The world’s most iconic symbol of love is known as the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal, which is also known as Mumtaz Mahal, is located in Agra India.
The palace was constructed by Shah Jahan, the 17th-century emperor and the Nobel ruler of the Hindustan after the death of his wife Arjumand Bano Begum.
Taj Mahal Interesting Facts – History
Long ago in a land called Hindustan, Land that was the dynasty of kings as cultured as they were courageous, it isn’t they were without fault, they were men of exceptionally good visions and blessed with the most extraordinary ways to build their empire.
Now there was one among them called the King of the world who built a Monument for the Love that would capture the imagination of the world.
Architecture of a Love Story
At the age of 15, the prince who would be the King of the world met a young girl in a Bazaar (market) within the walls of the royal palace in Agra.
Poets described the girl as an extraordinary beauty, For both the young boy and young girl it was love at first sight. Five years would pass before the auspicious day was chosen for their wedding, and from that moment they became inseparable companions.
To honor the prince for his many victorious military campaigns, Jahangir granted him the title Shah Jahan, “KING OF THE WORLD”. The tribute had never before been paid to an uncrowned Prince but when Jahangir’s health failed, his sons became rivals for succession.
Ultimately Shahjahan was victorious and in 1628 he ascended to the throne and beside him stood his queen.
After many years of happiness, his wife died after giving birth to his 14th child in 1631. When Mumtaz Mahal was on her deathbed, she made two requests to the Emperor:
You should not marry any other women after my death and You have to built a tomb in my memory so that my name should be remembered forever.
The King decided to build the most extraordinary monument for the sake of love in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
With the help of 20,000 workers in 1648, the world’s most beautiful iconic symbol of love was completed on the banks of river “Yamuna”.
Taj Mahal Location: It is in northern India in the city of Agra. Agra is famous for two things The Agra Fort and The Taj Mahal.
26 Taj Mahal Interesting Facts
- The construction of the Taj Mahal started in 1632 and took over 21 years to complete.
2. The master architect of the Taj Mahal was Ustad Isa, a well-known Mughal architecture of his time.
3. The Taj is known as the most romantic structure on the planet.
4. Obviously, this beautiful famous structure has been described by many poets and writers throughout the centuries but the most famous and accurate saying about the Taj mahal is:
It is a Poem in a Stone.
5. Taj Mahal is supposed to be unbelievably beautiful. It is made from white marble, has amazing ornamentation, beautiful architecture, and calligraphy.
It is one of the best examples of Mughal architecture in the world with every single element in the massive complex built to achieve perfect symmetry.
6. The Shah Jahan tomb is the only thing that breaks the symmetry of this beautiful symbol of love.
7. Its beauty increases at dawn when the sun rises. Some say that at dawn the Taj Mahal is the place for the Angels on earth.
8. One of the most interesting Taj Mahal facts you probably aren’t aware of is that it’s not made of Solid marble; it’s a plain red brick structure.
9. The materials for the Taj Mahal were transported from all over India and Central Asia by over 1000 elephants.
10. The Taj Mahal costs 32 million rupees at the time it was built. If you wanted to build that type of structure today it is estimated that it would cost over USD$200 million.
11. Shahab-udin was the real name of Shahjahan.
12. The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
13. According to Indian legend, Shah Jahan also tried to build a similar structure to the Taj Mahal from black marbles on the opposite side of the Taj Mahal.
14. The plan of building the Black Taj was interrupted by Shahjahan’s sons.
15. After the death of Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beard and hair grew white within a few months.
16. Throughout the structure passages from the QURAN have been used as a decorative element.
17. Mumtaz was the 3rd wife of Shah Jahan.
18. Outside the walls of the Taj Mahal, there are a few small tombs of Shah Jahan’s other wives.
19. After the construction of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan was held under house arrest by his son.
20. The Taj Mahal was built completely using geometric constructions. Even the drains of the building are hexagonal.
21. Scaffolding has been used during modern wars to hide this monument.
22. During colonization, one of the British governors unsuccessfully tried to sell the Taj Mahal.
23. The reflecting stone also changes color depending on the time of the day.
24. During the British Indian rebellion many precious stones were stolen from the Taj Mahal.
25. Its architecture and landscape give grandeur and attract tourists from all over the world to visit India.
26. Its beauty becomes more fascinating and attractive in the full moonlight.
Let’s Finish with Some Painful Facts about the Taj Mahal
The story of the construction of the Taj Mahal sounds very romantic. However, there are some facts associated with the Taj Mahal that are not quite so romantic.
Shah Jahan actually killed Mumtaz’s first husband in order to marry her himself. He was also very cruel to Mumtaz at the beginning of their marriage.
Finally, despite his promise to Mumtaz he did marry another woman after she died – Mumtaz’s sister.
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Amanda O’Brien is the owner of the New Interesting Facts website. She attended Monash University in Melbourne, where she attained two degrees with first class honours. She lives in London and runs four websites (including this one) and loves to geek out on facts of all types.
