3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Arts and humani es AP® Arts and humani es · AP® Art History
Art History South, East, and · South, East, and Southeast Asia: 300 B.C.E. - 1980 C.E.
Southeast Asia: 300 B.C.E. - · India
1980 C.E. India
India
The Taj Mahal
Beliefs made visible:
Buddhist art in South Asia Google Classroom Facebook
Twi er Email
The stupa

The stupa

Shiva as Lord of the Dance

(Nataraja)

Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring

a Sufi Shaikh to Kings

The Taj Mahal

Next lesson
China
Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53, photo: Mathew Kno (CC BY-NC-SA
2.0)

Shah Jahan was the fi h ruler of the Mughal

dynasty. During his third regnal year, his favorite
wife, known as Mumtaz Mahal, died due to
complica ons arising from the birth of their
fourteenth child. Deeply saddened, the emperor
started planning the construc on of a suitable,
permanent res ng place for his beloved wife
almost immediately. The result of his efforts and
resources was the crea on of what was called
the Luminous Tomb in contemporary Mughal

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 1/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

texts and is what the world knows today as the

Taj Mahal.

In general terms, Sunni Muslims favor a simple

burial, under an open sky. But notable domed
mausolea for Mughals (as well as for other
Central Asian rulers) were built prior to Shah
Jahan’s rule, so in this regard, the Taj is not
unique. The Taj is, however, excep onal for its
monumental scale, stunning gardens, lavish
ornamenta on, and its overt use of white
marble.

Taj Mahal and Yamuna River, photo: Louis Vest (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Loca on

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 2/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Agra, U ar Pradesh, India

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra, where he

took the throne in 1628. First conquered by
Muslim invaders in the eleventh century, the city
had been transformed into a flourishing area of
trade during Shah Jahan’s rule. Situated on the
banks of the Yamuna River allowed for easy
access to water, and Agra soon earned the
reputa on as a “riverfront garden city,” on
account of its me culously planned gardens, lush
with flowering bushes and fruit-bearing trees in
the sixteenth century.

Paradise on Earth

Entrance, Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53

Entry to the Taj Mahal complex via the forecourt,

which in the sixteenth century housed shops,
and through a monumental gate of inlaid and
highly decorated red sandstone made for a first
impression of grand splendor and symmetry:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 3/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

aligned along a long water channel through this

gate is the Taj—set majes cally on a raised
pla orm on the north end. The rectangular
complex runs roughly 1860 feet on the north-
south axis, and 1000 feet on the east-west axis.

Aerial view from Google Earth, Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53

The white-marble mausoleum is flanked on

either side by iden cal buildings in red
sandstone. One of these serves as a mosque,
and the other, whose exact func on is unknown,
provides architectural balance.

The marble structure is topped by a bulbous

dome and surrounded by four minarets of equal
height. While minarets in Islamic architecture
are usually associated with mosques—for use by

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 4/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

the muezzin who leads the call to prayer—here,

they are not func onal, but ornamental, once
again underscoring the Mughal focus on
structural balance and harmony.

The interior floor plan of the Taj exhibits the

hasht bishisht (eight levels) principle, alluding to
the eight levels of paradise. Consis ng of eight
halls and side rooms connected to the main
space in a cross-axial plan—the favored design
for Islamic architecture from the mid-fi eenth
century—the center of the main chamber holds
Mumtaz Mahal’s intricately decorated marble
cenotaph on a raised pla orm. The emperor’s
cenotaph was laid down beside hers a er he
died three decades later—both are encased in an
octagon of exquisitely carved white-marble
screens. The coffins bearing their remains lie in
the spaces directly beneath the cenotaphs.

Cenotaphs, Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53, photo: Derek A

Young (CC BY-NC 2.0)

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 5/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Carving and inlaid stone, Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53, photo:
Mar n Lambie (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Qur’anic verses inscribed into the walls of

the building and designs inlaid with semi-
precious stones—coral, onyx, carnelian,
amethyst, and lapis lazuli—add to the splendor of
the Taj’s white exterior. The dominant theme of
the carved imagery is floral, showing some
recognizable, and other fanciful species of
flowers—another link to the theme of paradise

Some of the Taj Mahal’s architecture fuses

aspects from other Islamic tradi ons, but other
aspects reflect with indigenous style elements.
In par cular, this is evident in the umbrella-
shaped ornamental chhatris (dome shaped
pavillions) atop the pavilions and minarets.

