Approximately 20,000 artisans and other workers worked on the construction of the Taj Mahal.
Shah Jahan commissioned the mausoleum after Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, and construction began at Agra in 1632. The workforce included architects, stonecutters, masons, painters, calligraphers, inlay specialists and laborers. “20,000” is an estimate rather than a surviving employment register, so it is best understood as a rounded figure.
The project drew specialists from across the Mughal world and beyond. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is traditionally associated with overall architectural direction, while Amanat Khan Shirazi designed the monumental Quranic calligraphy. Craftsmen also came from Persia, Central Asia, Syria, southern India and Europe.
A common mix-up is confusing the workforce estimate with the number of elephants used to transport materials. Sources often cite roughly 1,000 elephants, while Makrana marble traveled from Rajasthan and was moved with wagons, ramps and animal power. The complex took about two decades to complete, with later work continuing after the central tomb was finished.