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Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal complex

The Tāj Mahal (Persian: تاج محل, Hindi: ताज महल) is a large, 17th century funery monument complex, located on the south bank of the River Yamuna in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shāh Jahān commissioned the mausoleum for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal from whom the name is derived. Whilst the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is an extensive complex of buildings and gardens that extends over 22.44 Hectares^[a] and includes subsidiary tombs, waterworks infrastructure, the small town of 'Taj Ganj' and a 'moonlight garden' to the north of the river. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. Some dispute surrounds the question of who designed the Taj; it is clear a team of designers and craftsmen were responsible for the design, with Ustad Ahmad Lahauri considered the most likely candidate as the principle designer.

The Taj Mahal is generally considered to be the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Islamic and Indian architecture. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was describe as one of a "universally admired masterpiece of the world's heritage". rewrite all this when you've finished

Etymology

The Taj Mahal was variously referred to by the court historians as Rauza-i munauwara meaning 'The building of the illuminated tomb', rauzi-i muqqadas - 'the holy tomb' (carrying strong religious significance being the same name as the tomb of the prophet Muhammad at Medina) and the 'imarat-i rauza-i mutahhara' - the building of the pure tomb. The present name derives from a European corruptions of the 'Mumtaz Mahal'.

History

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal

Early years and marriage

Prince Khurram Shihab-ud-din Muhammad, later to become Shah Jahan the fifth Mughal emperor of India, was born in 1592 in Lahore as the third and favourite son of the emperor Jahangir. His early years saw him receive a cultured, broad education and distinguish himself in the martial arts and as a military commander of his father's armies in numerous campaigns.^[b] Khurrum was responsible for most of the teritorial gains of his father's reign. He also demonstrated a precocious talent for building, impressing his father at the age of 16 when he built his quarters within Babur's Kabul fort and redesigned buildings within Agra fort. The year before Khurrum had been betrothed to Arjumand Banu Begum, the grand daughter of a persian noble, who was just 14 years old at the time. She would become the unquestioned love of his life, but would have to wait five years before they were married in 1612. After their wedding celebrations, Khurrum "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time, gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal Begum (Chosen one of the Palace). The intervening years had seen Khurrum take two other wives known as Akbarabadi Mahal (d.1677) and Kandahari Mahal (b. c1594, m.1609). By all accounts however, so taken was Khurrum with Mumtaz, that he showed little interest in exercising his polygamous rights with the two earlier wives, other than to dutifully father a child with each. According to Qazwini their relationship "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favour which His Majesty had for the Cradle of Excellence [Mumtaz] exceeded by a thousand times what he felt for any other." Indeed, the chronicles go to unheard of lengths to document the intense and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed.

Accession

In the Mughal empire, inheritance of power and wealth was not determined through primogeniture, but rather by princely sons competing to achieve military success and consolidate power at court. This often lead to rebellions and wars of succession. As a result, a complex political climate surrounded the Mughal court in Khurram's formative years. In 1611 his father married Nur Jehan, the widowed daughter of a Persian immigrant. She rapidly became an important member of Jahangir's court and together with her brother Asaf Khan, they wielded considerable influence. Mumtaz was Asif Khan's daughter and the 1612 marriage to Khurrum consolidated Nur Jahan's and Asif Khan's position at court.

Khurrum's eventual ascent to the throne was a typically bloody one. His military successess of 1617 against the Lodi in the Deccan effectively secured the southern border of the empire and his grateful father bestowed on him the extremely prestigeous title 'Shah Jahan Bahadur' (Lord of the World) which effectively sealed his inheritance. Court intrigues however, including Nur Jahan's decision to marry her daughter from her first marriage to Jahan's youngest brother and her support for his claim to the throne led Khurram, supported by Asaf Khan, into open revolt against his father in 1622.

The rebellion was quelled by Jahangir's forces in 1626 and Khurram was forced to submit unconditionally. Upon the death of Jahangir in 1627, Khurrma succeeded to the Mughal throne as Shah Jahan, King of the World and Lord of the Auspicious Conjunctions, the latter title eluding to Jahan's pride in his Timurid roots. Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz travelled with Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. Jahan was utterly devoted; she was his constant companion and trusted confidant and their relationship was intense. Mumtaz is portrayed by Jahan's chroniclers as the perfect wife with no aspirations to political power. This is in direct opposition to how Nur Jahan had been perceived.

• brief paragraph about the Moghuls and building. Patronage by women, nur jahan, Mumtaz mahal's gardens etc.

Death of Mumtaz

Mumtaz died in 1631 after the childbirth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. Typcially she had been accompanying her husband when she went into labour in Burhanpur whilst he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a garden known as Zainabad on the bank of the Tapti River. The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal's death and Shah Jahan's grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement the emperor was reportedly inconsolable. He was not seen for a week at court and considered abdicating and living his life as a religious recluse. The court historian Muhammad Amin Qazwini, wrote that before his wife's death the emperor's beard had "not more than ten or twelve grey hairs, which he used to pluck out' turned grey and eventually white" and that he soon needed spectacles because his eyes deteriorated from constant weeping. Ebba Koch notes that Shah Jahan had become "Majnum, the ultimate lover of Muslim lore, who flees into the desert to pine for his unattainable Layla."

