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In 1612 Mumtaz Mahal married Shah Jehan, who was the prince of Khurram and the fifth Mughal emperor. The couple loved each other very deeply and they were inseparable. She bore him fourteen children and died in childbirth in 1630. The Shah was overpowered by grief and wanted his wife to have immortality, so he had built the finest sepulcher ever (Crown of the Palace pg 1). The Taj Mahal was constructed over 22 years, and used the skills of over twenty thousand workers and master craftsmen. The Taj was finally completed in 1648 on the banks of the river Yamuna in Agra, which was the capital of the Mughal monarchs.

The name Taj Mahal is usually translated as either "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the Palace" and is believed to be an abbreviated of Mumtaz's name. The cost of constructing the Taj ran a mere 32 million rupees. Research has found that the construction documents show that the master architect on the project was Ustad'Isa who was the renowned Islamic architect of his time.
The Taj stands on a raised, square platform 186 feet by 186 feet, with its four corners forming an unequal octagon. The base that it stands on is red sandstone and the dome and main parts of the structure are made out of white marble. The design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stand on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure (Crown of the Palace pg 1). It also uses the ideas of self replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements. The central dome stands 213 feet high and is 58 feet in diameter. Under the the dome sits the queens cenotaph. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four minarets are 162.5 feet each. The entire mausoleum, inside as well as outside, is decorated with inlaid flowers and calligraphy, and precious gems such as agate and jasper were used. The main archways were chiseled with passages from the Qur'an. The central chamber and the four smaller matching chambers are all done in Islamic designs and have verses of the Qur'an on them written in calligraphy.
The building is said to be designed after a woman. The gatehouse is the veil, with the beautiful backdrop of the river behind it. With all the construction materials and jewels used in the construction the building changes colors throughout the day. It is pinkish in the morning, milky white during the day, and then it turns golden with the moonlight showing on it. This is said to reflect the moods of a woman.
The Building is part of a vast complex. It has a main gateway and to the left of the gateway is the mosque and to the right is a guest house followed by a few other buildings. The Taj is at the farthest end of the complex and the river Jamuna is behind the whole complex.
The Taj Mahal is considered one of the eight greatest wonders of the world. The reasons for it being built play on the romantics heartstrings. It is a building made out of love by a man for his wife. It is one of the dominant Muslim pieces of architecture in the world today, even though the building is in India and not what the rest of the world really considers the Middle East or a Muslim part of the world.

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