And whereas most Mughal-era buildings tended

to use red stone for exteriors and func onal
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 6/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

architecture (such as military buildings and forts)

—reserving white marble for special inner spaces
or for the tombs of holy men, the Taj’s en re
main structure is constructed of white
marble and the auxiliary buildings are composed
of red sandstone. This white-and-red color
scheme of the built complex may correspond
with principles laid down in ancient Hindu texts
—in which white stood for purity and the priestly
class, and red represented the color of the
warrior class.

The Gardens
Stretching in front of the Taj Mahal is a
monumental char bagh garden. Typically, a char
bagh was divided into four main quadrants, with
a building (such as a pavilion or tomb) along its
central axis. When viewed from the main
gateway today, the Taj Mahal appears to deviate
from this norm, as it is not centrally placed
within the garden, but rather located at the end
of a complex that is backed by the river, such as
was found in other Mughal-era pleasure gardens.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 7/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

View from the Mahtab Bagh, Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53, photo:
Steve Evans (CC BY-NC 2.0)

When viewed from the Mahtab Bagh, moonlight

gardens, across the river, however, the
monument appears to be centrally located in a
grander complex than originally thought. This
view, only possible when one incorporates the
Yamuna River into the complex, speaks to the
brilliance of the architect. Moreover, by raising
the Taj onto an elevated founda on, the builders
ensured that Shah Jahan’s funerary complex as
well as the tombs of other Mughal nobles along
with their a ached gardens could be viewed
from many angles along the river.

The garden incorporated waterways and

fountains. This was a new type of gardening that
was introduced to India by Babur, Shah Jahan’s
great great grandfather in the sixteenth
century. Given the passage of me and the
interven on of many individuals in the garden
since its construc on, it is hard to determine the

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 8/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

original plan ng and layout scheme of the

garden beds at the Taj.

From the outset, the Taj was conceived of as a

building that would be remembered for its
magnificence for ages to come, and to that end,
the best material and skills were employed. The
finest marble came from quarries 250 miles
away in Makrarna, Rajasthan. Mir Abd Al-Karim
was designated as the lead architect. Abdul
Haqq was chosen as the calligrapher, and Ustad
Ahmad Lahauri was made the supervisor. Shah
Jahan made sure that the principles of Mughal
architecture were incorporated into the design
throughout the building process.

Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53, photo: LASZLO ILYES (CC BY 2.0)

What the Taj Mahal Represents

When Mumtaz Mahal died at age 38 in 1631,
the emperor is reported to have refused to
engage in court fes vi es, postponed two of his

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 9/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

sons’ weddings, and allegedly made frequent

visits to his wife’s temporary res ng place (in
Burhanpur) during the me it took for the
building of the Taj to be completed. Stories like
these have led to the Taj Mahal being referred to
as an architectural “symbol of love” in popular
literature. But there are other theories: one
suggests that the Taj is not a funeral monument,
and that Shah Jahan might have built a similar
structure even if his wife had not died. Based on
the metaphoric specificity of Qur’anic and other
inscrip ons and the emperor’s love of thrones,
another theory maintains that the Taj Mahal is a
symbolic representa on of a Divine Throne—the
seat of God—on the Day of Judgment. A third
view holds that the monument was built to
represent a replica of a house of paradise. In the
“paradisiacal mansion” theory, the Taj was
something of a vanity project, built to glorify
Mughal rule and the emperor himself.

If his accession to the throne was smooth, Shah

Jahan’s departure from it was not. The emperor
died not as a ruler, but as a prisoner. Relegated
to Agra Fort under house arrest for eight years
prior to his death in 1666, Shah Jahan could
enjoy only a distant view of the Taj Mahal. But
the resplendent marble mausoleum he built
“with posterity in mind” endures, more than 350
years a er it was constructed, and is believed to
be the most recognizable sight in the world
today. Laid to rest beside his beloved wife in the
Taj Mahal, the man once called Padshah—King of
the World—enjoys enduring fame, too, for

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 10/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

having commissioned the world’s most

extravagant and memorable mausoleum.

