Taj Mahal Story: Amidst the awe-inspiring beauty of the Taj Mahal lies a narrative steeped in love and power. Commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, this ethereal monument is a testament to his deep affection for Mumtaz Mahal. Over two decades, more than 20,000 artisans poured their skill and dedication into every marble slab, creating a symbol of timeless devotion. However, the Taj Mahal’s story, seemingly one of romantic grandeur, carries an undertone of tragedy. Mumtaz Mahal’s untimely demise casts a shadow over Shah Jahan’s ambitious architectural endeavor, transforming this iconic mausoleum into a poignant reminder of life’s ephemeral nature. Behind the façade of white marble, the Taj Mahal reveals a complex tale of heartache, challenging the conventional narrative and adding depth to its captivating history.
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Taj Mahal Story in The Mughal Empire
In Taj Mahal story, the name of the dynasty was Mughals, ruled India from the early 16th century to the mid-19th century. The Mughals were of Mongol origin, and their rule was characterized by cultural achievements and military success. The empire was founded by Babur in 1526 and reached its zenith under emperors such as Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. However, it began to decline in the 18th century due to internal weakness and external pressure and was eventually dissolved after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the exile of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, by the British Indian government. The Mughal Empire left a lasting impression on India with its many buildings and cultural achievements, such as the Taj Mahal, which are still admired and visited today.
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In Taj Mahal Story A Mughal Prince Khurram
History of Taj Mahal story begins with Shah Jahan known as Prince Khurram. Khurram was Emperor Jahangir’s favorite son whom Jahangir wanted to make as the future emperor of India with his wife Nur Jahan well aware of the fact. Nur Jahan had been married once before, but when her first husband died, Jahangir married her. Ladli Begum is the daughter of Nur Jahan from her first marriage. Noor Jahan is a shrewd woman who wants the best for herself and her daughter, and she wishes to marry Princes Ladli Begum to Prince Khurram so that she can become the queen of the Mughal dynasty.
Taj Mahal Story, It was in Meena Bazar at the Red fort of Agra, that Prince Khurram’s eyes first fell on Arjumand Bano Begum. When their eyes met, it was love at first sight for both of them. They started dating and soon realized they were meant to be together. Arjumand Banu Begum is the daughter of Asif Ali Khan. Prince Khurram and Bano both finally confess their love for each other. Ladli Begum learns about their love, but continues to seduce Prince Khurram. When Emperor Jahangir’s wives, Queen Nur Jahan, finds out, she is furious, as she wants Khurram to marry her daughter princess Ladli Banu, even though Arjumand Banu Begum is her niece. Nur Jahan sees this love as an obstacle to her plan to make her daughter the future empress of India. She succeeds in turning Emperor Jahangir against his own son, Khurram. In the history of Taj Mahal, she plots to imprison innocent Arjumand Banu in her castle, but in vain. She then tries to send Khurram to a dangerous Warfield again but in vain, as prince Khurram returns more victorious then before, and got the title of ‘Shah Jahan’ the conquer of for the world. He then arranges for his stepson Saifuddin and make a plot to kill prince Khurram again in vain. Khurram was stabbed but recovers in the love custody of Arjumand Bano’s. After he got healthy returns to the palace to see his king father Jahangir, but does not tell his father, fearing for his health. When Jahangir came to know about all and Arjaman Bno’s help, he happily arranges their marriage, while Saifuddin marries princess Laadli Begum. Prince Khurram was promoted with a rank of subedar and sent to go far away from the capital Agar. Queen Nur Jahan is left to plot against him. When Jahangir falls ill, he assumes the reins in her hands, declares Khurram an intruder a Rebellious. Empress ordered her soldiers or alternatively his two sons to fetch out from him as a guarantee in exchange of prince Khurram’s trust. So he never would thought against the Empire for ever.
Grand Wedding of Shah Jahan with Mumtaj Mahal
The Taj Mahal Story begins with a love that was pure and true. As Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal spent more time together, their feelings for each other deepened. They fell in love and decided to get married, becoming inseparable partners who shared a love for adventure and hunting. Shah Jahan was a celebrated warrior who led his kingdom to great heights, earning the title of “royal warrior” throughout the country. When they got married, the celebrations were grander than any seen before, with the capital adorned with oil lamps and the night sky illuminated with fireworks. The Taj Mahal Story is a tale of love and devotion that has stood the test of time, a tribute to a love that continues to inspire millions to this day. The Taj Mahal remains a symbol of their undying love, a majestic monument that stands as a testament to their passion and commitment to each other.
