The Taj Mahal is the Indian mausoleum that Shah Jahan built for Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began around 1632 in Agra, after Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 while giving birth to their fourteenth child.
The complex is built mainly from white marble and includes a domed tomb, a mosque, a guesthouse, formal gardens, and a monumental gateway. Craftspeople used inlaid colored stones to create floral and calligraphic decoration. The main tomb is framed by four minarets, whose slight outward tilt was intended to reduce the chance of collapse onto the central chamber.
Shah Jahan was the Mughal emperor of India from 1628 to 1658. His son Aurangzeb later deposed him and confined him in Agra Fort, where tradition says he could see the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was eventually buried beside Mumtaz Mahal, despite the original design’s symmetry.
The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.