Text by Roshna Kapadia

Backstory
The Taj Mahal is one of the world’s great tourist
a rac ons, hos ng millions of visitors per year.
Though it was designated as UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1983 and is currently overseen
by the Archaeological Survey of India, its heavy
visitor traffic is just one of the many factors that
threaten the integrity of the site.

One of the biggest risk factors for the Taj Mahal

is air pollu on, which discolors the exterior and,
some experts think, causes acid rain that
deteriorates the marble. Air pollu on is caused
by a mul tude of factors including industry,
vehicle emissions, and the burning of household
waste. The government of India designated an
area called the Taj Trapezium Zone (named for its
trapezoidal shape), a 10,400 square kilometer
swath (about 4,000 square miles) of Agra
encompassing the Taj Mahal as well as the Agra
Fort and the historic Mughal se lement of
Fatehpur Sikri. Oil refineries and coal-burning
industries have been ordered to regulate their
emissions or switch to natural gas within this
zone, and most have complied.

There has also been a ban on auto traffic near

the Taj Mahal, air quality monitors have been
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 11/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

installed, and the Archaeological Survey of India

has proposed a tourist cap and increased fees to
limit visitor impact.

Another poten al risk for the Taj Mahal is the

drying up of the Yamuna River, which flows
along the rear of the complex. The river has been
par ally dammed upstream from the Taj Mahal in
order to augment municipal water supplies, and
some argue that the changes in the soil due to
the lower water table may be threatening the
structural integrity of the monument. Various
ac vists and scholars have claimed to have
found cracks in the marble pla orm, sinking of
the structure, and pping of the minarets,
though UNESCO asserts that

The physical fabric is in good condi on

and structural stability, nature of
founda on, ver cality of the minarets
and other construc onal aspects of Taj
Mahal have been studied and con nue to
be monitored.

The Taj Mahal is rightly a top des na on for

millions of travelers. As global tourism grows and
the economic pressures of industry con nue to
increase, the authori es who oversee the site
must strive to implement legal and structural
measures to ensure that this irreplaceable
monument survives.

Backstory by Dr. Naraelle Hohensee

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 12/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Addi onal resources:

The Taj Mahal on the UNESCO website

Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and

Emperor, translated, edited and annotated by
Wheeler M. Thackston (Oxford University Press,
1996).

Milo C. Beach and Ebba Koch, King of the World:

The Padshahnama, with new Transla ons by
Wheeler Thackston (Thames and Hudson, 1997).

Wayne Begley, “The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a

New Theory of its Symbolic Meaning,” Art
Bulle n, vol 61, no 1, March 1979, pp. 7-37.

Vidya Dehejia, Indian Art (Phaidon, 1997).

Ebba Koch, Mughal Architecture: An Outline of its

History and Development (1526-1858) (Neues
Publishing Company, 1991).

______, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront

Gardens of Agr a (Thames and Hudson, 2006).

______, “The Taj Mahal: Architecture, Symbolism

and Urban Significance,” Muqarnas, vol. 22, 2005.

George Michell, George and Amit

Pasricha, Mughal Architecture and Gardens
(An que Collectors’ Club, 2011).

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 13/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

D. Fairchild Ruggles, “A Garden in Landscape,” in

Islamic Gardens and Landscapes: Penn Studies in
Landscape Architecture (University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2007).

Giles Tillotson, Taj Mahal (Harvard University

Press, 2008).

“How to Save the Taj Mahal?” Smithsonian.com,

September 2011

“Is a cap on tourists at the Taj Mahal a sign of

things to come?” The Telegraph, January 5, 2018

“The Slow Decay of the Taj Mahal,” The Diplomat,

August 1, 2016

Sort by: Top Voted

Ques ons Tips & Thanks

Want to join the conversa on?

Log in

RudraakSha Sharma 5 years ago

more

what is shahjahans full name??

