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ABOUT RANI LAXMI BAI

Rani Lakshmi Bai was the queen of the princely state of Jhansi, which is located on the northern side of India. She was one of the most leading personalities of the first war of India's independence that started in 1857. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Rani Lakshmibai, who was an epitome of bravery and courage. Early Life She was born to a Maharashtrian family at Kashi (now Varanasi) in the year 1828. During her childhood, she was called by the name Manikarnika. Affectionately, her family members called her Manu. At a tender age of four, she lost her mother. As a result, the responsibility of raising her fell upon her father. While pursuing studies, she also took formal training in martial arts, which included horse riding, shooting and fencing. To know the complete life history of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, read on. In the year 1842, she got married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Rao Niwalkar. On getting married, she was given the name Lakshmi Bai. Her wedding ceremony was held at the Ganesh temple, located in the old city of Jhansi. In the year 1851, she gave birth to a son. Unfortunately, the child did not survive more than four months. In the year 1853, Gangadhar Rao fell sick and became very weak. So, the couple decided to adopt a child. To ensure that the British do not raise an issue over the adoption, Lakshmibai got this adoption witnessed by the local British representatives. On 21st November 1853, Maharaja Gangadhar Rao died. Invasion During that period, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of British India. The adopted child was named Damodar Rao. As per the Hindu tradition, he was their legal heir. However, the British rulers refused to accept him as the legal heir. As per the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie decided to seize the state of Jhansi. Rani Lakshmibai went to a British lawyer and consulted him. Thereafter, she filed an appeal for the hearing of her case in London. But, her plea was rejected. The British authorities confiscated the state jewels. Also, an order was passed asking the Rani to leave Jhansi fort and move to the Rani Mahal in Jhansi. Laxmibai was firm about protecting the state of Jhansi. The war Jhansi became the focal point of uprising. Rani of Jhansi began to strengthen her position. By seeking the support of others, she formed a volunteer army. The army not just consisted of the men folk, but the women were also actively involved. Women were also given military training to fight a battle. In the revolt, Rani Lakshmibai was accompanied by her generals. From the period between Sep-Oct 1857, Rani defended Jhansi from being invaded by the armies of the neighboring rajas of Orchha and Datia. In January 1858, the British army headed it's away towards Jhansi. The conflict went on for two weeks. Finally, the Britishers succeeded in the annexation of the city. However, Rani Laksmi Bai managed to escape along with her son, in the guise of a man. She took refuge in Kalpi, where she met Tatya Tope, a great warrior. She died on 17thJune, during the battle for Gwalior. It is believed that, when she was lying unconscious in the battle field, a Brahmin found her and brought her to an ashram, where she died. For her immense effort, she is referred to as the 'Icon of the Indian Nationalist Movement'. Throughout the uprising, the aim of Rani was to secure the throne for her adopted son Damodar. Her story became a beacon for the upcoming generations of freedom fighters. Lot of literature has been written on the life history of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Heroic poems have been composed in her honor.

Indian Rebellion of 1857
May – July 1857

A rumour that the cartridges supplied by the East India Company to the soldiers in its army contained pork or beef fat began to spread throughout India in the early months of 1857. On 10 May 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut; when news of this reached Jhansi, the Rani asked the British political officer, Captain Alexander Skene, for permission to raise a body of armed men for her own protection and Skene agreed to this. The city was relatively calm in the midst of unrest in the region but the Rani conducted a Haldi Kumkum ceremony with pomp in front of all the women of Jhansi to provide assurance to her subjects,[when?] and to convince them that the British were cowards and not to be afraid of them.

Till this point, Lakshmibai was reluctant to rebel against the British. In June 1857, men of the 12th Bengal Native Infantry seized the fort containing the treasure and magazine, and, after persuading the British to lay down their arms by promising them no harm, broke their word and massacred the European officers of the garrison along with their wives and children. Her involvement in this massacre is still a subject of debate. An army doctor, Thomas Lowe, wrote after the rebellion characterising her as the "Jezebel of India ... the young rani upon whose head rested the blood of the slain". Four days after the massacre the sepoys left Jhansi having obtained a large sum of money from the Rani, and having threatened to blow up the palace where she lived. Following this as the only source of authority in the city the Rani felt obliged to assume the administration and wrote to Major Erskine, commissioner of the Saugor division explaining the events which had led her to do so. On 2 July Erskine wrote in reply that he requested her to "manage the District for the British Government" until the arrival of a British Superintendent. The Rani's forces defeated an attempt by the mutineers to assert the claim to the throne of a rival prince who was captured and imprisoned. There was then an invasion of Jhansi by the forces of Company allies Orchha and Datia; their intention however was to divide Jhansi between themselves. The Rani appealed to the British for aid but it was now believed by the governor-general that she was responsible for the massacre and no reply was received. She set up a foundry to cast cannon to be used on the walls of the fort and assembled forces including some from former feudatories of Jhansi and elements of the mutineers which were able to defeat the invaders in August 1857. Her intention at this time was still to hold Jhansi on behalf of the British.