Construction

A site was chosen and purchased on the banks of the Yamuna river on the southern edge of Agra from Raja Jai Singh^[c] in exchange for four mansions in the city. The site "from the point of view of loftiness and pleasantness appeared to be worthy of the burial of that one who dwells in paradise". In January 1632 Mumtaz's body was moved with great ceremony from Burnhapur to Agra. During the journey, to curry favour from heaven, food, drink and coins were distributed amongst the poor and deserving. It was recorded that work had already begun on the foundations of the river terrace when the body arrived. A small domed building was erected over her body, thought to have been sited, and now marked, by an enclosure in the western garden near the riverfront terrace. The foundations represented the biggest technical challenge to be overcome by the Mughal builders. In order to support the considerable load resulting from the mausoleum, the sands of the riverbank needed to be stabilised. To this end, wells were sunk then cased in timber and finally filled with rubble,iron and mortar essentially acting as augured piles. After construction of the terrace was completed, work began simultaneously on the rest of the complex. Trees were planted almost immediately to allow them to mature as work progressed.

The initial stages of the build are noted by Shah Jahan's chroniclers, particularly in their description of the first two 'Urs, the celebrations in honour of Mumtaz's death. The first, held on the June 22, 1632 was a tented affair, held in the location of what is now the entrance courtyard (Jilaukhana) and open to all ranks of society. Alms were distibuted and prayers recited. By the the second Urs, held on 26 May 1633,^[d] the riverside terrace and plinth of the mausoleum were finished, Mumtaz Mahal had been interred in her final resting place and the tahkhana, a galleried suite of rooms opening to the river and under the terrace, was complete and used by the imperial retinue for the celebrations. Peter Mundy, an employee of the British East India company and a western eye witness, noted the completion of the terrace and also the ongoing construction of the caravanserais and bazaars and that "There is alreadye[sic] about Her Tombe a raile[sic] of gold". To deter theft it was replaced in 1643 with an inlaid marble jali.

After the second Urs the official sources fall silent regarding the Taj Mahal. Further dating of the progress can however be gleaned from the several signatures left by the calligrapher Amanat Khan. The signed frame of the south arch of the domed hall of the mausoleum indicates it was reaching completion in 1638/39. In 1643 the official sources document the twelth Urs when and note that the and give a detailed description. Work apparently however continued until 1648 when Amanat Khan dated the north arch of the great gate with the inscription "Finished with His help, the Most High". In December 1652 the waterproofing of the Taj was clearly suffering from teething problems when Prince Aurangzeb writes to Jahan urging repairs.

The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. The buildings of the complex are constructed with walls of brick and rubble inner cores faced with either marble or sandstone locked together with iron dowels and clamps. Some of the walls of the mausoleum are several meters thick. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction. The bricks were fired locally and the sandstone was quarried 28 miles away near Fatehpur Sikri. The white marble was brought 250 miles from quarries belonging to Raja Jai Singh in Makrana, Rajasthan. The jasper was sourced from the Punjab and the 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, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier records that the scaffolding and centering for the arches was constructed entirely in brick. Legend holds that the emperor offered the bricks of the scaffolding to anyone who would remove them at the end of the construction and they removed within a week. Modern scholars dispute this and consider it much more likely that the scaffolding was made of bamboo and materials were elevated by means of timber ramps.

Initial estimates for the cost of the works of 4,000,000 rupees had risen to 5,000,000 by completion.^[e] A waqf (trust) was established for the perpetual upkeep of the mausoleum with an income of 300,000 rupees. One third of this income came from 30 villages in the district of Agra while the remainder came from taxes generated as a result of trade from the bazaars and caravanserais which had been built at an early stage to the south of the complex. Any surplus would be distributed by the emperor as he saw fit. As well as paying for routine maintenance, the waqf financed the expenses for the tomb attendants and the Hafiz, the Koran reciters who would sit day and night in the mausoleum and perform funery services praying for the eternal soul of Mumtaz Mahal.

Fate of Shah Jahan

During his reign, Shah Jahan consolidated the Moghul empire and facilitated its greatest period of prosperity and stability by centralising the administration and systematising court affairs. Historiography and the arts increasingly became instruments of propoganda, where beautiful artworks or poetry expressed specific state ideologies which held that central power and hierarchical order would create balance and harmony. The empire continued to expand moderately during his reign but the first signs of an imperial decline are seen in the later years of his reign. In a repetition of Jahan's own succession, his son Aurangzeb rebelled when Jahan fell ill in 1657 and publicly executed his brother and designated successor Dara Shikoh. Although Jahan fully recovered from his illness Aurangzeb declared Jahan incompetant to rule and put him under house arrest in Agra Fort.

After completion of the Taj Mahal Jahan's historians mention he visited just 3 times, preciding over the anniversary of Mumtaz's death in 1644, 1645 and 1654. Jahan's eldest daughter, the devoted Jahanara Begum Sahib who had gradually brought him out of grief and took the place of Mumtaz at court, voluntarily shared his 8 year confinement and nursed him in his dotage. In January of 1666 Jahan fell ill with strangury and dysentry. Confined to bed he became progressively weaker until January 31 when, feeling the end to be near, he commended the ladies of the imperial court, particularly his consort of later year Akrabadi Mahal, to the care of Jahanara. After reciting the Kalima and verses from the Qu'ran he died. Jahana planned a state funeral which was to include a procession with Jahan's body carried by the greatest nobles followed by all the notable citizens of Agra and officials scattering coins for the poor and needy. In the event Auranqzeb refused such ostentation and Jahan's body was washed in accordance with islamic rites, taken by river in a sandalwood coffin to the Taj Mahal and there was interred next to the body of Mumtaz Mahal.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of the Taj Mahal

