A Monumental History

The Taj Mahal.

Not all monuments are built by
man. Some are eloquent parts of the planet like parks.
Some are natural formations, which tell a story so vividly
that a child can visualize the event, like a meteorite
crater. But for the most part, it is up to us humans to
assemble lasting materials together in order to speak to
future generations and tell our story. And perhaps the
most beautiful story, and the most beautiful monument of
them all, is the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal represents the
high point of Moghul architecture. In 1631 the wife of
the Moghul emperor of India died when giving birth to her
fourteenth child. She was 36 years old and had been married
for 18 years. Her husband, Shah Jehran, had lost not only
his beloved wife but also a shrewd political adviser, and he
is said to have been in mourning for two years. He vowed
to build a tomb worthy of his wife's memory, something
utterly without equal anywhere in the world, and few would
deny that he succeeded.

Arjumand Banu, otherwise known as
Mumtaz Mahal ("the Chosen One of the Palace"), has as her
memorial an astonishing building which bears the abbreviation
of her name, Taj Mahal. So many superlatives have been
used to describe this monument that almost everyone
who visits it expects to be disappointed. No one ever is.
Besides the sheer majesty of the monument, on display is the power of
the love Shah Jehran held deeply for his wife. And there
is one other point that is overlooked by the layman: everyone knows
the story, sees the monument and knows who ordered it built,
but the architects are completely unknown. It is often said
in the stone trade that the Taj Mahal was history's
monument to the modern age: an age more personal than
before, having more sincerity between the sexes and more focused
on art than the artists themselves.

Go to:

Part 2, The Taj Mahal. | Part 3, Newgrange & Stonehenge. | Part 4, Nile Valley. | Part 5, Persepolis. | Part 6, Parthenon. | Part 7, Pont Du Gard. | Part 8, The Colosseum & St. Augustine & MASONS. | Part 9, Renaissance. | Part 10, Miss Liberty. |

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