The Taj Mahal is the epitome of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Yet there have been few serious studies of it and no full analysis of its architecture and meaning. Ebba Koch, an important scholar, has been permitted to take measurements of the complex and has been working on the palaces and gardens of Shah Jahan for thirty years and on the Taj Mahal itself—the tomb of the emperor's wife, Mumtaz Mahal—for a decade. Agra is the city of Taj Mahal, which makes it the most popular city of India. It is located near the River Yamuna on the northern state Uttah Pradesh of India, and is the most populated city of Uttah Pradesh with more than 1.5 million people. In the famous epic Mahabharat, Agra was referred as the forest of Agraban, and the epic dates the foundation of the city to 1475 during the reign of Rājā Badal Singh. However a Persian poet named Mas'ūd Sa'd Salmān mentions about Agra in the 11th century. The ancient fort of Agra, Badalgarh, from the reign of Rājā Badal Singh should be somewhere near or on the present fort. In 1506, Sultan Sikandar Lodī moved the capital from Delhi to Agra. His son Ibrahim Lodī also used Agra as the capital until he was defeated by the Persian King Babur. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and he sent his son Humayun to capture the city. Mughal empire not only captured Agra, but also the largest diamond of that time, Koh-i-Noor. Under the dominion of Mughals, Agra lived its heydays between 1526 and 1658 and it was called Akbarabād. Muhgals were famous with their love of architecture, and the most of the fascinating buildings that one can see today belong to the Mughal period between 15th and 16th centuries including the three UNESCO World Heritages: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī. Baburs’ grandson Akbar made Akbarabād the center of arts, culture and commerce and religion. He constructed many beautiful buildings including the city Fatehpūr Sikrī which was inspired by a Mughal military camp. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the city went under the influence of Marathats and Jads, and started to be called as Agra. In 1803, the city went under the British domination which continued until the independence of India in 1947.
Although such a devotion to a wife reaching to build a monument seemed like a weakness for an emperor, Shah Jahan was clearly determined. He chose a peaceful site by the River of Jumna about one and a half miles away from Agra on the southern edge of the city, where could be seen from the Agra Fortress. The closeness to the river also met the water need for the construction and garden. Shah Jahan decided to move Mumtaz to Agra in December 1631 and was buried in a domed building temporarily on the construction site of the unique mausoleum in January 8, 1632. Mir Abul Karim and Mukamat Khan was positioned as supervisors of the construction , however the architect was never mentioned by the Mogul Empire’s historians that left questions and disputes about the architect. Even though some insists that the building was the work of a European, the Venetian Geronimo Vereneo, there is no trace of European architectural style. Also Vereneo’s tombstone in Agra, where the Christians were buried, it was stated that he died in Lahore but nothing more about the construction of Taj Mahal. The most reliable architect might be Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who was the architect of the Red Fort of Agra and most probably took part in the construction of Taj Mahal, which was indeed emphasised in a poem of his son Lutfullah Muhandis. The body of Mumtaz laid for the third and the finally at the center of the mausoleum on north-south with her face turned westward to Holy Mecca in May 26, 1633. The three-domed mosque was situated on the west with its alcove namely mihrab pointing the direction of Mecca for the prayers. The mosque on the east side might not used as a mosque in purpose but a pilgrimage guesthouse as the back wall was not marking Mecca. It might most probably build for the symmetry or echoing. In the 17th century, Cihangir ( Jahangiri) made Akbarabād the hotspot of Muslim world. His son Sah Cihan (Shahjahan) ordered the Taj Mahal to be constructed in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The mausoleum was completed in 1653. After that, Shah Jahan moved the capital back to Delhi and this made Agra lose its importance.
The place was important for the pilgrims as Mumtaz died in childbirth who was considered as martyr following Islamic traditions. The building is influenced mostly from central Asian and Persian architecture combined with Muslim architecture. The construction was finished in twenty-two years with the power of twenty-thousand workers. Also the intricate stone carving usage, the domed kiosk namely chattri, are the traces of Hindu architecture.
