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In Agra, India, there is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture, which in the world is known as the Taj Mahal.
Explore the hidden secrets and engineering marvels behind the Taj Mahal, the iconic Mughal masterpiece built for love and legacy.
Key Takeaways
- The Taj Mahal is not only a symbol of love but also an engineering marvel with advanced architectural techniques for its time.
- Mughal architects used innovative solutions to address environmental challenges and create lasting structural stability.
- The monument’s design reflects a blend of historical influences and personal significance tied to Shah Jahan’s family.
- The construction demanded enormous resources and labor, reflecting the empire’s wealth and Shah Jahan’s dedication.
- The Taj Mahal’s aesthetic and structural features continue to inspire admiration and study by engineers and historians worldwide.
What the video covers
- The Taj Mahal, located in Agra, India, is a 400-year-old Mughal architectural masterpiece and one of the seven wonders of the world.
- Construction took 22 years and involved 20,000 laborers, with a present-day valuation exceeding $1 billion.
- The building features ingenious architectural tricks, such as pillars leaning outward for earthquake safety and visual effects.
- The story behind the Taj Mahal is rooted in the love between Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, whose death inspired the tomb's creation.
- Mughal engineers overcame challenges like soft riverbank soil by digging wells and creating a solid foundation using rocks and rubble.
- The design of the Taj Mahal was inspired by tombs of Shah Jahan's ancestors, combining various architectural elements into a unique structure.
- Millions of bricks were baked onsite, and the finest Makrana marble was exclusively reserved for the Taj Mahal's construction.
- The 40-meter high dome was built without steel, relying on precise stress calculations still admired by modern engineers.
- Intricate Pietra Dura inlay work decorates the marble, using a special glue made from natural ingredients that is still used in renovations today.
- The Taj Mahal changes color throughout the day, symbolizing different moods and adding to its mystique and beauty.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction to the Taj Mahal and its significance
- 00:35Construction scale and architectural tricks
- 01:54Architectural design and pillar engineering
- 02:21Building the dome without modern materials
- 02:54The love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal
- 04:01Mughal Empire peak and Shah Jahan’s reign
- 05:06Mumtaz Mahal’s death and Shah Jahan’s grief
- 06:12Beginning of Taj Mahal’s construction
- 07:12Foundation engineering and labor efforts
- 07:51Design inspirations and construction challenges
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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This shining tomb, spread across 42 acres, is the epitome of beauty, but still, it has a heart-wrenching story to tell.
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Once again, welcome to Zem TV videos. Viewers, this 400-year-old building used to be the biggest and most magnificent building of its time.
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Now, it is considered the seventh wonder of the world. To build this magnificent structure, 20,000 labourers put in their blood and sweat, that too for straight 22 years.
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If we imagine its valuation at present, this marble-clad tomb is worth $1 billion or more than Rs 7.5 crore.
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Because the Mughal architects left behind signs of their incredible skills, which are being praised by even today's top engineers.
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This building was designed in a way that when it is seen from behind the main gate, it looks quite big.
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But as one advances towards the main gate, it automatically contracts in size. It was not the first time when Mughal architects used such mind-boggling tricks.
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The four pillars at the four corners are not standing vertically straight; rather, they are slightly leaning outwards.
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Because if they were kept vertically straight, then from a distance, they would look like leaning inwards, as you can see in this picture of a mosque.
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There was another reason for leaning these pillars outwards. That, in case of a strong earthquake, they will fall outwards, keeping the monument safe.
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But what was the reason that its architects wanted to protect it so adamantly? What are the secrets of the Taj Mahal which were concealed 400 years ago?
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And at that era, when there was no concrete or steel, then how was this magnificent tomb and this 40m high dome built?
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You will get to know all this and more in today's video. Viewers, all this started in 1607 when all this region was ruled by the Mughal Empire.
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On that day, the youngest son of the Mughal emperor, Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, turned 15 years old.
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And to celebrate this occasion, a splendid party was thrown at the Agra Fort. Khurram was the emperor's favourite child; that's why he used to be weighted with diamonds and gold on every birthday, i.e., Khurram was gifted an equal amount of treasure as his weight.
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But something more special was about to happen on this birthday. The emperor arranged Khurram's marriage with the daughter of one of his lawyers.
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Her name was Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz and Khurram fell in love with each other on the very first day.
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No one knew at the time that this love would become immortal. For the next 10 years, the prince fought numerous battles and got victorious.
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That's why the emperor gave him the title Shah Jahan, which means Emperor of the world.
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Shah Jahan had a total of six wives who used to live in the harem of Agra Fort.
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Out of six, Shah Jahan loved Mumtaz the most. And this was the reason that he spent most of his time with Mumtaz Mahal.
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Time was passing fast, and four years later, that is in 1621, the Mughal emperor died.
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Shah Jahan, who was quite famous in the Mughal Empire and the favourite son of the emperor, succeeded the throne seven years later, in 1628.
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The entire Mughal Empire was quite happy with their new emperor. This was the time when the Mughal Empire was at its peak.
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The Mughal Empire was spread across India, Pakistan, and many parts of Afghanistan. Shah Jahan used to take all the decisions, whereas Mumtaz Mahal used to give him suggestions behind the curtains.
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But no one knew that soon, this happy phase was going to turn into mourning.
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Within just one year of succeeding the throne, the Mughal Empire found itself in a war situation.
