Which Mughal emperor built the Taj Mahal?

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The fifth Mughal emperor commissioned the monument after Mumtaz died in 1631 while giving birth to their fourteenth child.

Construction began in Agra in 1632 beside the Yamuna River. The central mausoleum was substantially completed by 1648, while the wider complex—including its mosque, guest house, gateway, gardens, and surrounding buildings—was finished around 1653. White marble from Makrana in Rajasthan forms the tomb’s famous exterior, while red sandstone appears throughout other parts of the complex.

Shah Jahan was deeply involved in the project, but he did not personally design every part of it. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is often identified as the principal architect, and many craftsmen and supervisors contributed to the work. A common mistake is to say that the Taj Mahal was built only as a palace; it was primarily a funerary monument, and Shah Jahan was later buried there beside Mumtaz Mahal.