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Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal?
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Mughal dynasty
Emperors (from left, seated) Jahangir, Akbar, and Shah Jahan are depicted with their ministers (foreground) and Prince Dara Shikoh in a watercolor from India, c. 1630ā40.
The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the Taj Mahal as a magnificent mausoleum in Agra, India, to serve as a memorial for his beloved empress consort, Mumtaz Mahal.12
Mumtaz Mahal had been the emperorās inseparable companion since their marriage in 1612. She died in 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child during a military campaign in the Deccan. Construction of the complex began in January 1632 over the site where she was temporarily buried, and the finished structure stands today as a profound symbol of Shah Jahanās love and grief.13