The Taj Mahal is a dramatically large and beautiful mausoleum that was built in 17th century C.E. The Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, built it on the shores of the Yamuna river in India for his favorite wife. It is one of the most recognizable buildings on earth. Exquisite in and of itself, the legend surrounding it reveals how our desire for a good story can override facts. It should be preserved, not only for its architectural and artistic merits, but for what it reveals about our collective psychology.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="196"]<a href="http://thatandthisinmumbai.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/taj-mahal-8.jpg?w=584"><img class=" " src="http://thatandthisinmumbai.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/taj-mahal-8.jpg?w=584" alt="http://thatandthisinmumbai.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/taj-mahal-8.jpg?w=584" width="196" height="250" /></a> A photo of the Taj Mahal from the front showing the red sandstone overlaid with white marble.[/caption]

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Mumtaz Mahal (Chosen One of the Palace) died suddenly in 1631 at the age of 38 after giving birth to their 14th child. The couple had been married for 19 years, but her death came only three years after the Shah came to power. One of the most popular legends about the Taj Mahal is its origin. It was said that, as she was dying, Mumtaz Mahal asked Shah Jahan to promise her two things; that he not father any other children by his remaining wives and “that he build such a mausoleum over her, the like of which was not to be found anywhere else” (Begley).

The Taj Mahal is the culmination of a syncretistic trend incorporating Byzantine, Muslim and Hindu traditions in Mughal architecture (Fiero). It is built out of red sandstone overlaid with white marble which is carved with decorative patterns that depict the flowers of paradise (Andrea and Neel). The marble carvings are studded with “forty-three types of precious and semiprecious stones from all around India” including sapphires, onyxes, yellow amber, nephrite jade and crystal. The artists also used shells, coral and mother-of-pearl from the Indian Ocean (Ching, Jarzombek, and Prakash).

The seventy-three years of Shah Jahan’s life, from 1592 to 1666, were a pivotal period in the fortunes of the Mughals, but also a time of rapid change in the wider world (Preston and Preston 7). European courts received Persian and Asian dignitaries with splendor and honor while Christian missionaries traveled to “Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim lands.” Galileo perfected the telescope and could see “the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter” (Fiero).

Not only did the “Old World” become less isolated on its half of the world, but the “New World” rapidly began to flourish. The English colony Jamestown was founded the year Shah Jahan was betrothed to his wife. Just seventeen years later, the English acquired New Amsterdam and named it New York (Preston and Preston 7).

Throughout time, tombs and mausoleums for royalty have had served to honor and glorify their memory. Zoser, one of the first Pharaohs of a unified Egypt, build a mortuary complex for himself on a hill outside Memphis, the capital of Old Egypt. The Mortuary Complex of Zoser was surrounded by massive walls of white stone. The walls protected the tomb, not from physical threats, but from “the chaos of the unordered world outside.” Egyptian rulers measured their accomplishments against The Mortuary Complex of Zoser for centuries (Ching, Jarzombek, and Prakash 39).

The Tomb of the First Emperor of China, who ruled China between 246 and 210 BCE is “probably the largest and most costly tomb in history, even compared with the Egyptian pyramids.” More than 8,000 terra cotta soldiers surround the emperor’s burial chamber, protecting him even after death (Ching, Jarzombek, and Prakash 184).

By contrast the Taj Mahal is a living monument, designed to keep the memory of those people interred there alive. Its walls do not protect it from anything, they simply enclose the complex. It fact, one of the buildings on the grounds is a “residential court for tomb attendants” (Andrea and Neel).

The most prominent and often photographed feature of the Taj Mahal is the main building, generally shown from the rear, but the largest portion of the complex is the garden that surrounds it (Andrea and Neel). The gardens span an area of approximately 42 acres (Begley 9). Like the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is impossible to appreciate the extent and beauty of the gardens through photographs alone.

The gardens are a typical example of Persian “chahar-bagh” or four-fold gardens. “Persian gardens in general and Mughal garden tombs in particular, are often described metaphorically in Persian poetry and inscriptions as being like Paradise.” However, the designers of the Taj Mahal placed the buildings at one end of the gardens, rather than at the center, as was typical for the time (Begley 11).