Precedents

The erection of tombs to honour the dead is the subject of a theological dialogue exemplified by the varied ways in which the mughals built their funery monuments. Orthodox islam found tombs problematic because a number of Hadith forbade the construction of tombs as irreligious. As a culture also attempting to accomodate and assimilate the local Hindu populous, opposition came from a tradition which held dead bodies as impure, and by extension, the structures over them similarly impure. However for a majority of muslims, the spiritual power (barakat) of visiting the resting places (ziyarat) of those venerated in islam was a force by which greater personal sanctity could be achieved. So for many, tombs could be considered legitimate providing they did not strive for pomp and were seen as a means to provide a reflection of paradise (Jannah) here on earth. The ebb and flow of this debate can be seen in the Moghul's dynastic mausoleums stretching back to the Tomb of Timur in Samarkand. Here Timur is buried under a fluted dome and a traditional Persian Iwan is employed as an entrance. The Tomb of Babur in Kabul is a much more modest affair where a simple cenotaph, exposed to the sky, is laid out in the centre of a walled garden. Humayun's tomb is seen as one of the most direct influences on the Taj Mahal's design and was a direct response to the Tomb of Timur, featuring a central dome of white marble, red sandstone facings, a plinth, geometric symetrical planning, chatris, iwans and a Charbagh. Designed by Humayun's son Akbar it set the precedent for Mughal emperor's children constructing the mausoleums of their fathers. Akbar's tomb at Sikandra, retains many of the elements of his father's tomb but loses the dome and reverts to a cenotaph open to the sky. The Tomb of Jahangir at Shahdara, begun only 4 years before the construction of the Taj in 1628 and again without a dome, takes the form of a simple plinth with a minaret at each corner.

Paradise gardens

The concept of the paradise garden was one the Mughals had brought with them from the traditions of the Persian Timurid gardens. It was the first architectural expression the Mughals made in the Indian sub-continent, fulfilling diverse functions with strong symbolic meanings. Known as the Charbagh, in its ideal form it was laid out as a square subdivided into four equal parts. The symbolism of the garden and its divisions are noted in mystic Islamic texts which describe paradise as garden filled with abundant trees flowers and plants. Water also plays a key role in these descriptions: In Paradise four rivers source at a central spring or mountain, and separate the garden into north, west, south and east. The centre of the garden, at the intersection of the divisions is highly symbolically charged and is where, in the ideal form, a pavilion, pool or tomb would be situated. The tombs of Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir, the previous Mughal emperors, follow this pattern. The cross axial garden also finds independent precedents within South Asia dating from the 5th century with the royal gardens of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka which were laid out in a similar way.

For the tomb of Jahan's late wife though, where the mausoleum is sited at the edge of the garden, a variant of the charbagh is suggested by Ebba Koch; that of the waterfront garden. Developed by the moghuls for the specific conditions of the Indian plains where slow flowing rivers provide the water source, the water is raised from the river by animal driven devices known as purs and stored in cisterns. A linear terrace is set close to the riverbank with low-level rooms set below the main building opening on to the river. Both ends of the terrace were emphasised with towers. This form was brought to Agra by Babur and by the time of Shah Jahan, gardens of this type as well as the more traditional charbagh lined both sides of the Jumna river. The riverside terrace was designed to enhance the views of Agra for the imperial elite who would travel in and around the city by river. Other scholars suggests another explanation for the eccentric siting of the mausoleum at the Taj Mahal complex. If the Midnight Garden to the north of the river Jumna is considered an integral part of the complex, then the mausoleum can be interpreted as being in the centre of a garden divided by a real river and thus is more in the tradition of the pure charbagh.

Mausolea

The favourite form for both Mughal garden pavilions and mausolea (seen as a funery form of pavilion) was the hasht bihisht which translates from persian as 'eight paradises'. These were essentially square or rectangularly planned buildings divided into nine sections such that a central domed chamber would be surrounded by eight elements. Later developments of the hasht bihisht divided the square at 45 degree angles to create a more radial plan which would often also include chamfered corners; examples of which can be found in Todar Mal's Baradari at Fatehpur Sikri and Humayun's Tomb. Each element of the plan would be reflected in the elevations with iwans with the corner rooms finding expression through smaller arched niches. Often such structures were topped with chhatris, small pillared pavilions at each corner. The eight divisions and often octagonal forms of such structures represented the eight levels of paradise for Muslims. The paradigm was not confined solely to islamic antecedants. The chinese magic square was employed for numerous purposes including crop rotation and also finds a muslim expression in the wafq of their mathematicians. Ninefold schemes find particular resonance in the Indian mandalas, the cosmic maps of Hinduism and Buddhism.

In addition to Humayun's tomb, the more closely contemporary Tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah provided many influences on the Taj Mahal and marked a new era of Mughal architecture. It was built by the empress Nur Jehan for her father from 1622-1625. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, so equisite is the execution of its surface treatments, it has been described as a jewel box. The garden layout, hierarchal use of white marble and sandstone, pietra dura inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj Mahal. It is also interesting to note that the cenotaph of Nur Jehan's father is laid, off centre, to the west of her mother. These close similarities with the tomb of Mumtaz have earned it the sobriquet - The Baby Taj.

Minarets

Minarets did not become a common feature of Mughal architecture until the 17th century, particularly under the patronage of Shah Jahan. A few precedents exist in the 20 years before the construction of the Taj in the Tomb of Akbar and the Tomb of Jahangir. Their increasing use was influenced by developments elsewhere in the Islamic world, particularly in Ottoman and Timurid architecture. This development has been seen as evidence of an increasing religious orthodoxy of the Mughal dynasty.

• Nur Jahan and women as patrons of architecture - include mumtaz mahals gardens

Concepts, symbolism and interpretations

Under the reign of Shah Jahan the symbollic content of mughal architecture reached its peak. Inspired by a verse by Bibadal Khan^[f] and in common with most imperial Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal complex was conceived as a replica on earth of the house of Mumtaz in paradise. A deliberate interplay is established between the building's elements, its surface decoration, materials, geometric planning and acoustics; all with the aim of evoking paradise on earth. Above all, the constantly changing sunlight that illuminates it, has a metaphoric role associated with the presence of god. This interplay extends from what can be seen with the senses, into intellectual, mathematical and poetic ideas.

