Year of Construction: 1631
Completed In: 1653
Time Taken: 22 years
Built By: Shah Jahan
Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan
Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
Building Type: Islamic tomb
Architecture: Islamic
Cost of Construction: 32 crore rupees
Number of workers: 20,000
Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World
A UNESCO World Heritage site
Timings: 6:00 am to 7:30 pm (Friday closed)
Fee: Rs 970 (Foreigners)
Rs 20 (Indians, during daytime)
Rs 110 (Indians, during sunrise and sunset)
Before his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan was popularly known as Prince Khurram.
Shah Jahan fell in love with the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum and married her, making her his third wife.
Arjumand Bano Begum christened by Shah Jahan as Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the "chosen one".
Shah Jahan lost Mumtaz Mahal when she got giving birth to their 14h child.
It is believed that in her last breath Mumtaz secured a promise from Shah Jahan that he would construct the most beautiful monument in the her memory.
For the transportation of the construction materials, more than 1,000 elephants were made use of.
As many as 28 different varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work.
One of the ornamentations done on the surface of the Taj Mahal is the beautiful calligraphic work. The calligraphy of the Taj Mahal mainly consists of the verses and passages from the holy book of Quran. It was done by inlaying jasper in the white marble panels. These passages were inscribed by a Persian calligrapher, Amanat Khan in an illegible Thuluth script. A number of the panels also bear his signatures.
It is believed that Amanat Khan even chose the passages for the calligraphy of Taj Mahal, Agra. Taj Mahal inscriptions consist of the following passages from the Quran:
Surah 91 (The Sun)
Surah 112 (The Purity of Faith)
Surah 89 (Daybreak)
Surah 93 (Morning Light)
Surah 95 (The Fig)
Surah 94 (The Solace)
Surah 36 (Ya Sin)
Surah 81 (The Folding Up)
Surah 82 (The Cleaving Asunder)
Surah 84 (The Rending Asunder)
Surah 98 (The Evidence)
Surah 67 (Dominion)
Surah 48 (Victory)
Surah 77 (Those Sent Forth)
Surah 39 (The Crowds)