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ABOUT MAHARANA PRATAP

Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan
Father's Name: Maharana Udai Singh II
Mother's Name: Rani Jeevant Kanwar
Died: January 29, 1597 in Chavand
Maharana Pratap was born on 9th May 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

In 1567, when Crown Prince Pratap Singh was only 27, Chittor was surrounded by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave Chittor and move his family to Gogunda, rather than capitulate to the Mughals. The young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and fight the Mughals but the elders intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor, oblivious of the fact that this move from Chittor was going to create history for all times to come.

In Gogunda, Maharana Udai Singh II and his nobles set up a temporary government of the kindom of Mewar. In 1572, the Maharana passed away, leaving the way for Crown Prince Pratap Singh to become the Maharana. However, in his later years, the late Maharana Udai Singh II had fallen under the influence of his favorite queen, Rani Bhatiyani, and had willed that her son Jagmal should ascend to the throne. As the late Maharana's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pratap Singh, the Crown Prince decided to accompany the dead body of the Maharana. This was a departure from tradition as the Crown Prince did not accompany the body of the departed Maharana but instead prepared to ascend the throne, such that the line of succession remained unbroken. Pratap Singh, in deference to his father's wishes, decided to let his half-brother Jagmal become the next king. However, knowing this to be disastrous for Mewar, the late Maharana's nobles, especially the Chundawat Rajputs, forced Jagmal to leave the throne to Pratap Singh. Unlike Bharat, Jagmal did not willingly give up the throne. He swore revenge and left for Ajmer, to join the armies of Akbar, where he was offered a jagir - the town of Jahazpur - in return for his help. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The year was 1572. Pratap Singh had just become the Maharana of Mewar and he had not been back in Chittor since 1567. His old fort and his home beckoned to him. The pain of his father's death, and the fact that his father had not been able to see Chittor again, troubled the young Maharana deeply. But he was not the only one troubled at this time. Akbar had control of Chittor but not the kingdom of Mewar. So long as the people of Mewar swore by their Maharana, Akbar could not realize his ambition of being the Jahanpanah of Hindustan. He had sent several emissaries to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to sign a treaty but the letter was only willing to sign a peace treaty whereby the sovereignty of Mewar would be intact. In the course of the year 1573, Akbar sent six diplomatic missions to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to the former's suzerainty but Rana Pratap turned down each one of them. The last of these missions was headed by Raja Man Singh, the brother-in-law of Akbar himself. Maharana Pratap, angered that his fellow Rajput was aligned with someone who had forced the submission of all Rajputs, refused to sup with Raja Man Singh. The lines were completely drawn now - Akbar understood that Maharana Pratap would never submit and he would have to use his troops against Mewar.

With the failure of efforts to negotiate a peace treaty in 1573, Akbar blockaded Mewar from the rest of the world and alienated Mewar's traditional allies, some of whom were Maharana Pratap's own kith and kin. Akbar then tried to turn the people of the all-important Chittor district against their king so they would not help Pratap. He appointed Kunwar Sagar Singh, a younger brother of Pratap, to rule the conquered territory, However, Sagar, regretting his own treachery, soon returned from Chittor, and committed suicide with a dagger in the Mughal Court. Shakti Singh, Pratap's younger brother now with the Mughal army, is said to have fled the Mughal court temporarily and warned his brother of Akbar's actions.

In preparation for the inevitable war with the Mughals, Maharana Pratap altered his administration. He moved his capital to Kumbhalgarh, where he was born. He commanded his subjects to leave for the Aravali mountains and leave behind nothing for the approaching enemy - the war would be fought in a mountain terrain which the Mewar army was used to but not the Mughals. It is a testament to the young king's respect amongst his subjects that they obeyed him and left for the mountains. The Bhils of the Aravalis were completely behind him. The army of Mewar now raided Mughal trade caravans going from Delhi to Surat. A section of his army guarded the all important Haldighati Pass, the only way to get into Udaipur from the North. Maharana Pratap himself undertook several penances, not because his finances forced him to do so, but because he wished to remind himself, and all his subjects, why they were undertaking this pain - to win back their freedom, their right to exist as they wished. He foreswore that he would eat from leaf-plates, would sleep on the floor and would not shave. In his self-inflicted state of penury, the Maharana lived in mud-huts made from mud and bamboo.

In 1576, the famous battle of Haldighati was fought with 20,000 Rajputs against a Mughal army of 80,000 men commanded by Raja Man Singh. The battle was fierce though indecisive, to the Mughal army's astonishment. Maharana Pratap's army was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers. It is said that at this point, his estranged brother, Shakti Singh, appeared and saved the Rana's life. Another casualty of this war was Maharana Pratap's famous, and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life trying to save his Maharana.