(4
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downvo

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 14/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Hahfiizah Ali 5 years ago

more

His full name is A'la Azad Abul

Muzaffar Shahab ud-Din
Mohammad Shah Jahan
(2
Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downv

See 2 more replies

darshpshah88 4 years ago

more

What is the length of the height and the

width of the Taj Mahal
(3
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downvo

Bulbul27 4 years ago

more

1,902 feet x1,002 feet on each

side. It took 20,000 workers and
1,000 elephants 22 years to
complete this magnificent
monument. This monument is built
from white marble and stands on
sandstone pla orm. It also has a
137-foot high dome on top.The
en re complex of the monument
measures 1,902 feet x1,002 feet on
each side
(2
Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downv

Deadpool 4 years ago

more

I know this ques on is not about the ar cle,

but isn't there a Black Taj Mahal that is have
said to have been planned to be built across
the Yamuna River opposite the Taj Mahal?
2 (2
Reply • Upvote m
Downv
comments votes)

drszucker
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal
more 15/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

4 years ago more

That is most likely nothing more

than an entertaining legend.
1 (3
Upvote m
Downv
comment votes)

See 1 more reply

kusum 4 years ago

more

how many years does it took to construct taj

mahal
1 (2
Reply • Upvote m
Downvo
comment votes)

rubinats786 4 years ago

more

21 years. began: 1632. ended:

1653
1 (3
Upvote m
Downv
comment votes)

Ayaz 5 years ago

more

Correct me if I'm wrong, it thought a Muslim

architect designed and built the Taj Mahal,
but then a er it was built, the emperor killed
him because he didn't want any other
building in that me period to be as
beau ful/ more beau ful than the Taj Mahal
right?
1 (1
Reply • Upvote m
Downvote
comment vote)

Skylar Way 4 years ago

more

There's a similar legend where the

architect of Saint Basil's Cathedral
in Russia was blinded by Ivan the
Terrible so that the architect
couldn't recreate it anywhere else.
Could you have confused the

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 16/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

loca on of this story for the Taj

Mahal?
(1
Comment vote)
Upvote m
Downv

7
m…
months
The one and only......Annie ago

How is Taj Mahal going "green"? As in

helping the environment. Are they using
solar panels to power it? Is it made of
recycled material? And so on.
(2
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downvo

7
m…
months
David Alexander ago

Not "environmentally" green,

POLLUTION green. read about it
here:
h ps://www.reuters.com/ar cle/us
-health-pollu on-india-
tajmahal/pollu on-turns-indias-
white-marble-taj-mahal-yellow-
and-green-idUSKCN1IN01S
(2
Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downv

Rakhi Bhasin 4 years ago

more

Who prisoned Emperor Shah Jahan and

why?
(2
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downvo

kusum 4 years ago

more

his son auranzeb because he was

eager to be king
(2
Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downv

lele okania 4 years ago

more
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 17/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

to me inside the taj mahal is the most

beau ful, look up on google, '' inside Taj
Mahal ''
then comment on me comment saying if you
think i am right... it is pre y on the outside
but i think you should see the inside. like
they say, '' the inside is what counts!! ''
1 (2
Reply • Upvote m
Downvo
comment votes)

3 years
mo…
Chris n Stone ago

Eh, it's ok but in my opinion I like

the outside be er.
(1
Comment vote)
Upvote m
Downv

kusum 4 years ago

more

what is full name of mumtaaz

(2
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote m
Downvo

robinson0101 4 years ago

more

hello, I am just wondering about the religious

aspect of the Taj. Is it a Hindu palace or an
Islamic one? It follows the indu culture but
it's an Islamic building structure
1 (1
Reply • Upvote m
Downvote
comment vote)

3 years
mo…
Chris n Stone ago

Urvashi Dinkar is correct, though

the architecture is a mix of styles
between Islamic, Indian, and
Persian architecture.
(1
Comment vote)
Upvote m
Downv

See 1 more reply

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 18/19
3/23/2020 The Taj Mahal (article) | India | Khan Academy

Show more...

Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings

AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which has not reviewed this resource.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/india-art/a/the-taj-mahal 19/19