The story of the Taj Mahal
It is said that Taj Mahal was the fifth king of the Mughal Empire, and he had a beautiful young wife named Ajman Banu, who was not only gentle but also good at painting and calligraphy. She lived with the king through thick and thin for more than ten years. However, the good times did not last long, and his beloved wife, Ajman Banu, died due to childbirth. King Shah Jahan was so heartbroken that he decided to build the most beautiful tomb in the world for his wife.
So what was the purpose of the Taj Mahal? Is it the memory of a dead beloved concubine or the king's personal agenda? Rabindranath Tagore called it "a tear on the cheek of eternity."
It is said that the king's beloved wife, Aji Mambanu, was a Persian woman who was not only beautiful and intelligent, but also versatile. During her 19 years in the palace, she witnessed the victories and tribulations of Shajahan. Later, the king gave her the highest title, and she became the crown of the court, which is really a collection of three thousand favors.
However, her life was so poor that she died after Taj gave birth to her 14th child, and the king's hair turned white overnight. A king, no matter how brave and skillful in war, sometimes succumbed to gentleness.
In this way, the grieving king used his power and money to build a magnificent tomb for his beloved concubine. The infatuation king wanted to build a mausoleum identical to the "Taj Mahal" on the opposite side, but it was not long before the royal family's internal disputes were fierce, and the project was delayed. His son killed his brother and imprisoned King Shajahan. Imprisoned in Agra Fort, Shah Jahan can only stare at the tomb of his lover for miles.
The Taj Mahal has attracted many scholars because of its mysterious love story.
However, it is said that after the Taj Mahal was completed, the king ordered the hands of all the craftsmen involved in the construction to be cut off, and the head of the designer was cut off, in order to prevent the future mausoleum from surpassing the Taj Mahal. Rarely in the world has there been such blood.
It is said that such a massive project took 22 years to complete and required 20,000 workers every day. The tomb is unique in both decoration and appearance, with 43 different types of gemstones used to set the exquisite patterns alone. The sterling silver candlesticks, lamp holders and ornate Persian carpets everywhere in the tomb make the whole tomb more graceful and luxurious.
After the fall of the Mughal Empire in 1857, the Taj Mahal's gold and silver jewels were looted, but the mausoleum itself was not damaged. For hundreds of years, it still stands beside the river and is regarded as a symbol of perfect love. What is interesting is that there is a big difference between ancient and modern people's views of the Taj Mahal.
It is said that in the 17th century, when Europeans came to India to travel, the Shah Jahan king was originally a power and lust, a guy who was not a good husband. Others say he had an incest with his eldest daughter. He killed his brother in order to seize the throne. Some people doubt the accuracy of the rumors, but they can still find historical records:
His love concubine was like to accompany Shah Jahan on the expedition, which can be between, husband and wife are good at killing. The inscription on her sarcophagus reads: "May God protect us from the invasion of the foreign believers." During his reign, Shah Jahan continued to expand his power. His vanity was strong and he built magnificent buildings to show off imperial wealth. The construction of the luxurious Taj Mahal is perhaps only a microcosm of his squandering of wealth.
After the completion of the Taj Mahal, why did the king kill or maim the designers and craftsmen? Just so there won't be such a perfect building in the future? Or is he trying to hide something? This is worth thinking about!