After this war, Akbar tried several times to take over Mewar, failing each time. Maharana Pratap himself was keeping up his quest for taking Chittor back. However, the relentless attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and offered him all this wealth - a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of 25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting Akbar.

In one incident that caused him extreme pain, his children's meal - bread made from grass - was stolen by a dog. It is said that this cut into Maharana Pratap's heart deeply. He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals. Perhaps in one of these moments of self doubt - something each and every human being goes through - Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding "a mitigation of his hardship". Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithiraj. He was the younger brother of Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner, a State established some eighty years earlier by the Rathores of Marwar. He had been compelled to serve Akbar because of his kingdom's submission to the Mughals. An award-winning poet, Prithiraj was also a gallant warrior and a longtime admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar the note was the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. "I know him well," he explained, "and he would never submit to your terms." He requested and obtained Akbar's permission to send a letter to Pratap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of patriotism.

The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu; yet the Rana forsakes them. But for Pratap, all would be placed on the same level by Akbar; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race: he has purchased all but the son of Udai (Singh II of Mewar); he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine days (nauroza); yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market ...? Though Patta (an affectionate name for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this market, to witness their dishonour: from such infamy the descendant of Hamir (Hamir Singh) alone has been preserved. The world asks, from where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword ... The broker in the market of men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent.

The now-famous letter led to Pratap reversing his decision and not submitting to the Mughals, as was his initial but reluctant intention. After 1587, Akbar relinquished his obsessive pursuit of Maharana Pratap and took his battles into Punjab and India's Northwest Frontier. Thus for the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. Bhagwat Singh Mewar: "Maharana Pratap Singh (was) called the light and life of the Hindu community. There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass." Maharana Pratap became a patron of the Arts. During his reign Padmavat Charita and the poems of Dursa Ahada were written. Palaces at Ubheshwar, Kamal Nath and Chavand bear testimony to his love of architecture. These buildings, built in the dense hilly forest have walls adorned with military-style architecture. But Pratap's broken spirit overpowered him in the twilight of his years. His last moments were an appropriate commentary on his life, when he swore his successor, Crown Prince Amar Singh to eternal conflict against the foes of his country's independence. Maharana Pratap was never able to win back Chittor but he never gave up fighting to win it back.

In January 1597, Rana Pratap Singh I, Mewar's greatest hero, was seriously injured in a hunting accident. He left his body at Chavand, aged 56, on January 29, 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honor.

