ehind the sparkling pool of water and a garden shrouded with dewy luminescence, rises the white dome out of hazy, early morning stillness, as if emerging from the Jamuna River itself. This Makrana–marbled dome, flanked by four mounting minarets, looks to the sky above it for its daily complexion. Subtle changes in the light causes the incandescent marble to assume equally subtle variations in tint and tone, and thus furnish it with a seemingly evocative sense of impermanence. And yet, whether the Taj Mahal is resplendently lit by the light of a full moon, or teased by the keen rays of an impassioned sun, it is an image that is familiar to the entire world.

An ’elegy in marble’, as some call it, the exquisite realization of a sublime dream brought to life with Chinese jade and Sri Lankan sapphire, the Taj Mahal is perhaps the most tangible portrayal of love that exists on the recognizable face of this planet. The widely known love story of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan and the Empress Mumtaz Mahal, forms the basis of this implacable testament to the tenderness and devotion of a husband for his wife. After she died giving birth to her fourteenth child in AH 1040 (AD 1630), Shah Jahan set about building the mausoleum as a monument to his beloved. It would take twenty–two years to construct, employ twenty thousand workmen, and embody the finest aspects of Islamic architecture, a combination of tomb, mosque, gardens, gateways and fountains destined to be the eighth wonder of the world. 


For all of its romantic associations, the Taj Mahal is also an enduring symbol of Mughal rule in India, a highly stylized marker of the Muslim foray into the Subcontinent. The first emperor, Babur, was the great grandson of Tamerlane and who, on his mother’s side, was descended from Genghis Khan. He came to India in 1526 at the behest of an Indian governor to fight Ibrahim Lodi, last of the Delhi Sultanate, upon whose defeat at Panipat Babur was able to establish Mughal rule. Although his reign lasted only four short years, he left an indelible imprint on the Empire. Babur bestowed a rich creative legacy on the Mughal forts, palaces, and tombs that came after him, in the form of the gardens he created as a tribute to his love of nature.

His son, Humayun, succeeded his father as Emperor upon the latter’s death in 1530. In Sher Shah, who displaced him as ruler of northern India for fifteen years. Humayun managed to regain the lost territories of his father before his death, and the accession of his thirteen–year–old son, Akbar. Akbar is widely credited with a forty nine year reign that is said to have laid the foundations of the empire, and the development of a new style of architecture. Akbar ruled from 1556 to 1605, and extended the Mughal Empire as far south as the Godavari River, and as far to the west as Afghanistan.

The empire operated well under Jahangir, who reigned from 1605 to 1627, in a large part due to the organizing genius of his father, Akbar. The courtly customs of the Mughals flourished under his rule; Mughal painting reached an apex during his reign, and like his great grandfather, Babur, Jahangir cultivated a love of lush gardens. Jahangir’s favourite queen, the young widow of a Mughal officer by the name of Mehrunissa, whom he met, wooed, and married in 1611, assumed the title of Nur Jahan, ’Light of the World’. Jahangir is said to have relied heavily upon this beautiful and strong woman, who came to exercise considerable influence upon him and the empire.

After his death in 1627, his son Shah Jahan, patron of the beauteous Taj, succeeded to the throne. At the time, the Mughal Empire in ndia was perhaps the greatest empire in the world; vast, rich, and unmatched in the rare degree of centralized control it exhibited. Aside from the muted opulence of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan also left behind an intense architectural legacy in the form of the old city of Delhi, Shahjahanabad. As he lay on his deathbed in 1658, however, a war of succession broke out among his sons, the two main claimants being Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.

The triumph of Aurangzeb, who reigned from 1658 to 1707, saw further expansion of the Empire. Known for his adherence to Islamic orthodoxy, Aurangzeb instituted the jizya tax, among other reforms. Probably the most austere of all the Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb was insistent that Islamic law, or Sharia, be applied everywhere, and practices forbidden by Islam, such as the consumption of alcohol and gambling, be prohibited. It is perhaps this persistence in the application of Islamic law and the disfavour shown to the appointment of Hindu officials in Mughal court that earned him the hatred of Hindus in India. Aurangzeb worked tirelessly to extend the frontiers of the Mughal Empire; however, the financial strain of such exploits eventually took their toll.

The Empire had become too large and cumbersome, with political enemies nipping incessantly at its boundaries. This process of disintegration was accelerated after Aurangzeb’s death, conferring upon him the title of the last of the Great Mughal Emperors. The last official Mughal Emperor was Bahadur Shah II, who was put on trial for sedition and treason by the British in 1858, subsequently rendering the Mughal Empire extinct.
The rule of the Mughals in India is conceivably a short dynastic stint in the country’s long and impressive history, but it is nevertheless one of the most celebrated. Like a swift bolt of lightening that dazzles and illuminates all around it, the Empire left a distinctly Islamic mark on a land that now boasts the second largest population of Muslims in the world. The delicate symmetry of the Taj Mahal, perhaps the greatest architectural achievement of the Mughals, can also be seen as the culmination of the stately elegance that they personified.