Scholars suggest the use of red sandstone and white marble in the Taj Mahal is used in a hierarchical way and carries many significances. The Mughals were elaborating on a concept which traced its roots to earlier hindu practices, set out in the Vishnudharmottara Purana, which recommended white stone for buildings for the Brahmins (priestly caste) and red stone for members of the Kshatriyas (warrior caste). So by building structures that employed this colour coding the Mughals identified themselves with the two highest classes of the Indian social structure, thus defining themselves as rulers in Indian terms. Red sandstone also had significance in the Persian origins of the Mughal empire where red was the exclusive colour of imperial tents. In the Taj Mahal the relative importance of each building in the complex is denoted by the amount of white marble (or sometimes white polished plaster) that is used.

The use of naturalist ornament demonstrates a similar hierarchy. Wholly absent from the Jilaukhana and caravanserai ares, it is used with increasing frequency as the processionary path approaches the mausoleum. Again, its symbollism is dualistic, on the one hand evoking a more perfect and stylised garden of paradise than the actual charbagh itself; on the other, an instrument of propaganda for Jahan's chroniclers who portrayed him as an 'erect cypress of the garden of the caliphate' and frequently used plant metaphors to praise his good governance, person, family and court. Plant metaphors also find a commonality with Hindu traditions where such symbols as the 'vase of plenty' (purna-ghata) can be found and were borrowed by the mughal architects.

Even sound was used to express ideas of paradise. The interior of the mausleum has a reverberation time (the time taken from when a noise is made until all of its echoes have died away) of 28 seconds providing an atmosphere where the words of the Hafiz as they prayed for the soul of Mumtaz would linger in the air.

• Importance of women in Islamic culture
• Symmetry

Interpretation

, and it may well be that the traditional "love-story" associated with the construction of the Taj has some basis in fact.
Explore scholastic opinions regarding the meaning of the Taj-

1. Monument to love per Jahan's own histories?
2. Contrast with Belgey's Throne of god and others theory relating to the glorification of Jahan?
3. Any others?

Architects and craftsmen

History obscures the question of 'who built the Taj Mahal'. In the islamic world at the time of its construction, the credit for a building's design was given to its patron rather than its architects. It is clear that a team of architects were responsible for the design and supervision of the works but they are mentioned infrequently in the primary sources and no portraits of the Shah's architects were made. Shah Jahan's court histories emphasise his personal involvement in the construction and it is true that, more than any other Mughal emperor, he showed the greatest interest in building, holding daily meetings with his architects and supervisors. The court chronicler Lahouri, writes that Jahan would make "appropriate alterations to whatever the skillful architects designed after many thoughts, and asked competent questions." Two architects are mentioned by name, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri and Mir Abd-ul Karim in writings by Lahauri's son Lutfullah Muhandis. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri had laid the foundations of the Red Fort at Delhi. Mir Abd-ul Karim had been the favourite architect of the previous emperor Jahangir and is mentioned as a supervisor,^[g] together with Makramat Khan, of the construction of the Taj Mahal.

• Bebadal Khan, Goldsmith Bibadal Khan poet - one and the same or different?

Site

• insert site plan here
• Brief explanation of how the components relate to each other.

The Taj Mahal complex can be conveniently divided into 5 sections. 1. The riverfront terrace, containing the Mausoleum, Mosque and Jawab 2. the Charbagh garden containing pavilions. 3. the jilaukhana containing accomodation for the tomb attendants and two subsidiary tombs 4. The Taj Banji, originally a bazaar and caravansarai only traces of which are still preserved, and finally, to the north of the river Yamuna, 5. the 'moonlight garden'. The great gate lies between the Jilaukhana and the garden. Levels gradually decend in steps from the Taj banji towards the river. Contemporary descriptions of the complex list the elements in order from the river terrace towards the Taj Banji.

• The gaz and grid analysis from Begley and Koch

Dimension table

Element	Metres			Gaz
	length / width / diameter	breadth / depth / side	height	length / width / diameter	breadth / depth / side	height
Overall complex	896.1	300.84		1112.5	374
Overall preserved complex	561.2	300.84		696	374
Taj Ganji	334.9	300.84		416.5	374
Jilaukhana	165.1-165.23	123.51		204	153
Great gate	41.2	34	23.07	51	42	28.5
Charbagh	296.31	296.31		368	368
Riverfront terrace	300	111.89	8.7	373	138
Mausoleum	56.9	56.9	67.97	70	70	84
Minaret	5.65		43.02	7		53.5
Mosque	56.6	23.38	20.3	70	29	25-29
All dimensions from Koch, p.258-259 credited to Richard André Barraud

Mausoleum (Rauza-i munauwara)

Base

The focus and climax of the Taj Mahal complex is the white marble tomb; a building with arched entrances, topped by a large dome. In India, and most especially at the Taj, this simple idea reached its apogee. The tomb stands on a square plinth. The base is a large, multi-chambered structure. The main chamber houses the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz (the actual graves are a level below). The base is essentially a cube with chamfered edges, 45.9 meters on each side. On the long sides, a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway frames an arch-shaped doorway, with a similar arch-shaped balcony above. These main arches extend above the roof the building by use of an integrated facade. To either side of the main arch, additional pishtaqs are stacked above and below. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas. The design is completely uniform and consistent on all sides of the building.

Dome

The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is its most spectacular feature. Its height is about the same size as the base building, about 35 m. Its height is accentuated because it sits on a cylindrical "drum" about 7 m high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome (also called an amrud or apple dome). The dome is topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Islamic and Hindu decorative elements. The dome shape is emphasized by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners. The chattri domes replicate the onion shape of main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb, and provide light to the interior. The chattris also are topped by gilded finials. Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from the edges of the base walls, and provide visual emphasis of the dome height.