ABOUT ASHOKA

Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor, looked at the bodies strewn around the smashed city, and at the Daya River that ran red with blood. He was surveying the damage that his army had inflicted on the recalcitrant Kalinga region. About 100,000 civilians were dead, as well as 10,000 of Ashoka's soldiers.
Far from feeling the glorious rush of victory, Ashoka felt sick and saddened. He vowed that never again would he rain down death and destruction on other people.
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He would devote himself to his Buddhist faith and practice ahimsa, or nonviolence.
This story and many others about a great emperor called Ashoka appear in ancient Sanskrit literature, including theAshokavadana,Divyavandana, andMahvamsa. For many years, westerners considered them to be mere legend. They did not connect the ruler Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, to the stone pillars inscribed with edicts that are sprinkled all around the edges of India.
In 1915, however, archaeologists found a pillar inscription that identified the author of those edicts, the well-known Mauryan emperor Piyadasi or Priyadarsi ("Beloved of the Gods"), by his given name.
See Also: What to Know about  Gandhi
That name was Ashoka. The virtuous emperor from the ancient texts, and the law-giver who ordered the installation of pillars inscribed with merciful laws all over the subcontinent - they were the same man.
Ashoka's Early Life:
In 304 BCE, the second emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty,Bindusara, welcomed a son into the world. The boy's mother Dharma was only a commoner, and he had several older half-brothers, so he seemed unlikely to ever rule. This baby was named Ashoka Bindusara Maurya.
Ashoka grew up to be a bold, troublesome and cruel young man.
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He was extremely fond of hunting; according to legend, he even killed a lion using only a wooden stick. His older half-brothers feared Ashoka, and convinced his father to post him as a general to distant frontiers of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka proved a competent general, likely much to his brothers' dismay, putting down a rebellion in the Punjabicity of Taxshila.
Aware that his brothers viewed him as a rival for the throne, Ashoka went into exile for two years in the neighboring country of Kalinga. While there, he fell in love with a commoner, a fisher-woman named Kaurwaki. The two later married.
Bindusara recalled his son to Maurya after two years to help quell an uprising in Ujjain, the former capital of the Avanti Kingdom. Ashoka succeeded, but was injured in the fighting. Buddhist monks tended to the wounded prince in secret, so that his eldest brother, the heir-apparent Susima, would not learn of Ashoka's injuries. Their patient learned the basic tenets of Buddhism from them. A woman from Vidisha called Devi also attended Ashoka during this period - he fell in love with her and married her.
When Bindusara died in 275 BCE, a two-year-long war for the succession erupted between Ashoka and his half-brothers. The Vedic sources vary on how many of Ashoka's brothers died; one says that he killed them all, while another states that he killed several of them. In either case, Ashoka prevailed and became the third ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
"Chandashok,"or Ashoka the Terrible:
For the first eight years of his reign, Ashoka waged near-constant war. He had inherited a sizable empire, but he expanded it to include most of the Indian subcontinent, as well as the area from the current-day borders of Iranand Afghanistan in the west to Bangladeshand the Burmeseborder in the east. Only the southern tip of India and Sri Lankaremained out of his reach, plus the kingdom of Kalinga on the northeast coast of India.
In 265, Ashoka attacked Kalinga. Although it was the homeland of his second wife, Kaurwaki, and the king of Kalinga had sheltered Ashoka before his ascent to the throne, the Mauryan emperor gathered the largest invasion force in Indian history to that point and launched his assault. Kalinga fought back bravely, but in the end it was defeated and all of its cities sacked.
Ashoka had led the invasion in person, and he went out into the capital city of the Kalingas the morning after his victory to survey the damage. The ruined houses and bloodied corpses sickened the emperor, and he underwent a religious epiphany. Although he had considered himself more or less Buddhist prior to that day, the carnage at Kalinga led Ashoka to devote himself to Buddhism. He vowed to practiceahimsafrom that day forward.
Ashoka the Great:
Had Ashoka simply vowed to himself that he would live according to Buddhist principles, later ages would not remember his name. However, he published his intentions across his empire. Ashoka wrote out a series of edicts, explaining his policies and aspirations for the empire, and urging others to follow his enlightened example.
The Edicts of King Ashokawere carved onto pillars of stone 40 to 50 feet high, and set up all around the edges of the Mauryan Empireas well as in the heart of Ashoka's realm. Dozens of these pillars dot the landscapes of India, Nepal, Pakistanand Afghanistan.
In his edicts, Ashoka vows to care for his people like a father. He promises neighboring people that they need not fear him; he will use only persuasion, not violence, to win people over. Ashoka notes that he has made available shade and fruit trees for the people, as well as medical care for all people and animals.
His concern for living things also appears in a ban on live sacrifices and sport hunting. Ashoka urges his people to follow a vegetarian diet, and bans the practice of burning forests or agricultural wastes that might harbor wild animals. A long list of animals appears on his protected species list, including bulls, wild ducks, squirrels, deer, porcupines, and pigeons.
Ashoka also ruled with incredible accessibility. He notes that "I consider it best to meet with people personally." To that end, he went on frequent tours around his empire. He also advertised that he would stop whatever he was doing if a matter of imperial business needed attention - even if he was having dinner or sleeping, he urged his officials to interrupt him.
In addition, Ashoka was very concerned with judicial matters. His attitude toward convicted criminals was quite merciful. He banned punishments such as torture, the putting out of people's eyes, and the death penalty. He urged pardons for the elderly, those with families to support, etc.
Another principle that Ashoka stressed in his edicts was respect for others. He recommends treating not just parents, teachers and priests with respect, but also friends and even servants.
Finally, although Ashoka urged his people to practice Buddhist values, he fostered an atmosphere of respect for all religions. Within his empire people followed not only the relatively new Buddhist faith, but also Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Greek polytheism and many other belief systems. Ashoka served as an example of tolerance for his subjects, and his religious affairs officers encouraged the practice of any religion.
Ashoka's Legacy:
Ashoka the Great ruled as a just and merciful king from his epiphany in 265 until his death in 232 BCE, at the age of 72. We no longer know the names of most of his wives and children.   However, his twin children by his first wife, a boy called Mahindra and a girl named Sanghamitra, were instrumental in converting Sri Lanka to Buddhism.
After Ashoka's death, the Mauryan Empire continued to exist for 50 years, but it went into a gradual decline. The last Mauryan emperor was Brhadrata, who was assassinated in 185 BCE by one of his generals, Pusyamitra Sunga.
Although his family did not rule for long after he was gone, Ashoka's principles and his examples lived on through the Vedas. He is now known the world over as one of the best rulers ever to have reigned.

TAJ MAHAL AND ITS LOVE STORY

The Taj Mahal is a beautiful, white-marble mausoleum built by Mughul emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River near Agra, India, the Taj Mahal took 22 years to build, finally being completed in 1653. The Taj Mahal, considered one of the New Wonders  of the World, astounds every visitor not only for its symmetry and structural beauty, but also for its intricate calligraphy, inlaid flowers made of gemstones, and magnificent garden.

