The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631 during the birth of their 14th child. Construction began around 1632, with the mausoleum itself completed by 1638-39, adjunct buildings by 1643, and decoration continuing until at least 1647, a full 22-year span across the 42-acre complex. More than 20,000 workers came from India, Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia, using 1,000 elephants to move materials, under chief architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The white marble came from Rajasthan's Makrana quarries, prized for its purity and luminous appearance.
Beyond the 20,000 human workers, the documented use of 1,000 elephants for transport shows just how much material genuinely had to be moved across the 22-year build.
Craftsmen came from India, Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia, a documented international labor force that reflects Mughal India's genuine connections across trade and craft networks of the era.
The marble was sourced specifically from the Makrana quarries, a documented origin that was a deliberate material choice for its purity and luminosity, not simply "white marble" from an unspecified source.
The Taj Mahal sits on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, with Agra Fort a short distance upstream.
Agra rewards understanding the 22-year human and logistical effort behind the Taj Mahal. Agra Fort and the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri are covered in full below.
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