Minarets

At the corners of the plinth stand minarets: four large towers each more than 40 m tall. The minarets again display the Taj's basic penchant for symmetrical, repeated design. The towers are designed as working minarets, a traditional element of mosques, a place for a 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 minaret chattris share the same finishing touches: a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. Each of the minarets was constructed slightly out of plumb to the outside of the plinth, so that in the event of collapse (an typical occurence with many such tall constructions of the period) the material would tend to fall away from the tomb.

Calligraphy

Passages from the Qu'ran are used as decorative elements on the mausoleum and great gate. The calligraphy is a florid and practically illegible thuluth script comprised of jasper inlaid in white marble panels. Some of the work is extremely detailed and delicate (especially that found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb). Higher panels are written slightly larger to compensate for perspective effects when viewed from below. Recent scholarship suggests that Amanat Khan chose the passages as well. The texts refer to themes of judgment: of doom for nonbelievers, and the promise of Paradise for the faithful. The passages include: 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) and Surah 39 (The Crowds).

Interior

Rewrite this in less POV and more citable way,
The interior chamber of the Taj steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. One may say without exaggeration that this chamber is a work of jewelry. Here the inlay work is not pietra dura, but lapidary. The inlay material is not marble or jade, but precious and semiprecious gemstones. Every decorative element of the tomb's exterior has been redefined with jeweler's art. The result is, for most viewers, simply astonishing.

The inner chamber

The inner chamber of the Taj Mahal contains the cenotaphs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan. It is a masterpiece of artistic craftsmanship, virtually without precedent or equal. The inner chamber is an octagon. While the design allows for entry from each face, only the south (garden facing) door is used. The interior walls are about 25 m high, topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level. As is typical with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas; each balcony's exterior window has an intricate screen or jali cut from marble. In addition to the the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by the chattris at the corners of the exterior dome. Each of the chamber walls has been highly decorated with dado bas relief, intricate lapidary inlay, and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.

Cenotaphs

Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves, so the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are laid in a relatively plain chamber beneath the inner chamber of the Taj. They are buried on a north-south access, with faces turned right (west) toward Mecca. The Taj has been raised over their cenotaphs (from Greek keno taphas, empty tomb). The cenotaphs mirror precisely the placement of the two graves, and are exact duplicates of the grave stones in the basement below. Mumtaz's cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber. On a rectangular marble base about 1.5 by 2.5 m is a smaller marble casket. Both base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet.

Shah Jahan's cenotaph is beside Mumtaz's to the western side. It is the only assymetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife's, but reflects the same elements: A larger casket on slightly taller base, again decorated with astonishing precision with lapidary and calligraphy which identifies Shah Jahan. On the lid of this casket is a sculpture of a a small pen box. (The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Mughal funeary icons decorating men's and women's caskets respectively.)

An octagonal marble screen or jali borders the cenotaphs and is made from eight marble panels. Each panel has been carved through with intricate piercework. The remaining surfaces have been inlaid with semiprecious stones in extremely delicate detail, forming twining vines, fruits and flowers.

Riverfront terrace

Plinth and terrace

• Tahkhana
• Towers

Jawab and Mosque

Garden

The garden provides the foreground for the classic view of the Taj Mahal. Its strict and formal planning divides the garden into four quadrants by two cross-axial walkways. The quadrants are further divided by pathways until 16 squares are formed. Each of the two main walkways are comprised of a number of elements. A canal with fountains runs dead centre along the line of each axis. A narrow red sandstone path flanks each canal to the sides of which are ornamental borders with a geometric pattern. Between this and the main garden 'squares' runs a wide sandstone walkway formed from slabs cut in geometric patterns. At the centre of the garden is a square pool (hauz). The pool symbolises the Prophet's river in paradise where the faithful may quench their first upon arrival.

Two pavilions occupy the east and west ends of the cross axis, one the mirror of the other. In design terms these are remnants from the classic charbargh design where they would have been gates. Now they provide punctuation and access to the long enclosing wall with its decorative crenellations. Built of sandstone, they are given a tripartite form and over two storeys and are capped with a white marble chatris supported from 8 columns.

The original planting of the garden is one of the Taj Mahals remaining mysteries. The contemporary accounts mostly tell of the architecture and mention only 'various kinds of fruit-bearing trees and rare aromatic herbs.' Cypress trees are almost certainly to have been planted being popular similes in Persian poetry for the slender elegant stature of the beloved. By the end of the 18th century, Thomas Twining noted orange trees and a large plan of the complex suggests beds of various other fruits such as pineapples, pomegranates, bananas, limes and apples. The British, at the end of the 19th century thinned out a lot of the increasingly forested trees, replanted the cypresses and laid the gardens to lawns in their own taste.

Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)

The great gate stands at the north of entrance forecourt (Jilaukhana) and provides a transition between the worldly realm of bazaars and caravanserai and the spiritual realm of the paradise garden, mosque and the mausoleum. Its rectangular plan is a variation of the 9-part hasht bihisht plan found in the mausoleum. The corners are articulated with octagonal towers giving the structure a defensive appearance. External domes were reserved for tombs and mosques of the time and so the large central space does not receive any outward expression of its internal dome. From the space the Mausoleum is framed along its major axis by the pointed arch of the portal. Inscriptions from the Qu'ran are inlaid around the two northern and southern pishtaqs, the southern one 'Daybreak' invites believers to enter the garden of paradise.

