Page 48 - All About History - Issue 27-15

Mysteries of the Taj Mahal

Finial Dome
This brass spire was
The dome, three-quarters
originally gold-plated, of a perfect globe, rises 74
but the gold from it metres over the tomb with
The was stolen by British apparent ease. Yet it weighs
soldiers in 1803.
some 12,000 tons, with a
four-metre thick wall – in fact
Taj Mahal a double wall, the two being
joined by stone bolts that
TheTajisamasterpieceof make it self-supporting.
artistry and technique, uniting
many traditions – Islamic and
Hindu; Persian, Turkish
andIndian–toforma
subtle unity.

Chhatri
The four chhatris
are domed canopies
on pillars that align
with the minarets.
Chamfered corners
The ‘chamfers’ cut across
the corners at 45 degrees,
modifying the tomb’s square
shape and seeming to include
the minarets in the design.

Friezes
Decorations include numerous
quotations from the Qur’an,
made of black slate inlaid into
marble. They focus on the
Last Judgment, divine mercy,
the reward of the faithful and
Paradise. The writing is in
so-called Naskh characters
Marble by calligraphist Abd-al Haqq,
The white colour symbolises
Plinth Minaret purity, spirituality and a Persian, granted the title
Amanat Khan by the emperor.
This raises the Taj 6.7 Each of the four slender enlightenment, turning
minarets are 41.6 metres
metres above ground, the tomb into an earthly
keeping it clear of any high. They line up on representation of Mumtaz’s
diagonals with the octagonal,
flood water. heavenly home.
domed turrets on the tomb.
The minarets tilt outwards
slightly to prevent them
falling onto the monument in
the event of an earthquake.

riverbank. How to keep it safe from floods? How figures exist, baked and carried bricks, while others As well as being carved into bas-reliefs, the
to prevent the bank being eroded by fast currents? brought marble from Makrana, in Rajasthan, 325 marble was inlaid with 28 kinds of precious stones,
The answers were both original and brilliant. Shafts kilometres (201 miles) to the west. Marble was a many of which had to be bought abroad. Jasper,
were dug down to the bedrock and filled with favourite building material of the Mughuls, and garnets and diamonds came from India, but the
rammed rubble and lime to create piles linked by Makrana the favoured source. The region’s marble inlays also included carnelian from Iraq, turquoise
arches, forming foundations that would hold the was also favoured by many others then and since: from Tibet, agate from Yemen, coral from the Red
Taj above the highest flood water. A similar set of the US White House is made of Makrana marble. Sea, and onyx and amethyst from Persia.
piles and walls of masonry secured the riverfront. An eyewitness described seeing blocks of marble For years the results of all this work was visible
Now for the building itself. The double-layered “of such unusual size and length that they drew the only to the workers, because the whole building
walls were to be of brick faced with white marble. A sweat of many powerful oxen and fierce-looking, was concealed by brick scaffolding. In 1648, after 16
third shell of brickwork would act as scaffolding. An big-horned buffalos dragging enormous, strongly years of work, the mausoleum was ready. The outer
estimated 20,000 workers, although no accurate made wagons in teams of 20 or 30 animals.” shell of bricks was taken away by the public after
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