The characteristic Mogul octagonal design with eight chambers representing the eight divisions of the Koran was used in Taj Mahal and was topped by a gigantic double dome. The inner dome is about eighty feet from the ground. The gigantic outer dome rises like fruit or a flower bulb with its excellent proportion and is surrounded by four domed kiosks.
The platform with 970 feet length and 364 feet width raising the mausoleum from the ground is surrounded by three storey four minarets on the corners with 139 feet height and completed with octagonal chattris. The building was made with mathematical calculations leaving no space for a fault in symmetry and balance. Brick, red sandstone and white marble were commonly used as the three main materials and finished with polished plaster on the surface. The constructions started in January 1632 with approximately five thousand labourers both local and from the other places of the empire with the marble platform.
The huge white marbles were carried from Makrana on southwest of Jaipur (Amber) about four hundred kilometres away; stone cutters and carts were also rented as the order of Empire to be paid by the Empire Treasure. The marbles were cut flawlessly without any crack. In fact the mausoleum was not of pure marble but of bricks faced with marble. The bricks were made nearby the construction area, therefore, eliminating the transportation problem. Although it is not certain, the brick scaffolding might have been used rather than bamboo or the wood, if the weight and the worth of the materials were considered. The three feet above the ground was faced with marble, continued then with marble like plastered bricks in the interior parts of the mausoleum.
Because the use of images of human or animal is strictly prohibited in Islamic traditions due to the belief of equalising the images with God, Islamic calligraphic designs, mostly writings of Koran, were commonly used inside and outside of the pure white building as the very important art of ornamentation. The talented Persian Abd-ul-Haqq with the title of “Amanat Khan” was positioned in Taj Mahal’s calligraphic decoration who was before appointed by Jahangir on Akbar’s tomb. He was also reputed to be the only one who was allowed to sign his works in Taj Mahal.
His dated signatures give clues about the building duration and also reveal that the calligraphic works were started from up to down in utmost artistry. While the calligraphic work of the mausoleum was nearly completed by the end of 1637, Amanat was promoted and rewarded honourably by Shah Jahan with more salary and an elephant. According to the unsigned work on the gateway dated 1637 unfolds the magnificent inscriptions on the tomb was however must have been finished by another as Amanat Khan died around 1647-1648 after his last signature on the north front of the great gate with the inscription “Finished with His help, the Most High, *1057”(*lunar calendar). Also, the stone carvings and especially in mosque and guesthouse the floral themes as the sign of paradise are also considerably used in Taj Mahal as the main ornamentation types together with more than forty different types of gems came from various countries. Also some caravanserais were also built for the merchants and carriers around the construction area in order to meet their needs.
The paradise resembling spectacular Tomb finished in 1643 while the every part of the complex had not been completed until 1653. The night of the 6th February 1643, was the first ceremony of the mourners of Mumtaz Mahal.
Garden (bagh-i firdaus-a’in)
The paradise-like garden is the very impressing part of the complex. The square garden is divided into four parts with two main walkways. Each of these four parts is also divided into four with narrower walkways, therefore, creating sixteen squares. The canal including a line of fountains passes in-between the main walkway. It is lined with sandstone strips and geometrical stars and then followed by larger sandstone walkway with typical Mogul geometrical designs. The north-south walkway connects the great gate to the mausoleum while the two pavilions are connected through the east-west walkway.
The raised white marble platform at the centre of the walkways, namely “chabutra” includes a pool with five fountains. The four marble banks around the pool were added later with the order of Lord Curzon in 1907.
(Darwaza-i Rauza)
“Gate of the Mausoleum” – Darwaza-i Rauza stands oblong on a platform on the southern wall as the passage between the Jilaukhana and the funerary garden. The façade from Jilaukhana proves its being the entrance and the beginning of the great mausoleum. The red sandstone structure is surrounded by octagonal towers namely minarets topped by white marble domes on the corners. The white marble is densely used in the arches of the centre while the thin margins around the rectangular panels of the corner towers are only lined. The top of the arches is ornamented with floral patterns.
