 1609. Shah Jahan conferred the title of "Amanat Khan" upon him as a reward for his "dazzling virtuosity". Near the lines from the Qur'an at the base of the interior dome is the inscription, "Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi." Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script, made of jasper or black marble, inlaid in white marble panels. Higher panels are written in slightly larger script to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below. The calligraphy found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is particularly detailed and delicate.
The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or
Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four
quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble
water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway
with a reflecting pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the
mausoleum. The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, in
reference to the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad. Elsewhere,
the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains. The charbagh
garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by the
first Mughal emperor, Babur. It symbolises the four flowing rivers of Jannah
(Paradise) and reflects the Paradise garden derived from the Persian paridaeza,
meaning 'walled garden'. In mystic Islamic texts of Mughal period, Paradise is
described as an ideal garden of abundance with four rivers flowing from a
central spring or mountain, separating the garden into north, west, south and
east.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost: 32 million Rupees.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia
and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The
translucent 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 inlaid into the white marble.
Clancy's comment: An amazing structure, but watch out for mosquitos in the evenings.
Today I introduce a well known structure - the Taj Mahal. It is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India and was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. 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."
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. This large, white marble structure stands on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial.
The base structure is essentially a large, multi-chambered cube with
chamfered corners, forming an unequal octagon that is approximately 55 metres
(180 ft) on each of the four long sides. On each of these sides, a huge
pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with two similarly shaped, arched
balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated
on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all
sides of the building. The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is the most
spectacular feature. Its height of around 35 metres (115 ft) is about the same
as the length of the base, and is accentuated as it sits on a cylindrical
"drum" which is roughly 7 metres (23 ft) high.
Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or amrud (guava dome). The top is decorated with a lotus design, which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners, which replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements.
The minarets, which are each more than 40 metres (130 ft) tall, display the designer's penchant for symmetry. They were designed as working minarets — a traditional element of mosques, used by the muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The chattris all share the same decorative elements of a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that, in the event of collapse, (a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period) the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.
The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays, or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
The calligraphy was created by a calligrapher named Abd ul-Haq, in 1609. Shah Jahan conferred the title of "Amanat Khan" upon him as a reward for his "dazzling virtuosity". Near the lines from the Qur'an at the base of the interior dome is the inscription, "Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi." Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script, made of jasper or black marble, inlaid in white marble panels. Higher panels are written in slightly larger script to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below. The calligraphy found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is particularly detailed and delicate.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost: 32 million Rupees.
Clancy's comment: An amazing structure, but watch out for mosquitos in the evenings.
PS: You might like to check out the four YouTube videos on the right hand side. Completed them in the past few days.
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A very in-depth description of the Taj, Clancy. A sign of the times - did you know they have to keep guards on the look-out to prevent vandals from prying out the pieces of semi-precious stone?
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