The prince goes on a military campaign with all the princes. On 27 March 1612, Prince Khurram and his sweet heart Arjumand Bano, whom he named Mumtaz Mahal (“Chosen of the Palace”), were married. Mumtaz Mahal was beautiful as well as intelligent and kind hearted woman. People were very impressed by her, because she cared about people. He diligently made lists of widows and orphans to ensure that they were provided with food and money. The couple had 14 children together, but only two sons and two daughters remains in the Taj Mahal story.
They ruled their kingdoms together, and they lived happily ever after. But his story did not end there., He raised them with love and taught them the values of compassion, courage and sacrifice. And their children grew up to be kind and wise rulers like their parents.
The Rise of Shah jahan in The Story of Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal Story is a tale of love and war, filled with betrayal and sacrifice. Nur Jahan, the powerful wife of Emperor Jahangir, sent her secret lover and warrior, Mahabat Khan, to fight against Khurram and kill Arjamand Banu, his beloved. A bitter war ensued, with Emperor Jahangir himself sending troops against Khurram. In a surprising turn of events, Khurram met Jahangir and declared that Arjamand Banu was superior to him in the Mughal dynasty. He trusted her so much that he even gave her his royal seal, Mohar e Uza. Mumtaz Mahal, who was once portrayed as an ideal wife with no desire for political power, became a victim of political rivalry. However, Arjamand Banu remained a peace-loving person and asked Khurram to forget her and marry Kandhari Begum instead. After the death of Emperor Jahangir, Prince Khurram became Shah Jahan and eventually married his true love, Arjamand Banu, who later became known as Mumtaz Mahal. The couple lived happily for a while until tragedy struck when Mumtaz Mahal had to go to war to protect her empire. The Taj Mahal Story is a testament to the enduring power of love, even in the face of war and adversity.
Love & Tragedy in The Taj Mahal Story
There a time comes when Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled against the Mughal empire and declares war in Deccan. Shah Jahan has to go on the war expedition, but a pregnant Arjamand Bano also chooses to accompany him, as she accompanied him in all of Shah Jahan’s wars and battles. Pregnant queen stayed in the Badshahi Qila, which had been built by the Faruqi rulers of Khandesh, who had ruled Burhanpur. Shah Jahan tries to return to the camp from the fight but it takes a long time to come back. On June 16, 1631, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl in a huge tent in the center of the camp. While he was missing, Mumtaz Mahal gave birth to her fourteenth child. At first everything seemed fine, but Mumtaz Mahal was soon dying. During her last breaths, Queen Mumtaz Mahal asked Emperor Shah Jahan to make her tomb into a beautiful mausoleum, describing that it would be so beautiful that it would attract all who visited the mausoleum. That’s why their love will be expressed. Mumtaz Mahal’s death is the biggest tragedy in Emperor Shah Jahan and as a result he becomes a completely reformed person. Then, to fulfill his wife’s last wish, Shah Jahan begins construction of the Taj Mahal story into a reality. Taj Mahal became the seventh wonder of the world.
As soon as Shah Jahan heard about his wife’s condition, he rushed to her. Mumtaz Mahal died in the early hours of 17 June, just a day after the birth of her daughter, in her husband’s arms. Tofkeen ceremony was happened. He was immediately buried near a pleasure palace in the deer park on the banks of river Tapati at Barabanpur according to Islamic tradition in a silver coffin filled with natural embalming herbs as per Unani techniques. Mumtaz Mahal was laid to rest in the Aahu khana. Her body will not stay there for long.
Historian says that in grief, Shah Jahan went to his tent and wept for eight days. When he emerged in public, his mejesty was said to be looked an aged person, his hairs and beard got grey.
Bringing Mumtaz Mahal at Agra in Taj Mahal Story
Emperor Shah Jahan ordered his son’s, to bring mother queen Mumtaz Mahal’s body to be exhumed and brought to Agra, a distance of 435 miles or 700 km from Bhuranpur. Hes return was a grand procession in which thousands of soldiers accompanied her body and lined the way to the capital .
Mumtaz Mahal’s body was transported to Agra accompanied by her son prince Shah Shuja andher lady-in-waiting Satti-un-Nisa, also Hakim Alimuddin Wazir Khan. They arrived in Agra in 19 days later. When Mumtaz Mahal’s remains reached Agra on 8 January 1632, they were temporarily buried on land donated by the nobleman Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur. It was very near to that place where the Taj Mahal would be built.
