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Call of the Tiger |
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| Backwaters
of Kerala |
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| The
Lions of Gir |
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| Bharatpur
Bird Sanctuary |
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| Corbett
National Park |
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| Ancient
Cities in Northern India |
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Map of India |
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| India
Travel Information |
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| Agra - Poem in Marble | |||
| 2 days suggested
trip ex Delhi Historical Significance of the Taj Mahal In 1612, Arjumand Banu Begam, better known by her other name, Mumtaz Mahal was married to Shah Jehan (then Prince Khurram), the fifth mughal emperor. This marriage, although the emperor’s second, was a real love-match, and Mumtaz was her husband’s inseparable companion on all his journeys and military expeditions. She was his comrade, his counselor, and inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence towards the weak and the needy. She bore him fourteen children, and died in childbirth in 1630 (only three years after his accession to the throne) in Burhanpur in the Deccan where she had accompanied him on a military campaign. Overpowered by grief, Shah Jehan was determined to perpetuate her memory for immortality and decided to build his beloved wife the finest sepulchre ever — a monument of eternal love. It was Shah Jehan’s everlasting love for Mumtaz that led to the genesis of the Taj Mahal. The sad circumstances which attended the early death of the empress who had endeared herself to the people inspired all his subjects to join in the emperor’s pious intentions. After twenty-two laborious years, and the combined effort of over twenty thousand workmen and master craftsmen, the complex was finally completed in 1648 on the banks on the river Yamuna in Agra, the capital of mughal monarchs. The origin of the name the “Taj Mahal” is not clear. Court histories from Shah Jehan’s reign only call it the rauza (tomb) of Mumtaz Mahal. It is generally believed that “Taj Mahal” (usually translated as either “Crown Palace” or “Crown of the Palace”) is an abbreviated version of her name, Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace). Agra, Agra is globally renown as the city of the Taj Mahal. But this royal Mughal city has, in addition to the legendary Taj, many monuments that epitomise the high point of Mughal architecture. In the Mughal period, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Agra was the capital of India. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babar, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the river Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens, and Shahajahan embellished it with marble mosques, palaces and pavilions of gem-inlaid white marble. The crowning glory of the city is obviously the Taj, a monument
of love and imagination, that represents India to the world. Agra Fort- Among the other monuments that Agra takes pride in , built by three of the greatest Mughal emperors. The construction of this massive structure began in 1565, under Akbar, and continued till the time of his grandson, Shahjahan. The Diwan - i - Am, the Diwan - i - Khas, the Khas Mahal, the Palace of Mirrors, the Pearl mosque, the Nagina Masjid, the Garden of Grapes, and the Fish Pavilion are the other monuments in the fort complex. Itmad-ud-daulah tomb- stands in the centre of a grand Persian
garden, an architectural gem of its times. It is the tomb of Mirza
Ghiyas Beg, Emperor Jehangir's wazir, or Chief Minister, and also
his father - in- law.This splendid garden tomb is believed to be the
precursor of the magnificent Taj Mahal, and was the first Mughal
structure to be built entirely of marble, and the first, again, to
make use of pietra dura, the inlay marble work that came to
be typical of the Taj. |
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(This webpage last reviewed on 1st. Dec. 2008)