The Love Story
It was in 1607, that Shah Jahan, grandson of Akbar the Great, first met his beloved. At the time, he was not yet the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire.
Sixteen-year-old, Prince Khurram, as he was then called, flitted around the royal bazaar, flirting with the girls from high-ranking families that staffed the booths.
At one of these booths, Prince Khurram met 15-year-old Arjumand Banu Baygam, whose father was soon to be the prime minister and whose aunt was married to Prince Khurram’s father.

Although it was love at first sight, the two were not allowed to marry right away. First, Prince Khurram had to marry Kandahari Begum. (He would later marry a third wife as well.)
On March 27, 1612, Prince Khurram and his beloved, whom he gave the name Mumtaz Mahal (“chosen one of the palace”), were married. Mumtaz Mahal was not only beautiful, she was smart and tender-hearted. The public was enamored with her, in part because Mumtaz Mahal cared for the people, diligently making lists of widows and orphans to make sure they received food and money.
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The couple had 14 children together, but only seven lived past infancy. It was the birth of the 14thchild that was to kill Mumtaz Mahal.
The Death of Mumtaz Mahal
In 1631, three years into Shah Jahan’s reign, there was a rebellion underway, led by Khan Jahan Lodi. Shah Jahan had taken his military out to the Deccan, about 400 miles from Agra, in order to crush the usurper.
As usual, Mumtaz Mahal, who was always by Shah Jahan’s side, accompanied him, despite being heavily pregnant. On June 16, 1631, Mumtaz Mahal, in an elaborately decorated tent, gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the middle of the encampment. At first, all seemed to be well, but it was soon discovered that Mumtaz Mahal was dying.
As soon as Shah Jahan received news of his wife’s condition, he rushed to her side. In the early morning hours of June 17, 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died in his arms.
Reports say that in Shah Jahan’s anguish, he went to his own tent and cried for eight days. Upon emerging, some say he had aged, now sporting white hair and needing glasses.
Mumtaz Mahal was buried right away, according to Islamic tradition, near the encampment at Burbanpur. Her body, however, was not to stay there long.
Plans for the Taj Mahal
In December 1631, when the feud with Khan Jahan Lodi was won, Shah Jahan had the remains of Mumtaz Mahal dug up and brought 435 miles (700 km) to Agra. The return of Mumtaz Mahal was a grand procession, with thousands of soldiers accompanying the body and mourners lining the route.
When the remains of Mumtaz Mahal reached Agra on January 8, 1632, they were temporarily buried on land donated by nobleman Raja Jai Singh, near where the Taj Mahal was to be built.
Shah Jahan, filled with grief, had decided to pour that emotion into an elaborate, exquisite, expensive mausoleum that would rival all those that had come before it. (It was also to be unique, being the first large mausoleum dedicated to a woman.)
Although no one, main architect for the Taj Mahal is known, it is believed that Shah Jahan, who was already passionate about architecture, worked on the plans himself with the input and aid of a number of the best architects of his time.
The plan was that the Taj Mahal (“the crown of the region”) would represent heaven (Jannah) on Earth. No expense was spared to make this happen.
Building the Taj Mahal
At the time, the Mughal Empire was one of the richest in the world and thus Shah Jahan had the means to pay for this huge venture. With the plans made, Shah Jahan wanted the Taj Mahal to be grand, but also, built quickly.
To speed production, an estimated 20,000 workers were brought in and housed nearby in a newly built town for them called Mumtazabad. These workers included both skilled and unskilled craftsmen.
At first, builders worked on the foundation and then on the giant, 624-foot-long plinth (base). On this plinth was to sit the Taj Mahal building as well as the two matching, red sandstone buildings (the mosque and the guest house) that flank the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal building, sitting on a second plinth, was to be an octagonal structure, first constructed of brick and then covered in white marble. Like in most large projects, the builders created a scaffolding to build higher; however, what was unusual was that the scaffolding for this project was built of bricks. No one has yet figured out why.
The white marble was incredibly heavy and quarried in Makrana, 200 miles away. Reportedly, it took 1,000 elephants and an untold number of oxen to drag the marble to the Taj Mahal building site.