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Taj Mahal Story: Architectural Plans
Shah Jahan was interested in architectural decoration and design. Obviously, he was consulted the best Artisans designers and civil enginers of that time.This is clearly a building designed by professional architects Layout of the history of Taj Mahal mausoleum Complex, contradicts the existence of monuments built earlier in India Humayuns Tomb at Delhi. Several and architects – thirty-seven men in all – are mentioned by name in official Mughal histories, and it is possible that they worked together to form the creative team that built the Taj Mahal. Ismail Effendi (alias Ismail Khan) who worked as a designer and builder of domes for the great Ottomans in Turkey. Kazim Khan, a goldsmith from Lahore who cast a gold urn on top of the dome. Amanat ali Khan of Shiraz, the master calligrapher whose signature is engraved on the door of the Taj. Muhammad Hanif, Master Mason of Multan and Kandahar, Delhi; And From Mukarmat Khan and Mir Abdul Karim Shiraz, Chief Supervisor and Administrator. Ustad Ahmad (aka Isa Khan), a court architect from Lahore to Shah Jahan, is often credited as the chief architect (or planner) of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort in Delhi.
Taj Mahal Story: Building of a Timeless Wonder
The Mughal Empire was one of the wealthiest empires in the world during Shah Jahan’s reign, and this meant that it had the resources to build this monument of unparalleled grandeur. Rauza-e-Munawwara the original name of the Taj Mahal at Agra, But even though he wanted it to be breathtaking, he also wanted it to unfold quickly.
To speed up production, an estimated 20,000 workers both skilled and unskilled artisans were brought in and specially housed in a city called Mumtazabad. hundred’s of elephants oxen carts given contracts to transport white marble from Makrana near Jaipur.
The builders first worked on the foundation and then on the massive 624-foot-high plinth on the banks of river Yamuna. This would form the base for the building of the Taj Mahal and a pair of red sandstone buildings, a mosque and a guest house.
The Taj Mahal, sitting on a second plinth, was to be an octagonal structure made of bricks covered with marble. In the case of most large projects, builders erect scaffolding for skyscraper construction. His choice of bricks for this scaffold was unusual and surprising to historians.
Latter Taj Mahal became a place of pilgrimage for the people of the empire, and Sha Jahan often went there to pray for the peace for his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. He ruled with justice and compassion and ensured that the kingdom continued to prosper.
Taj Mahal Story is A Beauty and Grandeur in Marble
White marble is one of the most attractive and prominent features of the Taj Mahal. The white marble was quarried from Makrana near Jaipur, 200 miles away. Reportedly, 1,000 elephants and countless oxen were needed to transport the extremely heavy marble to the construction site.
To get the large pieces of marble up to the heights of the Taj Mahal, a vast, 10-mile-long earthen ramp was built. The Taj Mahal is topped with a massive double-shell dome that spans 240 feet and is also covered in white marble. Four slender, white marble towers stand at the corners of the second plinth and surround the tomb.
Calligraphy and Flowers in Taj Mahal Story
Most pictures of the Taj Mahal show just a large white building. Although still cute, it doesn’t do the original structure justice. These images leave out the complexities and it is the details like gates, caravan sarai the mosque and the charbagh the garden that make the Taj Mahal so wonderfully feminine and majestic. At the southern end of the mosque, guest house and large main gate, the intricate display is the calligraphic Koran or Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. Shah Jahan hired master calligrapher Abdul Haq and was bestowed with the title of ‘Amanat Khan’ to create on the qur’anic verses. Expertly done, the finished verses of the Quran are inlaid with black marble. They are a dignified yet gentle feature of the building. Although carved from stone, the curves imitate real handwriting. It is said that Amanat Khan himself chose 22 verses of the Holy Quran. Shah Jahan was impressed by Amanat Khan’s work of art and allowed only him to sign his work on the Taj Mahal.
Inlaid flowers are so impressive and looks delicate can be seen throughout the Taj Mahal complex. In a process known as parchankari, highly skilled stone cutters carve intricate floral designs into white marble and then inlay them with precious and semi-precious stones to form vines and flowers. More than 40 different types of precious and semi-precious stones are used for these flowers and they come from all over the world. These include Jasper from Punjab lapis lazuli from Sri Lanka, jade from China, malachite from Russia and turquoise from Tibet.
