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The centre of the Mughal Empire, until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture in the world. Agra, situated about 200 km south of New Delhi.
Was under the Muslim Emperors who ruled Northern India between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Mughals were the descendents of two of the most skilled warriors in history, the Turks and the Mongols. The Mughal dynasty reached its highest strength and fame during the reign of their early Emperors, Akbar, Jehangir, and Shah Jehan.
It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in the remembrance of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess.
She passed while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush an uprising, after giving birth to their 14th child. Her death firmed the emperor.
When Mumtaz Mahal was alive, she requested the emperor, that he should build the Taj, should not marry again, be kind to their children and he should visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises.
Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were positioned to work on it. It was designed by the Iranian architect Istad Usa and it is best appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to the passion that inspired it.
 Having buried her down at Behrampur, it was time to build a tomb there itself. It was virtually impossible to transfer all the marble there, as it would cost a fortune and a lifetime.
So, astoundingly her grave was uprooted and brought to Agra, be transferred to the monument, completed twenty two years later.
Hindu craftsmen, particularly sculptors and stone cutters, provided trade throughout Asia during this period, and their work was particularly prized by tomb builders. Whilst the rock-cut architecture, which characterises much of this construction, had little or no influence on the Taj Mahal, other Indian buildings such as the Man Singh palace in Gwalior were an inspiration for much Mughal palace architecture and the source for the chhatris, which can be seen on the Taj Mahal.
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