For the heavy marble pieces to reach the higher spaces of the Taj Mahal, a giant, 10-mile-long, earthen ramp was built.
The very top of the Taj Mahal is topped with a huge, double-shell dome that reaches to 240 feet and is also covered in white marble.
Four thin, white-marble minarets stand tall at the corners of the second plinth, surrounding the mausoleum.
Calligraphy and Inlaid Flowers
Most pictures of the Taj Mahal show only a large, white, lovely building. What these photos miss is the intricacies that can only be seen up close. It is these details that make the Taj Mahal astoundingly feminine and opulent.
On the mosque, guest house, and the large main gate at the southern end of the Taj Mahal complex appear passages from the Quran(often spelled Koran), the holy book of Islam, written in calligraphy. Shah Jahan hired Amanat Khan, a master calligrapher, to work on the inlaid verses.
Masterfully done, the finished verses from the Quran, inlaid with black marble, look soft and gentle. Although made of stone, the curves make it look almost hand-written. The 22 passages from the Quran were reportedly chosen by Amanat Khan himself. Interestingly, Amanat Khan was the only person who Shah Jahan allowed to sign his work on the Taj Mahal.
Almost more amazing than the calligraphy is the exquisite inlaid flowers found throughout the Taj Mahal complex. In a process known asparchin kari, highly-skilled stone cutters cut intricate floral designs into the white marble and then inlaid precious and semi-precious stones to form interwoven vines and flowers.
The 43 different kinds of precious and semi-precious stones used for these flowers came from around the world, including lapis lazuli from Sri Lanka, jade from China, malachite from Russia, and turquoise from Tibet.
The Garden
As in many religions, Islam holds the image of Paradise as a garden; thus, the garden at the Taj Mahal was an integral part of the plan to make it heaven on Earth.
The Taj Mahal’s garden, which is situated to the south of the mausoleum, has four quadrants, divided by four “rivers” of water (another important Islamic image of Paradise), which gather at a central pool. The gardens and “rivers” were supplied with water from the Yamuna River by a complex, underground water system.
Unfortunately, no records have survived telling us what plants were originally planted in the Taj Mahal’s garden.
The End of Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan stayed in deep mourning for two years but even after that, the death of Mumtaz Mahal still deeply affected him. That is perhaps why the third of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan’s four sons, Aurangzeb, was able to successfully kill off his three brothers and imprison his father.
In 1658, after 30 years as emperor, Shah Jahan was usurped and placed in the luxurious Red Fort in Agra. Not able to leave but with most of his usual luxuries, Shah Jahan spent his last eight years staring out a window, looking at his beloved’s Taj Mahal.
When Shah Jahan died on January 22, 1666, Aurangzeb had his father buried with Mumtaz Mahal in the crypt beneath the Taj Mahal. On the main floor of the Taj Mahal, above the crypt, now sits two cenotaphs (empty, public tombs). The one in the center of the room belongs to Mumtaz Mahal and the one just to the west is for Shah Jahan.
Surrounding the cenotaphs is a delicately-carved, lacy, marble screen. (Originally it had been a gold screen but Shah Jahan had that replaced so that thieves would not be too tempted.)
The Taj Mahal in Ruins
Shah Jahan had enough wealth in his coffers to support the Taj Mahal and its mighty maintenance costs, but over the centuries, the Mughal Empire lost its riches and the Taj Mahal fell into disrepair.
By the 1800s, the British ousted the Mughals and took over India. To many, the Taj Mahal was beautiful and so they cut gemstones from the walls, stole the silver candlesticks and doors, and even tried to sell the white marble overseas.
It was Lord Curzon, the British viceroy of India, who put a stop to all that. Rather than looting the Taj Mahal, Curzon worked to restore it.
The Taj Mahal Now
The Taj Mahal has once again become a magnificent place, with 2.5 million people visiting it each year. Visitors can visit during the daytime, where the color of the white marble seems to change depending on the time of the day. Once a month, visitors have the opportunity to make a short visit during a full moon, to see how the Taj Mahal seems to glow from within in the moonlight.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal was placed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO, but it now suffers from pollutants from nearby factories and from the humidity from the breath of its visitors.

