Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi (India) in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of this second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child. The death so crushed the emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have grown snow white in a few months.
Surrounding
On either side of the Taj Mahal are buildings of red sandstone. The one to the west is a Mosque. It faces towards Mecca and is used for prayer. On the outside he Mosque has pietra dura work twinning across its spandrels. The platform in front of the Mosque is of red sandstone. A highly polished small marble piece is so fitted that it serves as a mirror and one can see the mauaoleum reflected in it. The floor is of material which is exceedingly fine and sparkling and appears velvet red in shade.
A green carpet of garden runs from the main gateway to the floor of the Taj. In essence, it is a Persian garden. Such gardens were introduced to India by Baber, the first mughal emperor, who also brought with him the Persian infatuation with flowers and fruit, birds and leaves, symmetry and delicacy.
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