What type of structure is the Taj Mahal?

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum.

It was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1631. The central building contains their marble cenotaphs, while their actual graves lie in a lower chamber. Shah Jahan was buried beside Mumtaz Mahal after his death in 1666.

The word “mausoleum” means a monumental tomb. The Taj is often casually called a palace because of its immense scale and luxurious decoration, but it was designed primarily as a funerary complex. Its wider grounds include a formal garden, a monumental gateway, a mosque, a jawab, subsidiary tombs and enclosing walls.

The white marble tomb is the best-known part of the complex, but the full monument also reflects Mughal and Indo-Islamic architectural traditions. It was built in Agra on the Yamuna River and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.