Entrance Gate is a Blissful in Taj Mahal Story
It is flanked by beautifully crafted gates, one opening to the courtyard that welcomes visitors from all three entrances, and the other to the white marble crown tomb. Some Quranic verses “inviting pilgrims to Paradise”, are neatly engraved in black stone on a white marble surface. In the Taj Mahal Story the main entrance of the Taj Mahal, which is about 93 feet high, is a masterpiece of fine inlay work in itself, also provides some nice visual illusion to the visitors – as one approaches the Taj through the main entrance, the main shrine appears to move away from you.
The main entrance of the Taj Mahal is also unique as it has Hindu carvings. It is also decorated with Arabic calligraphy of the Quran inlaid in black stone. The Taj Mahal always greets each of its visitors with an inscription, in beautiful calligraphy, which reads, “O soul, may you rest in peace with the Lord.” Return, and may peace be with you.”
In Taj Mahal Story The Beautiful Garden of Heavens
Islam has an image of paradise in the form of a garden. Thus the garden became an integral part of making it paradise on earth in the Taj Mahal story. Garden is located to the south of the Taj Mahal, consists of four quadrangles. They are divided by four “rivers” of water (another important Islamic image of heaven) that gather in a central pool. The gardens and streams were watered by the Yamuna River through a complex underground water system. Unfortunately, there are no records to tell about the exact plants in these gardens.
In Taj Mahal Story Shah Jahan Passed Away
In the Taj Mahal story the emperor Shah Jahan was in deep mourning for two years and never fully recovered from the death of his beloved wife. This provided Aurangzeb, the fourth son of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, to successfully assassinate his three elder brothers and imprison his father. After 30 years as emperor, Shah Jahan was captured in 1658 at the magnificent Red Fort in Agra. Forbidden to move, but with most of his luxuries, Shah Jahan spent his last eight years gazing out of the Taj Mahal’s window. Shah Jahan the hero in the Taj Mahal story, died On 22 January 1666, Aurangzeb had his father buried under the Taj Mahal along with Mumtaz Mahal. There are now two mausoleums (empty public tombs) above the crypt on the main floor of the Taj Mahal. The one in the center of the room is of Mumtaz Mahal and the one in the west is of Shah Jahan. The cenotaphs are surrounded by a delicately carved, marble screen. Originally it was a gold screen but Shah Jahan changed it so that thieves would not be tempted to steal it.
Decline and Restoration In Taj Mahal Story
Shah Jahan was wealthy enough to support the Taj Mahal and spend enormously on its maintenance, but over the centuries the Mughal Empire lost its wealth and the Taj Mahal fell into disrepair.
By the 1800s, the British had ousted the Mughals and occupied India. The Taj Mahal was vandalized for its beauty—Birch cut jewels from its walls, stole silver candlesticks and doors, and even tried to sell the white marble abroad. It was held by the British Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Instead of looting the Taj Mahal, Curzon did the work of restoring it.
Today Taj Mahal is A Timeless Love Story in Stone
With 2.5 million visitors every year, the Taj Mahal has once again become a spectacular destination. People can come here during the day and see that the white marble turns into different colors throughout the day. Once a month, visitors have the opportunity to take a short walk during the full moon to see how the Taj Mahal glows from within under the moonlight.
The Taj Mahal was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983, but this protection does not guarantee its safety. It is now at the mercy of pollution from nearby factories and excess moisture from the breath of its visitors.
Story of Black Taj Mahal is A Legend
The Black Taj Mahal story Mahal is a popular myth with no historical evidence to support its existence. It is said that the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, planned to build a second mausoleum for himself made of black marble across the Yamuna River. This projected structure was intended to symbolize his grief and mourning after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. However, there is no solid evidence to support this story. The Black Taj Mahal is not mentioned in contemporary historical documents, and no construction plans or diagrams of the supposed structure have been found. It is likely that this story is a myth or legend passed down from generation to generation.
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F.A.Q. History of Taj Mahal Story
Q. 1 What is the History behind the Taj Mahal story a love story?
A. The Taj Mahal was built by the great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal or “jewel of the palace.” better known to history.
Q2 Where did the Shah Jahan and Mumtaj mahal met for first?
A. Shah Jahan first spotted Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano) in the Meena bazaar at Red fort Agra and the young prince fell madly in love at first sight
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