The 7 Wonders of the World are indeed the greatest man made buildings in the world. These man made buildings were declared to be The 7 Wonders of the World by more than 100 million population of the world. One of the most amazing architectures that has made into the 7 Wonders of the Worlds is, Taj Mahal. In this article, we are going to talk about the Taj Mahal and how it was made and also what the materials that were used. If you are interested in buying industrial materials, go to 3D Resources and check it out! Taj Mahal is a marble mausoleum which is located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in a city in India named Agra. Back in 1632, there was a Mughal emperor named Shah Jahan that engaged his people to build Taj Mahal as the house of the tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal and for his tomb as well.
The architecture concept of the Taj Mahal is Indo-Islamic. It actually was a style that mixed with two different religions which is Hindu arts and Islamic arts. This combination has brought the presentation of Hindu traditions in an Islamic form that has conquered the area since 1192 – 1451 which is during the time of the Delhi Sultanate. Eventually, the Mughal Empire took over and Indo-Islamic arts has been used in many different forms depending on the political condition at the time.
Who built the Taj Mahal?
The area of the Taj Mahal once was populated by non-Muslims and the workforce were not very familiar with Islamic styles of art. However, the building process of the Taj Mahal were under the guidance by the Muslim artists. The one who brought the idea to build the Taj Mahal was Shah Jahan. However, there are a few skilled workers that are also responsible for the construction of the Taj Mahal. These are the names that are in charged and their role for the Taj Mahal building:
- Ustad Ahmad Lahori as the main architect
- Puru as the supervisor architect
- Ismail Afandi as the designer of the Main Dome
- Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi as the architectural designer
- Amanat Khan of Shiraz as the calligraphy chief
- Chiranjilal as the sculptor chief
- Mir Abdul Karim Khan as the financial manager
- Mukkarimat of Shiraz as the daily production manager
- Muhammad Hanif as the mason supervisor
Moreover, these people are not the only one that are in charge of building the Taj Mahal. There were like 20,000 workers that were involved in this project.
What material was used to build the Taj Mahal?
According to popular opinion, the Taj Mahal’s mausoleum is not made from marble entirely in fact, it was only covered. The walls of the Taj Mahal were made from red bricks and apparently the bricks were used for scaffolding. This becomes uncertain because back in the time, bamboo and woods are usually used for scaffolding. For the marbles, it was made from Makrana, the southwest of Jaipur and the distance was about four hundred kilometres away. To send the marbles all the way from Makrana, they had to rent a few trolleys and send it away to the site. The expenses were charged into the royal treasury. The marbles that were used are from many different regions which are from Punjab, China, Afghanistan, Tiber, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan and Arabian Peninsula.
Other than marbles, there are also a few semi-precious stones as the material for Taj Mahal. The examples of semi-precious stones that were used are Yemenite, Lajward, Aqiq, Firoza, Moonga, Tamra, Pitunia, Sulaimani, Yashab and Lahsania. There are also some rare stones that were used like Ajuba, Nakhod, Shelter, Tilai, Kahttu, Maknatis and Pai Zahar. These stones are used for marquetry that is going to be the decoration for the floors and turrets. If you want to order industrial materials, go and check out 3D Resources. Other common stones such as Sang-i-Musa, Sang-i-Surkh and Sang-i-Rukham were used for masonry and foundations and also as the exterior walls.
To conclude, Taj Mahal is indeed a Wonder of the World because of the story behind it and the process of the making of it. We can see that the materials that were being used are not common and pretty rare. Keep in mind that back in the time, there were no machines used on the construction of the Taj Mahal. So, it was fascinating that humans can make an architecture that is so beautiful like Taj Mahal. To be able to build something amazing as this, requires lots of effort, along with that you need the right materials. If this sort of architecture is something you would like to build in Malaysia. Check out 3D Resources, the best concrete additives in Malaysia, for your best architectural piece.