Taj Mahal Trivia Agra
It is said that Shah Jahan wanted to build an equally grand tomb for himself on the other bank of the River Yamuna in Agra. His mausoleum would be made in black marble and the two monuments would complement each other in their design. Mumtaz Mahal means "Exalted one of the Palace." This was what Shah Jahan called her. Her actual name was Arjumand Banu Begum.
The term Taj Mahal is possible a contraction of the Empress's name and means "Crown of the Palace" Shah Jahan was known as Khurram before he ascended to the Mughal Throne. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's second wife, but was his favorite. Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan had 14 children 20,000 laborers worked for 22 years to build the Taj Mahal. 1000 elephants were used to transport the materials required for the construction of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is said to have been built at a cost of 32 million rupees. The white marble used to construct the Taj Mahal, was brought from Makrana in Rajasthan India. 28 different kinds of semi-precious stones were used in the inlay work in the Taj Mahal.
These included Turquoise from Tibet, Sapphires from Sri Lanka and Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan. The inlay work on the inner walls of the Taj Mahal is called pietra dura, which refers to the embedding of hard or durable stones within soft stones for decorative effect. It is said that Shah Jahan wanted to ensure that his master craftsmen would not build anything as beautiful again and had their hands amputated or eyes put out, after the completion of the Taj Mahal. The Taj mahal is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 1983, and described as "The jewel of Muslim art in India"
Before Shah Jahan ascended the throne as the Mughal emperor, he was popularly known as Prince Khurram. Prince Khurram fell in love at the age of 15 with the strikingly good looking Arjumand Bano Begum and married her five years later when she was about 21 years old Arjumand Bano Begum was the Mughal emperor's second wife. Emperor Shah Jahan christened Arjumand Bano Begum as "Mumtaz Mahal" that means the "chosen one." Mumtaz Mahal passed away during childbirth when she accompanied Shah Jahan on his Burhanpur military campaign. Mumtaz Mahal is believed to have secured a promise from her devoted lover and husband during her last breath that he would construct the most beautiful memorial in the world for her.