At a glance

Type

Imperial mausoleum and garden complex; UNESCO World Heritage Site

Period

Commissioned 1631; main mausoleum completed c. 1643; full complex by 1653

Style

Mughal architecture — synthesis of Persian, Islamic, and Indian traditions

Location

South bank of the Yamuna River, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Overview

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. Now the emblem of India itself, it draws six to eight million visitors each year, making it one of the most visited monuments in the world.

History

Mumtaz Mahal died in June 1631 during the birth of the imperial couple’s fourteenth child; Shah Jahan’s grief was said to be inconsolable, and he immediately commissioned a monument surpassing all previous Mughal funerary architecture. Construction employed approximately 20,000 artisans and craftsmen recruited from across the empire and as far as Persia and Central Asia, working under the supervision of a council of architects whose principal designer is traditionally named as Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The main mausoleum was largely complete by 1643; the surrounding garden, mosque, and gateway were finished around 1653. Shah Jahan himself was later buried beside Mumtaz after being deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in 1658.

What you see

The mausoleum rises 73 metres above the garden on a raised square plinth, its white Makrana marble surfaces inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones in floral and calligraphic patterns — a technique known as pietra dura. Four minarets frame the central dome at each corner of the plinth, and the great bulbous double dome is topped by a gilded finial. The charbagh garden is divided into four quarters by water channels meeting at a central marble reflecting pool, which mirrors the mausoleum in its surface. The southern entrance gateway, also in red sandstone and white marble, frames the first view of the Taj for arriving visitors.

Cultural significance

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983, the Taj Mahal is described as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.” It is the single most recognised emblem of Indian civilisation and a global symbol of romantic devotion. The complex has also been the focus of significant conservation challenges, including atmospheric pollution from nearby industry, prompting restricted vehicle zones and ongoing restoration efforts.

Practical information

Address

Dharmapuri, Forest Colony, Tajganj, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282001, India

Opening hours

Open daily except Fridays; sunrise to sunset; check official website for current hours and admission prices

Admission

Entrance fee applies; differential pricing for Indian and foreign nationals

Coordinates

27.1750° N, 78.0421° E

Getting there

Agra is served by Agra Cantonment railway station with fast train connections from Delhi (approximately 2 hours on the Gatimaan Express). By road, Agra is about 230 km from Delhi via the Yamuna Expressway. The nearest airport is Agra Airport (Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Airport), with limited domestic services; most international visitors fly into Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and travel onward by train or car.

Sources & resources

• Taj Mahal — Wikipedia
• Cultural Heritage Online — World Heritage Guides