In Agra in India lies the Taj Mahal. The burial chamber a Man built for his wife. This is their story and the story of one of the most beautiful buildings ever built.
The Horsemen from the North
Almost 500 years ago a horde of horsemen from Afghanistan swept over the the northern plains of India and set up a powerful empire. Their leader Babur was a descendant of Genghis Khan, The mighty Mongol Warrior, Thus the new overlords of Northern India were known as Moguls.
A Girl and her prince
In 1607, more 80 years later, a remarkable girl married a her young mogul prince.
The girl would later be known as Mumtaz Mahal which means something like: The ornament of the palace
The young bride was not just beautiful, but intelligent and possessing a myriad of talents. She was for instance well read in Arabic and Persian and would write love poems to her prince in the latter language. in short, perfect match for a man from the one of the richest and most powerful families in the world.
The prince loved his wife dearly, and even though he took other wives as was common among Mogul princes, Mumtaz was the love of his life. They would have no less than 14 kids together, 8 boys and 6 girls.
The couple shared many interests, and enjoyed doing things together, their favorite was to watch elephant fights.
Shah Jannah
The prince was one of four brothers. In the Mogul empire there was no law saying the the oldest son would succeed his father to the throne. So when the old Emperor died the princes had to fight for the right to become emperor. As a seasoned general the Mumtaz's prince won and from now on he was known as Shah Janna.
Not just an ordinary empress
As the smart woman she was, Mumtaz would give her man advice on how to run the empire. Shah Jannah returned his empresses favors by giving her the right to give orders in his ow name. This was unheard of in Mughal India where even women had few rights.
The tragedy
In those days there were still people in India who either rebelled or had not been subdued by the Moguls. As the ruler of a vast empire Shah Jannah saw it as his duty to subdue anyone who opposed his rule. And everywhere Shah Janna went with his army Mumtaz was with him, even when while pregnant.
One day in 1531 when the Shah Jannah and Mumtaz were on a military campaign in the Deccan in southern India Mumtaz died right after she had giving birth to a daughter. She was only 33 years, but had been married to Shah Janna for 19 of them. Her stint as empress had lasted for a mere 3 years.
The mourning of Shah Jannah
Shah Janna was crushed., and went into hiding. When he appeared again a year later he had the appearance of an old man. His hair was grey and the neck was bowed.
As time passed on, he found comfort in his many children. And in particular his youngest daughter. After while he decided to give his beloved Mumtaz a final resting place like no other.
The mausoleum
the final resting place would be a Mausoleum. A burial chamber in a large house.
It took 8 years to finish the building.
It was built in a beautiful garden in Agra near the river Jammu. At that time the trees from all over India had been assembled and planted in the garden
The building itself was built on top of a measuring 100X 100 meters ( ca 330 x330 feet)
The building it self was built in Maribor and measuring 57x57 meters.
The copula of the mausoleum soared to 70 meters, and on top of it was placed crescent clad in gold. It was surrounded by four Minarets (praying towers)
Inside the Mausoleum, at the center of the entire complex lies a smaller marble structure. It is erected over a square plinth . The symmetrically structure with arched doorways. It is all made in Maribor. This kind of structure in known as iwan and Is topped with a large dome, which was costume in Mughal India.
Inside the structure lies the cofein.
The 99 names of Allah is carved into the sides.
How did it turn out for Shah Jannah
As for Shah Jannah, he continued building beautiful houses. His projects were so costly that one of his sons seized the crown and became emperor instead. Not long after the once mighty Mogul Empire started to crumble.
The Taj Mahal today
Nowadays the Taj Mahal is on the Unesco list of world heritage sites. Millions of tourists come to watch the beautiful mausoleum every year.
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