BIOGRAPHY OF SHAH JAHAN

The child who would become Shah Jahan was born on March 4, 1592 in Lahore, now in Pakistan.  His parents were Prince Jahangir and his wife Manmati, a Rajputprincess who was called Bilquis Makani in the Mughal court.
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The baby was Jahangir's third son.   He was named Ala Azad Abul Muzaffar Shahab ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, or Khurram for short.
As a child, Khurram was a particular favorite of his grandfather, Emperor Akbar the Great, who personally oversaw the little prince's education.  Khurram studied warfare, the Koran, poetry, music, and other subjects suitable for a Mughal prince.
In 1605, the 13-year-old prince refused to leave his grandfather's side as Akbar lay dying, despite the potential threat from his father's rivals for the throne.
See Also: Babur, Founder of the  Mughal Empire
Jahangir succeeded to the throne,  after crushing an uprising led by one of his other sons, Khurram's half-brother.  The incident brought Jahangir and Khurram closer; in 1607, the emperor awarded his third son the fiefdom of Hissar-Feroza, which court observers took to mean that 15-year-old Khurram was now the heir apparent.
Also in 1607, Prince Khurram was engaged to marry Arjumand Banu Begum, the 14-year-old daughter of a Persian nobleman.  Their wedding did not take place until five years later, and Khurram would marry two other women in the meantime, but Arjumand was his true love.
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She later became known as Mumtaz Mahal - "The Chosen One of the Palace."  Khurram dutifully sired a son by each of his other wives, and then neglected them almost entirely.  He and Mumtaz Mahal had 14 children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.
When descendents of the Lodi Empire rose up on the Deccan  Plateauin 1617, Emperor Jahangir sent Prince Khurram to deal with the problem.  The prince soon put down the rebellion, so his father granted him the name Shah Jahan, meaning "Glory of the World."  Their close relationship broke down, however, over court intrigues by Jahangir's Afghan wife, Nur Jahan, who wanted Shah Jahan's youngest brother to be Jahangir's heir.
In 1622, with relations at their zenith, Shah Jahan went to war against his father.  Jahangir's army defeated Shah Jahan's after a four year fight; the prince surrendered unconditionally.  When Jahangir died just one year later, in 1627, Shah Jahan became the Emperor of Mughal India.
Emperor Shah Jahan:
As soon as he took the throne, Shah Jahan ordered his stepmother Nur Jahan imprisoned and his half-brothers executed, in order to secure his seat.  Shah Jahan faced challenges and uprisings all around the edges of his empire, as well.  He proved equal to the challenges from Sikhsand Rajputs in the north and west, and from the Portuguese in Bengal.  However, the death of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal in 1631 nearly shattered the emperor.
Mumtaz died at the age of thirty-eight after giving birth to her 14th child, a girl named Gauhara Begum.  At the time of her death, Mumtaz was in the Deccan with Shah Jahan on a military campaign, despite her condition.  The distraught emperor reportedly went into seclusion for an entire year, and was only coaxed out of mourning by his and Mumtaz's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum.  Legend says that when he emerged, the forty-year-old emperor's hair had turned white.  He was determined to build his empress "the most magnificent tomb the world had ever known."
It took the next twenty years of his reign, but Shah Jahan planned, designed, and oversaw the construction of the Taj Mahal, the world's most famous and beautiful mausoleum.  Made of white marble inlaid with jasper and agates, the Taj is decorated with Koranic verses in lovely calligraphy.  The building occupied 20,000 workers over the course of two decades, including craftsmen from far-off Baghdad and Bukhara, and cost 32 million rupees.
In the meantime, Shah Jahan began to rely increasingly on his son Aurangzeb, who proved an effective military leader and an Islamic fundamentalist from a young age.  In 1636, Shah Jahan appointed him viceroy of the troublesome Deccan; Aurangzeb was just 18.  Two years later, Shah Jahan and his sons took the city of Kandahar, now in Afghanistan, from the Safavid Empire.  This sparked on-going strife with the Persians, who recaptured the city in 1649.
Shah Jahan fell ill in 1658, and appointed his and Mumtaz Mahal's eldest son Dara Shikoh as his regent.  Dara's three younger brothers immediately rose up against him and marched on the capital at Agra.  Aurangzeb defeated Dara and his other brothers, and took the throne.  Shah Jahan then recovered from his illness, but Aurangzeb declared him unfit to rule and had him locked up in the Agra Fort for the rest of his life. Shah Jahan spent his last eight years gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal, attended by his daughter Jahanara Begum.
On January 22, 1666, Shah Jahan died at the age of 74.  He was interred in the Taj Mahal, beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal.

BIOGRAPHY OF AURANGZEB

Aurangzeb was born on November 4, 1618, the third son of Prince Khurram (who would become Emperor Shah Jahan) and the Persian princess Arjumand Bano Begam. His mother is more commonly known as Mumtaz Mahal, "Beloved Jewel of the Palace." She later inspired Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal.
During Aurangzeb's childhood, however, Mughal politics made life difficult for the family. Succession did not necessarily fall to the eldest son; instead, the sons built armies and competed militarily for the throne.

Prince Khurram was the favorite to become the next emperor, and his father bestowed the title Shah Jahan Bahadur or "Brave King of the World" on the young man.
In 1622, however, when Aurangzeb was four years old, Prince Khurram learned that his step-mother was supporting a younger brother's claim to the throne. The prince revolted against his father, but was defeated after four years. Aurangzeb and a brother were sent to their grandfather's court as hostages.
When Shah Jahan's father died in 1627, the rebel prince became Emperor of the Mughal Empire.