Southern galleries (Iwan Dar Iwan)

Running the length of the northern side of the southern garden wall to the east and west of the great gate are galleried arcades. A raised platform with geometric paving provides their base and between the columns are cusped arches typical of the Moghul architecture of the period. The galleries were used during the rainy season to admit the poor and distribute alms. The galleries terminate at each end with a transversly placed room with tripartite divisions.

Forecourt (Jilaukhana)

The Jilaukhana (literally meaning 'in front of house') was a courtyard feature introduced to mughal architecture by Shah Jahan. It provided an area where visitors would dismount from their horses or elephants and assemble in style before entering the main tomb complex. The rectangular area divides north-south and east-west with an entry to the tomb complex through the main gate to the north and entrance gates leading to the outside provided in the eastern, western and southern walls. The southern gate leads to the Taj Ganji quarter.

Bazaar streets

Two identical streets lead from the east and west gates to the centre of the courtyard. They are lined by verandahed colonades articulated with cusped arches behind which cellular rooms were used to sell goods from when the Taj was built until 1996. The income from the trade here was for part of the upkeep of the Taj complex. The eastern bazaar streets were essentially ruined by the end of the 19th century and were restored by Lord Curzon restored between 1900 and 1908.

Inner subsidiary tombs (Saheli Burj)

Two mirror image tombs are located at the southern corners of the Jilaukhana. The are conceived as miniature replicas of the main complex and stand on raised platforms accessed by steps. Each octagonal tombs is constructed on a rectangular platform flanked by smaller rectangular buildings in front of which is laid a charbargh garden. Some uncertainty exists as to whom the tombs might memorialise. Their descriptions are absent from the contemporary accounts^[h] either because they were unbuilt or because they were ignored, being the tombs of women. On the first written document to mention them, the plan drawn up by Thomas and William Daniel in 1789, the eastern tomb is marked as that belonging to Akbarabadi Mahal and the western as Fatehpuri Mahal.

Northern courtyards (Khawasspuras)

A pair of courtyards are found in the northern corners of the Jilaukhana which provided quarters (Khawasspuras) for the tombs attendants. This residential element provided a transition between the outside world and the other-worldy delights of the tomb complex. In addition to accomodation for those who would maintain the complex; quarters were also provided for the Hafiz. The Khawasspurs had fallen into a state of disrepair by the late 18th century but the institution of the Khadim continued into the 20th century. The Khawasspuras were restored by Lord Curzon as part of his repairs between 1900 and 1908 afterwhich the western courtyard was used as a nursery for the garden and the western courtyard was used as a cattle stable until 2003.

Bazaar and caravanserai (Taj Ganji)

The Bazaar and caravanserai was constructed as an integral part of the complex, initially to provide the construction workers with accomodation and facilites for their wellbeing, and later as a place of trade, the revenue of which supplemented the expenses of the complex. The area became a small town in its own right during and after the building of the Taj. Originally known as 'Mumtazabad', today it is called Taj Ganji or 'Taj Market'. Its plan took the characteristic form of a square divided by two cross axial streets with gates to the four cardinal points. Bazaars lined each street and the resultant squares to each corner housed the caravanserais in open courtyards accessed from internal gates from where the streets intersected (Chauk). Contemporary sources pay more attention to the north eastern and western parts of the Taj Ganji (Taj Market) and it is likely that only this half received imperial funding. Thus, the quality of the architecture was finer than the southern half.

The distinction between how the sacred part of the complex and the secular was regarded is most acute in this part of the complex. Whilst the rest of the complex only received maintenance after its construction, the Taj Ganji became a bustling town and the centre of Agra's economic activitiy where "different kinds of merchandise from every land, varieties of goods from every country, all sorts of luxuries aof the time, and various kinds of necessitities of civilisation and comfortable living brought from all parts of the world" were sold. An idea of what sort of goods might have been traded is found in the names for the caravanserais; the north western one was known as Katra Omar Khan (Market of Omar Khan), the north eastern as Katra Fulel (Perfume Market), the south western as Katra Resham (Silk Market) and the south-eastern as Katra Jogidas. It has been constantly redeveloped ever since its construction, to the extent that by the 19th century it had become unrecognisable as part of the Taj Mahal and no longer featured on contemporary plans and its architecture was largely obliterated. Today, the contrast is stark between the Taj Mahal's elegant, formal geometric layout and the narrow streets with organic, random and un-unified constructions found in the Taj Ganji. Only fragments of the original constructions remain, most notably the gates.

Waterworks

Water for the Taj complex was provided through a complex infrastructure. It was drawn from the river by a series of purs - an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism. The water flowed along an arched aquaduct into a large storage tank, where, by thirteen additional purs, it was raised to large distributon cistern above the Taj ground level located to the west of the complex's wall. From here water passed into three subsidiary tanks and was then piped to the complex. The head of pressure generated by the height of the tanks (9.5m) was sufficient to supply the fountains and irrigate the gardens. A 0.25 m diameter earthenware pipe lies 1.8 m below the surface, in line with the main walkway; this filled the main pools of the complex. Some of the earthenware pipes were replaced in 1903 with cast iron. The fountain pipes were not connected directly to the fountain heads, instead a copper pot was provided under each fountain head: water filled the pots ensuring an equal pressure to each fountain. The purs no longer remain, but the other parts of the infrastucture have survived with the arches of the aquaduct now used to accomodate offices for the Archaelogical Survey of India's Horticultural Department.

