Editing Taj Mahal (section)

== Construction ==
[[File:Taj Mahal - Mausoleum der Liebe (CC BY-SA 4.0).webm|thumb|Animation showing the construction of the Taj Mahal]]

The land on which the Taj Mahal is situated was present to the south of the walled city of Agra which was given to Shah Jahan by Raja [[Jai Singh I]] in exchange for a large palace in the centre of Agra.{{sfn|Chaghtai|1938| p=54}} The building was commissioned in 1631, and construction commenced in 1632.<ref name="Brit" /><ref name="Creation History" /> An area of roughly {{convert|3|acre|ha|order=flip}} was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and levelled at {{convert|50|m|ft}} above the riverbank level. In the tomb area, piles were dug and filled with lime and stone to form the [[Foundation (engineering)|footings]] of the tomb. The platform above the ground was constructed of brick and mortar.<ref name="ASI" />

The tomb complex was built mainly using brick and lime mortar. The external surface of the main tomb building and the interior of the main cenotaph chamber is veneered with white marble. The other interior surfaces and other accessory buildings are lined with red sandstone coated with a red octet for protection, excluding the exterior surfaces of domes.<ref name="ASI" /> The white marble came from [[Makrana]] in Rajasthan, while the red sandstone was quarried from [[Fatehpur Sikri]] in Uttar Pradesh. Many precious and semi-precious stones, used for decoration, were imported from across the world, including [[jade]] and [[crystal]] from China, [[turquoise]] from [[Tibet]], [[Lapis lazuli]] from [[Afghanistan]], [[sapphire]] from [[Sri Lanka]] and [[carnelian]] from [[Arabia]]. In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stone were inlaid into the white marble.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72mwBl2B4q4C |title=Taj Mahal |date=2008 |publisher=Mikaya Press |isbn=978-1-931414-44-9 |access-date=2 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308095029/https://books.google.com/books?id=72mwBl2B4q4C |archive-date=8 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ASI" />

It is believed that more than 20,000 artisans, labourers, painters and others were involved in the construction of the building. Specialist sculptors from [[Bukhara]], calligraphers from [[Syria]] and [[Persia]], designers from [[South India|southern India]], stone cutters from [[Baluchistan]] and Italian artisans were employed.<ref name="Creation History" /> Workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb rather than wooden scaffolds.{{sfn|Koch|1997}} A {{cvt|15|km}} long earthern ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site, hauled on specially constructed wagons by teams of oxen and elephants.{{sfn|Carroll |1973 |p=64 }} An elaborate [[Timber framing|post-and-beam]] pulley system was used to raise the blocks into the desired position. Water was drawn from the river by a series of an animal-powered devices.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nath |first=R |title=Art & Architecture of the Taj Mahal |publisher=Historical Research Documentation Programme |year=1996 |isbn=978-8-18510-525-3}}</ref>

When the structure was partially completed, the first ceremony was held at the mausoleum by Shah Jahan on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal.{{efn|Although her death was on 17 June 1631, the corresponding date on the Muslim calendar was 17 [[Dhu al-Qadah]] 1040 AH; the 12th anniversary on 17 [[Dhu al-Qadah]] 1052 AH was 6 February 1643 on the Gregorian calendar.}}<ref>{{cite book |title=World Architecture and Society: From Stonehenge to One World Trade Center |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4408-6585-5 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=654}}</ref> Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years.{{sfn|Sarkar|1919|pages=30, 31}} The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around {{INR|link=yes}}32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately {{INR}}52.8 billion ({{USD}}827&nbsp;million).<ref name="auto"/>