Shah Jahan made some unusual choices when he built the Taj Mahal. First and foremost, he went against Islamic tradition; “a tomb for a wife on such a scale was entirely without precedent” (Begley 9). Second, the dome is “curiously similar to the shape of Mughal ceremonial crowns… Although Islamic tombs characteristically have domes, the resemblance of the Taj’s dome to actual Mughal throne backs seems more than coincidental” (Begley 16).
<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>“This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”</em>
<em> -The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance</em></p>
Persian histories record that construction began on the Taj Mahal around January, 1632. There are three dated epigraphs on the Taj Mahal itself that suggest the exterior of the building itself was complete around 1636. The entire project probably took no more than 15 years (Begley 9). Those are the facts. The legends are more romantic.

Approved court poetry and legend promoted the idea that the Taj Mahal was built out of love. Court poets declared that “The color of youth flew away from his cheeks; The flower of his countenance ceased blooming.” He wept so often “his tearful eyes sought help from spectacles” (Bartholet). European travelers were enthralled. Francois Bernier said, “it is said that he was constant to her during life, and at death was so affect as nearly to follow her to her grave.”

The problem with the magnificent wonder of these legends is that they aren’t supported by the historical record. Even worse, the legends are so seductive and pervasive that they are presented as fact even to this day, perpetuating the misinformation. For example, one legend says that Shah Jahan planned to build an identical mausoleum to the Taj Mahal, except out of black marble instead of white, on the other side of the Agra. Unfortunately, the only evidence to support this comes from the account of a French traveler at the time, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Yet Fiero says, “[h]e directed his architects to construct alongside the Jumna River a glorious tomb, a twin to the one he planned for himself on the adjoining riverbank.”

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier said that it took 22 years and 20,000 men to build the Taj Mahal, plus he says he was there at the start of construction and at the end (Begley 9). That statement is the most easily disproved of all the Taj Mahal legends and yet it is widely disseminated. (While Begley flatly denounces Tavernier’s estimates as “greatly exaggerated”, he only disputes the number of years it took to build the structure, not the number of workers.) To this day, several modern sources continue repeat what is essentially the account of a tourist as historical fact. For example, the “Encyclopedia of Anthropology” says, “the entire project took 22 years to complete with the efforts of 20,000 laborers and craftsmen” (Birx). While Fiero’s text book does not outright state how long it took to build the Taj Mahal, the caption under Figure 21.24 reads, “Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1623-1643.” implying her acceptance of Tavernier’s legend as fact. Most recently, in a September, 2011 article for the Smithsonian magazine, Jeffrey Bartholet said, “For more than 15 years, [Shah Jahan] directed the construction of a complex of buildings and gardens that was meant to mirror the Islamic vision of Paradise.”

Human beings are amazingly complex creatures. We are capable of great loves and cunning. As a group, we love a good story, we strive to create beautiful things and we want to be remembered. The Taj Mahal gives us all of those things wrapped up in a neat little package.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Muhal loved each other and, while the poetic accounts from that time seem ostentatious to us, his grief was undoubtedly real. He probably did want to build a beautiful tomb to commemorate her memory. The question becomes then, when did the legend begin and why? How did it grow into the epic that it is today? Was the Taj Mahal itself so lovely and grand that people could not look at it and think that it must have a deeper, grander meaning than just a burial place?

As loving a husband as the Shah may have been, he could also be ruthless and cold-blooded. He gained the throne after a five year war against his father and then murdered several family members, including one of his brothers, to solidify his power base (Birx). An Italian traveler of the time, Niccolao Manucci said that the Shah behaved “as if the only thing [he] cared for was the search for women to serve his pleasure.” Other European travelers spread rumors that Shah Jahan maintained an incestuous relationship with his eldest daughter, Jahanara (Begley 10).

Was Shah Jahan truly devastated by his wife’s death, or did the court poets do such a good job of embellishing the story of his grief that the Taj Mahal became a public relations coup that remains to this day? Could such a man of such unsympathetic character truly love one woman at all? The truth is never simple and that makes the story of Taj Mahal so compelling.