Moonlight garden (Mahtab Bagh)

To the north of the Taj Mahal comlex, across the river is another Charbagh garden. It was designed as an integral part of the complex in the riverfront terrace pattern seen elsewhere in Agra. Its width is identical to that of the rest of the Taj. The garden historian Elizabeth Moynihan suggests the large ocatagonal pool in the centre of the terrace would reflect the image of the Mausoleum and thus the garden would provide a setting to view the Taj Mahal. The garden has been beset by flooding from the river since Mughal times. As a result, the condition of the remaining structures is quite ruinous. Four sandstone towers marked the corners of the garden, only the southeastward one remains. The foundations of two structures remain immediately north and south of the large pool which were probably garden pavilions. From the northern structure a stepped waterfall would have fed the pool. The garden to the north has the typical square, cross-axial plan with a square pool in its centre. To the west an aquaduct fed the garden.

Post construction history & Legacy

Immediately before the construction of the Taj, the first diplomatic links between European nations and the Mughals had been established. The subsequent history of the Taj would see it witness the decline of the Mughal empire, the rise of the British East India Company and eventually see India become the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the British Empire until India's independence in 1947.

• Mughal architecture after the Taj Mahal - economic decline, revised notions of monumental tombs and their place in islamic society.

Ater the construction of the Taj the riverside garden also became the preserve of emperial nobility in other areas such as Shahjahanabad (Delhi).

European reactions

The reputation of the Taj as an equisite work of architecture extended even before it was completed. Its form, execution and setting provided something for people from many cultures and periods of history to praise. For European neoclassicists, the rigorous symmetry and the coincident parallel of the tripartite composition of the main façade’s arches to Roman triumphal arches made this product of indigenous and Islamic architecture accessible to an entirely different mindset. 19th century painters of the picturesque would praise the overgrown naturalist setting of the garden and the ruined Agra waterfront, whilst the traditional conception of the Taj as a ‘monument to love’ captured the imagination of the romantics.

The earliest European visitors to the Taj were both french - Jean-Baptiste Tavernier visiting in 1640-1641 and Francois Bernier in 1659. Bernier gave the following description and Shah Jahan's motive for building it:-

"I shall finish this letter with a description of the two wonderful mausoleums which constitute the chief superiority of Agra over Delhi. One was erected by Jehan-guyre [sic] in honor of his father Ekbar; and Chah-Jehan raised the other to the memory of his wife Tage Mehale, that extraordinary and celebrated beauty, of whom her husband was so enamoured it is said that he was constant to her during life, and at her death was so affected as nearly to follow her to the grave".

The British and the Taj

The British East India Company got to Agra in 1785 and from 1786-1798 Major William Palmers, when in Agra would stay in the garden towers of the Taj. The first artist to arrive from Europe was James Forbes (artist) in 1781 swiftly followed by Johan Zoffany in 1786. The first overall views of the Taj were made by William Hodges (1783) and Thomas Daniell and William Daniell who came in search of 'the sublime, picturesque and exotic'.

The British abolished the waqf that financed the tomb's upkeep in 1803 and assumed responsibilty for it themselves.

Thomas Daniell's Oriental Views (1808) and his other Indian watercolours and paintings would become the major instrument of influence upon British sensibilities both in India and back home in the United Kingdom. He advised on Sezincote (but mainly re the gardens), which was visited by the Prince Regent in 1812, before he built Brighton. The interior designs of later buildings such as parts of Osbourne House for Queen Victoria, and Elveden Hall in Suffolk for Duleep Singh both display an influence from Mughal architecture that traces its original influence to the Taj Mahal. For other eastern parts of the empire, particularly those with islamic sensibilities, Mughal architecture provided a useful language to express imperial buildings. In this vein Kuala Lumpur has a very fine Moghul railway station.

• Influence
  • Royal Pavilion
  • Research possible lutyens connections
  • New Dehli
    • Rashtrapati Bhavan
• Literature
• Visitors
• Popular culture
• Kipling said it was the 'Gateway through which all dreams must pass'.

Myths

Contemporary chronicles and court histories make it clear that Shah Jahan intended the Taj Mahal to be acclaimed by the entire world. It can be argued that he was almost entirely successful in this pursuit. The building has inspired admiration that transcends cultures and geography; so much so that personal and emotional responses to the building consistently eclipse scholastic appraisals of the monument. Some of these responses are now so old or compelling that they are imbedded in a global psyche and are often repeated as fact in opposition to the scholastic consensus. Others have attempted to use or promote misinformation about the Taj for political or self-serving advantage.

Engraving of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal and source of the Black Taj myth

A longstanding popular tradition holds that an identical mausoleum complex for Shah Jahan was to be built in black marble instead of white on the site of the moonlight garden. Known as the 'black taj' this idea can trace its roots to the fanciful writings of an early european traveller called Jean-Baptiste Tavernier who visited Agra in 1665 whilst Jahan was incarcerated in the Agra Fort. The story suggests that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before the black version could be built. Excavations of the moonlight garden were carried out in the 1990s and found no evidence of such foundations in the ruins of the garden, only white marble features discoloured completely to black by pollution and the frequent flooding of the site. Speculation continues that the black taj may refer to the reflection of the Taj in the large pool of the garden or possibly the reflection, seen by Jahan in his last days from Agra fort, through imperfect mirrors.

The lack of complete and reliable information as to whom the credit for the design belongs, has led to innumerable speculations. The most notable and frequently repeated is that the Taj Mahal's architect was Ustad Isa from Ottoman Turkey. Reliable sources suggest the story is fictious, and was born of the readiness of the British in the 19th century to believe that such a beautiful building should be credited to a European architect. Local informants are also reported to have supplied the British with ficticious lists of workmen and materials from all over Asia. A related and earlier notion, first documented by the Spanish friar Sebastian Manrique in 1641, suggests the monument was the work of the Venetian goldsmith called Geronimo Veroneo.

In a pattern typical of many of the world's most famous buildings, a number of stories describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberments and mutilations which Shah Jahan inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb. More conservative stories moderate the idea to that of a contract signed by those involved in the building's construction committing to have no part in any similar design. No evidence for these claims exist.

