The Taj Mahal is the white-marble mausoleum in Agra commissioned by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal.
Construction began around 1632, after Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, and the principal mausoleum was substantially completed by about 1638–1643. Work on the wider complex continued for several more years. The building stands beside the Yamuna River and is organized around a formal Mughal garden.
Its design combines a large central dome, four corner minarets, a monumental gateway, and extensive pietra dura inlay. The tomb chamber contains cenotaphs; the actual graves lie in a lower chamber. Shah Jahan was later buried beside Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is often called a palace, but it was built primarily as a funerary complex. It is also frequently dated simply to 1653, a traditional completion date for the whole project rather than the earliest completion of the mausoleum itself.