Throughout the seventeenth Century several European travelers visit the Taj Mahal. Many of these explorers later publish lengthy volumes of their adventures. Only 10 years after the emperor’s death, the French traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, publishes a travelogue of his adventures in India, mentioning an uncompleted mausoleum across the river from the Taj Mahal. The story spreads and other writers across the centuries state it as fact.
In the mid-1990s, excavators’ uncover the remnants of a garden are found with the exact dimensions to that of the garden of the Taj Mahal. Black stones are also found. Are these the remains of the Taj Mahal’s fabled sister building?
Dr George Michell - Architect and expert in Indian archaeology
Dr George Michell trained originally as an architect in Melbourne, Australia. He then went on to study Indian archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and continues to reside in London. Dr. Michell has headed various survey projects of historical monuments in India, notably Vijayanagara in southern India. Among his many publications are: The majesty of Mughal Decoration: The art and Architecture of Islamic India.The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Vol. One: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain; Royal Palaces of India; Blue Guide Southern India, and, most recently, Hindu Art and Architecture. Dr. Michell has enjoyed great popularity as a lecturer. He has led several tours to southern, northern India and Rajasthan as well as providing background lectures for Archaeological Tours groups traveling in India.
Dr Giles Tillotson - Specialist in Indian architecture
Dr Giles Tillotson was a reader in history of Art at SOAS, University of London and a specialist in Indian Architecture after 1500 AD.He has taught at SOAS and at Cambridge. He is now an independent write and lecturer in India. He is an author of many books on Indian architecture, history and Landscape including ‘Taj Mahal’2008, The Rajput Palaces: The Development of an Architectural Style, 1450-1750 (1987) ,The Tradition of Indian Architecture: Continuity, Change, and the Politics of Style since 1850 (1989) , Mughal India(1991) and Stones in the Sand: The Architecture of Rajasthan (2001)
Mehreen Cheda-Razvi - Currently writing her PhD thesis on Mughal tombs
Mehreen Cheda-Razvi is currently writing her PHD thesis on Jahangir’s Mausoleum: An Architectural and Historical Examination of Imperial Mughal Tombs at the School of Oriental and African studies University London. She completed her MA at SOAS in 2006 in Islamic Art and Architecture. She is also a graduate teaching fellow in Art and Archaeology of the near and Middle East. Mehreen has lectured on Mughal Architecture at The Victoria and albert Museum, SOAS and the British Museum on Mughal and Islamic Art and Architecture .
Shah jahan
Mumtaz Mahal
Beloved wife of Shah Jahan
Ahmed Lauri
Possible architect of the Taj Mahal
As many as 28 different varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work.
The design of the Taj Mahal was intended to support the structure from slipping into the river. Some even suggest that the building is designed to cope with earthquakes.
The Taj Mahal was built in stages, with the plinth and the tomb taking up roughly 15 years. Building of minarets, mosque, jawab, and gateway took additional 5 years to be completed. Materials used in the construction of the Taj Mahal came from many different countries and regions such as: Rajasthan, Punjab, China, Tibet, Afghanistan, Srilanka, & Arabia.
The Taj Mahal is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.
Construction of the tomb started in 1632, and was completed in 1648. It took 22 years to complete the tomb, and an extra 5 years for the garden, with the help of 20,000 workers and over a 1,000 elephants. Sculptors, masons, craftsmen, and calligraphers were called from Persia, the Ottoman Empire and Europe to work on the construction of the Taj.
Due to the surface material and shape of the Taj Mahal the building will appear to be a different colour depending on what time of day it is.
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