There is an often-repeated story that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India in the 1830s, planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble. There is no contemporary evidence for this story, which may have emerged in the late nineteenth century when Bentinck was being criticised for his penny-pinching Utilitarianism, and when Lord Curzon was emphasising earlier neglect of the monument, and presenting himself as a saviour of Indian antiquities. According to Bentinck's biographer John Rosselli, the story arose from Bentinck's fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort and of the metal from a famous but obsolete Agra cannon. However, others, led by the Archaeological Survey of India, still believe and argue that a sale by the British East India Company was planned under Lord Bentinck's watch, though no satisfactory buyers were found.

In recent years, elements within India have become interested in the ideas of P.N. Oak. He claims that the origins of the Taj, together with all the other historic structures in the country currently ascribed to Muslim sultans, pre-date the Muslim occupation of India and have a Hindu origin. In 2000 India's Supreme Court dismissed Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal and reprimanded him for bringing the action.

A more poetic story relates that once a year during the rainy season, a single drop of water falls onto the cenotaph, paralleling the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore's description of the tomb as "one solitary tear hanging on the cheek of time". Another myth suggest that if the silhouette of the finial, set into the paving of the riverside forecourt, is beaten then water will come forth. To this day officials at the Taj Mahal find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette.

Conservation and the future

The Khawasspuras are currently being restored for use as a new visitors centre.

http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/542/542%20nupur%20prothi-khanna.htm

Taj Protection Mission Management Board (TPMMB) set up in September 1996 following Indian High Court ruling.[1]

[2]

See also

• Persian architecture
• Humayun's Tomb
• Agra Fort
• Fatehpur Sikri
• Bibi Ka Maqbara
• Turkish architecture

Notes

a. ^{^} The UNESCO evaluation omits the Taj Ganj and Moonlight garden from its area calculations - the total area with the historic Taj Ganj is 26.95 ha and the total area with the Moonlight Garden and the Taj Ganj is
a. ^{^} Mewar (1615), the Deccan (1617 and 1621), Kangra (1618).
b. ^{^} The grandson of Raja Man Singh of Amber and a relative of Shah Jahan through his Great Uncle Raja Bhagwant Das.
c. ^{^} The Islamic Calendar is lunar and so the anniversary dates vary when expressed in the Gregorian Calendar.
d. ^{^} In 1637-39 an Indian servant of the Dutch East India company could expect to receive 36 rupees a year, a mansabdar would receive 9000 rupees a year.
e. ^{^} "May the abode of Mumtaz Mahal be paradise".
f. ^{^} There is some disagreement as to whether the translation of darogha imarat is 'Superintendent of Buildings' as Begley and Koch contend or 'Chief architect' as Qaisar contends.
g. ^{^} 1643 by Lahouri.

Citations

References

• Asher, Catherine Ella Blanshard. The New Cambridge History of India, Vol I:4 - Architecture of Mughal India (First published 1992, reprinted 2001,2003 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 368. ISBN 0-521-26728-5. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Begley, Wayne E. Taj Mahal - The Illumined Tomb. University of Washington Press. p. 392. ISBN 978-0295969442. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Begley, Wayne E. "Four Mughal Caravanserais Built during the Reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan". Muqarnas Volume I: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Bernier, François. Travels in the Moghul Empire A.D. 1657-1668. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. [3]. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Chaghtai, Muhammad Abdullah. Le Tadj Mahal d'Agra (Inde). Histoire et description (in French). Brussells: Editions de la Connaissance. [4]. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Copplestone, Trewin. (ed). World architecture - An illustrated history. London: Hamlyn. ASIN B0000CNOL6. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Harkness, Terence (July 1, 2004). "Places / Projects -- Taj Heritage Corridor: Intersections between History and Culture on the Yamuna Riverfront" (pdf). Vol. 16: No. 2,. Places. pp. page 62-69. Retrieved 2007-02-13. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
• Kambo, Muhammad Salih. Yazdani, Ghulam (ed.). Amal-i-Salih or Shah Jahan Namah. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Koch, Ebba. The Complete Taj Mahal: And the Riverfront Gardens of Agra (First ed.). Thames & Hudson Ltd. pp. 288 pages. ISBN 0500342091. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Lahauri, Abd al-Hamid. Maulawis Kabir al-Din Ahmad and 'Abd al-Rahim under the superintendence of Major W.N. Lees (ed.). Badshah Namah. Calcutta: College Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Petruccioli, Attilio (ed.) (1997). "The Mughal Waterfront Garden. In Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design" (PDF). E. J. Brill. Retrieved 2007-02-13. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Qaisar, Ahsan Jan. Building Construction in Mughal India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 83 pages. ISBN 019562260X. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)

Further reading

• Carroll, David (1971). The Taj Mahal, Newsweek Books ISBN 0-88225-024-8
• Gascoigne, Bamber (1971). The Great Moguls, Harper & Row
• Havel, E.B. (1913). Indian Architecture: Its Psychology, Structure and History, John Murray
• Lall, John (1992). Taj Mahal, Tiger International Press
• Rothfarb, Ed (1998). In the Land of the Taj Mahal, Henry Holt ISBN 0-8050-5299-2
• Saksena, Banarsi Prasad History of Shahjahan of Dihli (Allahabad: The Indian Press Ltd.) 1932
• Stall, B (1995). Agra and Fathepur Sikri, Millennium
• Stierlin, Henri [editor] & Volwahsen, Andreas (1990). Architecture of the World: Islamic India, Taschen
• Tillotson, G. H. R. Mughal India (Architectural Guides for Travelers). Chronicle books. pp. 150 pages. ISBN 0877016860. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)

External links

27°10′30″N 78°02′32″E