A presentation on Taj Mahal's construction, history, architectura style and technologies used. Elaborating pictures for better understanding.

2. ,( the
banks of the river Yamuna)
It is 378 kilometres (235 mi) west of the state
capital, Lucknow, 206 kilometres (128 mi) south of the
national capital New Delhi and 125 kilometres (78 mi)
north of Gwalior. With a population of 1,686,993 (2013
est.)
Architects &
with supervisors Ustad lahori & Ustad isa.
Artisans were geronimo Veroneo, venetian goldsmith


3.  constructed using materials from all over India and Asia
 buildings are constructed with walls of brick and rubble
 inner cores faced with either marble or sandstone locked together with
iron dowels and clamps
 Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials
 The bricks were fired locally and the sandstone was quarried 28 miles
(45 km) away near Fatehpur Sikri
 The white marble was brought 250 miles (400 km) from quarries
belonging to Raja Jai Singh in Makrana, Rajasthan
 Jasper - Punjab
 Jade and crystal - China
 Turquoise - Tibet
 Lapis lazuli - Afghanistan
 Sapphire - Sri Lanka
 Carnelian - Arabia

6. •The Taj Mahal is split into three sections
and the forecourt is the second in
importance.
•The other two sections are; the main
mausoleum area, and the Taj Ganj.
•The imposing sandstone gateway is the
main entrance to the mausoleum.
•The Fore Court is enveloped by a red
sandstone wall that consisted of 128 shops.
Also called the
Jilokhana or
Chowk-i-Jilaukhana

8. • Spread over a width of 150
feet and standing tall at 100
feet, the Taj gateway is
entrance to a monument.
• Made of red sandstone, this
three storeyed building is
topped by cupolas or
chattris.
• Records state that this
gateway was completed in
1648.
• Calligraphy was used to
inscribe Holy Koranic
verses on the walls of the
Gateway.
 Crowning the gateway are
twenty two small
ornamental chhatris.
INSCRIPTIONS START AT THE BOTTOM AND
BUT MIRACULOUSLY LOOK THE SAME SIZE
AS YOUR EYES TRAVEL UP THE ARCH

10. •The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal has a mosque or the "Masjid" to its left.
• Built of red sandstone, the structure complements the pristine white
mausoleum.
•Spread over 210 feet in length and 90 feet in width, the mosque stands on a
raised platform.
•The front face of the mosque boasts of one big central iwan and two smaller
ones perched on either side on the main one.
•The central dome is flanked by two smaller ones on either side and the four
corners of the mosque have a chattri.
•Other design features include the guldastas or the pinnacles that flank the
sides of the iwans.

11. •The mosque also has a "minbar", a platform from where the priest
delivers lectures.
•The other notable feature of the mosque is the "mihrab" that is an
enclosed area showing the direction of Mecca.
•One can see a lot of calligraphy on the walls
of the interiors, all taken from the Koranic
verses.

13. •The gardens in the Mughal era
were heavily influenced by the
Persian style.
•The Holy Qoran describes Paradise
as a garden, so we see that most
Mughal monuments mostly always
accompany beautiful gardens, as a
representation of heaven.
•The Taj Mahal gardens are no
exception and have been designed
in the "Chahar Bagh" style, that is,
divided into four parts, the number
four being a sacred number in
Islam.
•These main four parts are divided
using water channels, each channel
joining the centre.

14. •At the centre, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, where the
four water channels meet is a raised marble lotus-tank with a cusped
border called the "Al-Kawthar" that signifies 'The celestial pool of
abundance'.
•The tank was so positioned that one can perfectly see that Taj
Mahal's reflection in its waters.

16. •Enormous white onion shaped dome
crowning the tomb.
•Located at the exact centre of the
structure, the main dome is flanked by
four smaller ones on it four corners.
•The onion shaped dome of the Taj
Mahal sits on a massive drum that adds
support to the circular top.
•The drum is also intricately designed
with superb inlay work.
•The main finial was originally made
of gold but was replaced by a copy
made of gilded bronze in the early
19th century.
•The motif is a Hindu symbol with
bent lotus leaves mounted on a
"kalash" with a coconut on top.

18. •The most prominent are the main four chattris, which flank the
four corners of the onion dome.
•Having an octagonal base
•with small arches on each of the eight sides
•The top is nicely finished with an inverted lotus with a gold finial
rising from its summit.
•Chattris are also present at the tops of the four tall minarets.

20. •The Taj Mahal's minarets detached from the main tomb
•Standing tall at 138 feet were intelligently designed with a slant towards
the outward side.
•This was done so that in case of any minaret topples, it causes no
damage to the central dome.
•These four minarets rise from the plinth with an eight sided base and a
circular pillar.
•On the top of the pillar is an octagonal balcony.
•These four minarets
rise from the plinth
with an eight sided
base and a circular
pillar.
•On the top of the
pillar is an octagonal
balcony.

23. •By definition, iwans are vaulted spaces covered by three sides and
open from one.
•They normally have an ornate gateway that was called a "pishtaq".
•The Taj Mahal's front facade is dominated with "iwans", the main one
lying just below the onion shaped dome.
•The monument has 28 iwans in all, with four main iwans on the four
faces of the structure.
•The other 24 iwans are identical in size with four on each face and
two on the angled sides.
The Taj Mahal
Iwan with an
ornate "Pishtaq"

25. •Even the smallest areas had design
elements like the "guldastas" that
flank the exterior of the Taj.
• "Guldastas" is the Urdu
terminology for the flower topped
pinnacles that rise from the main
sides of the structure.
Decorated with lotus petals, the
guldastas are topped with gold finials.
They were added to the Taj Mahal purely for
beauty and lends the building a sense of
height.

27. •The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal
and Shah Jahan.
•The actual graves are at a lower level

29.  The central chamber of the mausoleum is an octagonal room.
 It is flanked on each wall by outer chambers that create a layout used
frequently in Mughal architecture.
 This layout, referred to as the 'hasht bihisht', a nine-fold plan, was
derived from Persian architectural precedents.

31. • Surrounded by a
marble screen, the
cenotaphs of the
Emperor and his
wife lie in the centre
of the room.
• Mumtaz Mahal's
body was buried in
the Taj Mahal after
her death in 1631;
• Shah Jahan laid to
rest at his wife's
side in 1666 after
death

32. • A protective
octagonal screen
made of perforated
marble panels, or
jalis, with borders of
inlaid marble
surrounds the two
cenotaphs in the
central chamber.
Each of the jalis, including the larger doorway and north
face, were carved from single slabs of marble.

34. •The Taj Mahal depicts
elaborate carvings with around
forty three different kinds of
gems used.
•The carving at the Taj Mahal is
done using a technique called
“manabbat kari”, which
essentially is a carving that
stands out from a flat surface.
•The manabbat kari process
involves drawing the flower
patterns directly on the marble
with henna and then using fine
chisels to carve them out.

44.  There is a categorical statement “that the Taj complex is ordered by
grids is self evident from examination of any plan”.
 Its roots are lead from two explorations of art historians Wayne
Begley, professor of Indian and Islamic Art History, The University of
Iowa, and Ebba Koch, University of Vienna.
 Their conclusions are based on records. It really seems self-evident,
that master plan of the complex is ordered by orthogonal grids.