The Taj Mahal complex should be included in the Time Capsule project so that future generations will be able to gain an understanding of our past by studying its architecture, techniques and design elements. In addition, the conflict between the history and the legend of the Taj Mahal is a cautionary example of how people will believe what they want to believe. In this case, in spite of evidence to the contrary, people want to believe that the Taj Mahal was built purely out of love and devotion.
<p style="text-align: center">Works Cited</p>
Bartholet, Jeffrey. “What Ails the Taj Mahal? (Cover Story).” Smithsonian 42.5 (2011): 44. Middle Search Plus. Web. 7 Oct. 2012.

This article is about preservationist’s concerns that the Taj Mahal is deteriorating due to pollution, poor maintenance and vandalism. It also provided some historical background about the Taj Mahal.

Begley, Wayne E. “The Myth Of The Taj Mahal And A New Theory Of Its Symbolic Meaning.” Art Bulletin 61.1 (1979): 7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.

This source offers theories for the design and construction of the Taj Mahal that contradict most commonly held and romantic beliefs. Begley gives examples of the myths and then shows how they are unsupported by the historical record.

The main argument against the romantic myths is that Shah Jahan was not actually as pure in his devotion to his wife as the stories would have one believe. Begley supports his argument well, but also misses some nuances of political necessity that may have predicated some of Shah Jahan’s actions.

This paper was originally presented as a series of lectures to various universities and museums between 1976 and 1978. A significant number of other sources cite in this paper in their bibliographies.

Church, Jill M. “Taj Mahal.” Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Ed. H. James Birx. Vol. 5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2006. 2156-2157. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Sep. 2012.

The “Encyclopedia of Anthropology” is a reference work focusing on “physical/biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural/social anthropology, linguistics, and applied anthropology.” This article provides simple historical background of the Taj Mahal, the design, building materials and layout of the grounds.

A problem with this source is that it erroneously maintains that it took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal; a statement that is actually based on legend, not fact. However, that error supports the thesis that the legend surrounding the Taj Mahal is just as significant as the building itself.

Ching, Francis D.K., Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramaditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. 2nd. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc., 2011. 503-509. Print.

“A Global History of Architecture” presents the history of architecture around the world, arranged first by time and then by region, beginning in 3500 BCE. It is a comprehensive historical resource for people who do not specialize in architecture.

The authors offer brief comparisons between similar structures in the area around the Taj Mahal. In addition, there are tombs and mausoleums listed in the book along with their features that I used to compare to the Taj Mahal. The book also provides excellent illustrations.

Fiero, Gloria K.. Trans. Array The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

This is the humanities text for this course. It provides a good general overview of general history, but the facts presented are not all correct.

“Mughal Aesthetics.” World History Encyclopedia. Ed. Alfred J. Andrea and Carolyn Neel. Vol. 11: Era 6: The First Global Age, 1450-1770. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 232-234. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Sep. 2012.

This particular volume of “World History Encyclopedia” focuses on what they call “The First Global Age, 1450-1770”. The themes for this article are how Mughal aesthetics developed, remaining constant in some respects and evolving in others.

The article discusses the evolution of Mughal aesthetics from one distinct style into another. The first period is most easily identifiable by the predominance of red sandstone in its architectural styles. The second period added white marble over the red sandstone which added a new decorative element and required new construction techniques.

The article makes passing mention of the Jain religion, but does not go into any depth about its history or examples of its contributions. Presumably because the Jain religion is not as prominent as Hindu (the other major religion mentioned).

Preston, Diana, and Michael Preston. Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2007. Print.

This book is written for the general public to give a background about the Taj Mahal. It speaks more to the culture of the area and worldwide historical context at the time rather than the building itself.

Roth, Leland M. “Architecture: Asia.” New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005. 128-132. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Sep. 2012.

The “New Dictionary of the History of Ideas” is a resource work targeting students and it documents the way human thought has developed through time. This particular article chronicles the cultural developments of architecture in Asia from the beginning of the common era to present day.

This article is divided into two parts. The first talks about the architectural style of the three major regions of Asia; India, China and Japan. The second provides examples of architecture for each region, including the Taj Mahal.

In particular for this Time Capsule Project, the article shows how the three major religions that populated India combined to create what we now recognize as Mughal aesthetic.

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