The main entrance is framed in rectangular with sura 89 of the Qur’an, namely al-Fajr (daybreak) inviting the believers into the Paradise. The Gate does not have an outer dome. The miniature eleven domes (cupolas) between the two high columns namely guldastas, framing the entrance from the base are the topping features above the entrance. The northern entrance from the funerary garden is ornamented with another sura of the Qur’an as the only difference. The calligrapher, Amanat Khan’s signature is at the bottom left end of the frame dated Hijri 1057 (AD 1647/48). The central vault inside the gate is ornamented with stars and partial stars. The big bronze lamp was mad in the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore and was given as present by Lord Curzon in 1909. The side rooms are used for the administration by the Archaeological Survey of India. Both lower and the upper levels are not open to the visitors.
Iwan dar Iwan – the two arcaded galleries with massive multi-cusped arches and shahjahani columns with floral bases in the outer row are located on the south of the funerary garden where the poor people were welcomed by Shah Jahan in order to receive their alms in rainy season.
The east and the west gates are commonly used by the tourists rather than the gate on the south through the caravanserai and bazaar once situated. The east gate “Fatehabadi Darwaza” and the west gate “Fatehpuri Darwaza” are of red sandstone and both alike with the rectangular framed arch, outer facades topped with two pinnacles while the inner facades are more impressing with a central arch enriched with two tiers of niches. The difference between the inner and the outer sides reveals the fact of architectural hierarchy as the inner side’s being closer to the mausoleum.
The longer south gate “Sirhi Darwaza” is also similar to the others. The gate is higher than the level of the forecourt due to the slope and, therefore, is reached with number of stairs. The outer part connects the Taj Ganj section also with stairs which are plus one-meter higher.
The two bazaar streets start from the gates on the west and the east to the Jilaukhana. The rows of small, sandstone non-connected rooms without windows open to an arcaded veranda. The Shahjahani styled columns of the arcades are topped with multi-cusped arches and finished with roof-like slabs. The streets were functioned as the shopping places for souvenirs until 1996.
The Jilaukhana, meaning “in front of the house”, was a gathering point of the tomb visitors and a ceremonial place hosted the first death anniversary of Mumtaz Mahal.
The two gates on the north and south open to the large courtyard functioning necessarily as the dismounting place of the visitors. The 128 rooms surround the courtyard. The area was restored between the years 1900-1908 with the order of Lord Curzon. The two quarters of the tomb attendants namely “Khawasspuras” on the north and the two tomb complexes “Saheli Burj” on the south are located in the courtyard.
• Khawasspuras were the residential place of the people looking after the tombs and the Qur’an memorisers. The south and the north wings are similarly constructed with continuous rooms completed by the long verandas like the ones in bazaar streets. After the restorations of Lord Curzon in 1900-1908, the western khawasspura was functioned as “Fatehpuri Gate Courtyard”, while the eastern part “Gaushala” takes the name of “Fatehabad Gate Courtyard” and is used as cow stables until 2003.
Today, both courtyards are functioning as the new Visitor Centre.
Shali Burj (the inner subsidiary tombs) is located on the south and includes the tombs of Shah Jahan’s other wives. Meaning as the “tower of the female friend” the four imperial women’s tombs include the tomb of Akrabarabadi Mahal located on the west, one of Shah Jahan’s favourite consort in his last reign. She died in 1677. The one on the east is of “Sirhindi Mahal” and the other tombs are questionably belonging to Fatehpuri Mahal and Aberabadee Begum.
The red sandstone, single-storey octagonal tombs are surrounded by verandas that of each side include three multi-cusped arches stand on Shahjahani columns and are finished with white marble domes. Contrastingly to the mausoleum the domes were not decorated. The only difference between the two complexes is the decoration of the cenotaphs. The cenotaph of Akrabarabadi Mahal’s was ornamented with floral decoration, emphasising her importance, unfortunately most of the stones were destroyed. The inner style of the tombs reveal the construction was along the last phase of the Taj Mahal
No comments:
Post a Comment