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For the next two years, the war continued, and Shah Jahan became victorious here too.
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But before he could celebrate his victory, he was given very sad news. Mumtaz Mahal, while delivering their 14th child, became ill, and on 17th June 1631, she died.
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The entire Mughal Empire plunged into sorrow. This news hit Shah Jahan like an arrow; it completely shattered his world.
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Shah Jahan's first love and his most beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal was no more. It is heard that this sorrow pushed Shah Jahan into darkness.
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For the next eight days, he didn't eat anything, and for the next two years, neither did he listen to any music nor used any perfume.
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Before dying, Mumtaz Mahal wished for one thing. She wanted her grave to be made inside the most beautiful tomb in the world.
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To complete this task and Mumtaz Mahal's last wish, Shah Jahan decided to dedicate his whole life and wealth.
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Six months after the death of Mumtaz Mahal, the construction work of the Taj Mahal began.
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Around 20,000 labourers, sculptors, and craftsmen were brought from the entire empire. Armies of men were brought to Agra on Shah Jahan's order.
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Because Mumtaz Mahal's grave was present on the bank of the Yamuna River, therefore it was a very difficult task to construct the most beautiful building in the world here.
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The land beside the river is soft, and if the place is excavated, then the flow of water could harm the foundation of the Taj Mahal.
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To solve this problem, Mughal engineers started digging many wells. Labourers used to dig the well until they found dry soil.
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These wells were then filled with rocks and rubble, and large columns of stones were erected over it.
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To execute this work, an army of elephants was used along with the labourers. This trick of Mughal engineers worked, and now a rock-solid foundation was ready upon soft land.
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After the foundation, now it was time to design a building that no one had ever seen.
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A design that would break all the records. Shah Jahan took inspiration from his ancestors' tombs for Taj Mahal's design.
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The idea of the pillars was taken from his father's tomb and the building core from his grandfather's tomb.
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And the idea of the dome from his uncle's tomb. And when all these things were combined, a beautiful design surfaced.
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To construct the building structure, millions of bricks were baked at the location. This was not at all easy, and an enormous amount of money was spent on it.
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Every passing day, the royal treasure was getting empty. Shah Jahan was not worried about anything; he just wanted to complete this work.
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It is said that during the construction of Taj Mahal, so many people were brought that food supplies ran short in the surrounding areas because of them.
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To take care of the labourers, Shah Jahan had brought food supplies from the surrounding areas to Agra.
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After years of hard work, the main structure of the building was completed, and now it was time to decorate it with marble.
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This marble was brought from Rajasthan, 400 km away from Agra. Because the Makrana marble of this place is still believed to be the world's finest marble.
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Shah Jahan had reserved the entire lot of Makrana marble for the Taj Mahal. That means until the demand of Taj Mahal was not completed, no one was allowed to purchase this marble.
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Thousands of tonnes of marble were brought from Rajasthan to Agra with the help of thousands of elephants.
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Taj Mahal's dome is so big that by seeing it, one can feel its magnanimous size.
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Nowadays, this kind of dome can be built using steel structure, but 400 years ago, to build a 40m high dome, they had only stones.
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The stress calculation that the Mughal engineers did to build this dome is still praised by present-day engineers.
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The finish work of the Taj Mahal was done with the decoration of Pietra Dura.
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Pietra Dura is a term for inlaying valuable stones inside the marble by cut and fit.
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Marble is very skilfully cut and sculpted according to the shape of the valuable stone.
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And then, with the help of glue, it is attached inside the stone. The glue used inside Taj Mahal was not an ordinary glue.
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After a lot of research and laboratory tests, it was found that this glue was made by mixing Sheera, lemon juice, and marble powder.
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The same glue is used for the renovation work of the Taj Mahal. Among the special things about the Taj Mahal is that it changes colour four times a day.
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Before the sunrise, it gives a black shade. After the sunrise, it...
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And in the afternoon, it looks spectacularly white. As if a white pearl shining in the blue sky.
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And during the sunset the entire building looks golden. After 22 years, in 1654 the construction work of the Taj Mahal was completed.
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Shah Jahan was successful in completing the world's most beautiful tomb for his beloved wife.
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Shah Jahan kept the name of this magnificent building in his wife's name. Inspiring from Mumtaj Mahal the building was named Taj Mahal.
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Every year, Shah Jahan used to visit Taj Mahal via Yamuna River on Mumtaj Mahal's death anniversary.
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This entrance for the Taj Mahal was build only for the Royal family members. The wall of the entrance building have the finest sculpture work which was done to please the eyes of the Royals.
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Despite the success of completion of this project, it had brought Mughal Empire to the edge of ruination.
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Four years later in 1658, his son overturned the throne and become the emperor of the Mughal Empire.
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Shah Jahan was made prisoner and kept inside the Agra fort. One facility was given to Shah Jahan that he would be able to see the Taj Mahal through the window.
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Eight years being imprisoned at the age of 74 years, Shah Jahan too left this world.
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Now it was time for Sharjah and to meet Mumtaj Mahal, and he was buried inside the Taj Mahal.
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Hope you will like and share this Zem TV video. My heartfelt appreciation for your loving comments.
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We'll meet you in another amazing video.
Topics:Taj MahalMughal architectureShah JahanMumtaz MahalAgraPietra DuraMakrana marbleMughal EmpireIndian heritageArchitectural engineering
