The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It … See more

The name "Taj Mahal" is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian, with the words tāj mahall meaning "crown" (tāj) "palace" (mahall). Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his book from 1636 Padshahnama, refers to t… See more

The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17 June that year while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum. Construction started in 1… See more

The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. Inspirations for the building came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir in Samarkand (the … See more

The land on which the Taj Mahal is situated was present to the south of the walled city of Agra which was given to Shah Jahan by Maharaja Jai Singh I in exchange for a large palace in the centre of Agra. The building was commi… See more

Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at the nearby Agra Fort from where he could see the Taj Mahal. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aura… See more

Due to the global attention that it has received and the millions of visitors it attracts, the Taj Mahal has become a prominent image that is associated with India, and in this way has become a symbol of India itself. … See more