The nine-year-old Aurangzeb was reunited with his parents at Agra in 1628.
The young Aurangzeb studied statecraft and military tactics, the Quranand languages, in preparation for his future role. Shah Jahan, however, favored his first son Dara Shikoh, and believed that he had the potential to become the next Mughal emperor.
Aurangzeb, Military Leader:
The 15-year-old Aurangzeb proved his courage in 1633. All of Shah Jahan's court was arrayed in a pavilion, watching an elephant fight, when one of the elephants ran out of control. As it thundered towards the royal family, everyone scattered - except Aurangzeb, who ran forward and headed off the furious pachyderm.
This act of near-suicidal bravery raised Aurangzeb's status in the family. The following year, the teenager got command of an army of 10,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry; he soon was dispatched to put down the Bundela rebellion. When he was 18, the young prince was appointed viceroy of the Deccan region, south of the Mughal heartland.
When Aurangzeb's sister died in a fire in 1644, he took three weeks to return home to Agra rather than rushing back immediately. Shah Jahan was so angry about his tardiness that he stripped Aurangzeb of the Viceroyalty of Deccan.
Relations between the two deteriorated the following year, and Aurangzeb was banished from court. He bitterly accused the emperor of favoring Dara Shikoh.
Shah Jahan needed all of his sons in order to run his huge empire, however, so in 1646, he appointed Aurangzeb Governor of Gujarat. The following year, the 28-year-old Aurangzeb also took up the governorships of Balkh ( Afghanistan) and Badakhshan ( Tajikistan) on the empire's vulnerable northern flank.
Although Aurangzeb had a lot of success in extending Mughal rule north and westward, in 1652, he failed to take the city of Kandahar (Afghanistan) from the Safavids. His father again recalled him to the capital. Aurangzeb would not languish in Agra for long, though - that same year, he was sent south to govern the Deccan once more.
Aurangzeb Fights for the Throne:
In late 1657, Shah Jahan became ill. His beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, had died in 1631, and Shah Jahan never really got over her loss. As his condition worsened, his four sons by Mumtaz began to fight for the Peacock Throne.
Shah Jahan favored Dara, the eldest son, but many Muslims considered him too worldly and irreligious. Shuja, the second son, was a complete hedonist, who used his position as Governor of Bengalas a platform for acquiring beautiful women and wine. Aurangzeb, a much more committed Muslim than either of the elder brothers, saw his chance to rally the faithful behind his own banner.
Aurangzeb craftily recruited his younger brother Murad, convincing him that together they could remove Dara and Shuja, and place Murad on the throne. Aurangzeb disavowed any plans to rule himself, claiming that his only ambition was to make the hajjto Mecca.
Later in 1658, as the combined armies of Murad and Aurangzeb moved north toward the capital, Shah Jahan recovered his health. Dara, who had crowned himself regent, stepped aside. The three younger brothers refused to believe that Shah Jahan was well, though, and converged on Agra, where they defeated Dara's army.
Dara fled north, but was betrayed by a Baluchi chieftain and brought back to Agra in June of 1659. Aurangzeb had him executed for apostasy from Islam, and presented the head to their father.
Shuja also fled to Arakan ( Burma), and was executed there. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb had his former ally Murad executed on trumped-up murder charges in 1661. In addition to disposing of all of his rival brothers, the new Mughal Emperor placed his father under house arrest in Agra  Fort. Shah Jahan lived there for eight years, until 1666. He spent most of his time in bed, gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal.
The Reign of Aurangzeb:
Aurangzeb's 48-year reign is often cited as a "Golden Age" of the Mughal Empire, but it was rife with trouble and rebellions. Although Mughal rulers from Akbar the Greatthrough Shah Jahan practiced a remarkable degree of religious tolerance and were great patrons of the arts, Aurangzeb reversed both of these policies. He practiced a much more orthodox, even fundamentalist version of Islam, going so far as to outlaw music and other performances in 1668. Both Muslims and Hinduswere forbidden to sing, play musical instruments or to dance - a serious damper on the traditions of both faiths in India.
Aurangzeb also ordered the destruction of Hindu temples, although the exact number is not known. Estimates range from under 100 to tens of thousands. In addition, he ordered the enslavement of Christian missionaries.
Aurangzeb expanded Mughal rule both north and south, but his constant military campaigns and religious intolerance rankled many of his subjects. He did not hesitate to torture and kill prisoners of war, political prisoners, and anyone he considered un-Islamic. To make matters worse, the empire became over-extended, and Aurangzeb imposed ever higher taxes in order to pay for his wars.
The Mughal army was never able to completely quash Hindu resistance in the Deccan, and the Sikhsof the northern Punjabrose up against Aurangzeb repeatedly throughout his reign. Perhaps most worryingly for the Mughal emperor, he relied heavily on Rajput warriors, who by this time formed the backbone of his southern army, and were faithful Hindus. Although they were displeased with his policies, they did not abandon Aurangzeb during his lifetime, but they revolted against his son as soon as the emperor died.
Perhaps the most disastrous revolt of all was the PashtunRebellion of 1672-74. The founder of the Mughal  Dynasty, Babur, came from Afghanistan to conquer India, and the family had always relied upon the fierce Pashtun tribesmen of Afghanistan and what is now Pakistanto secure the northern borderlands. Charges that a Mughal governor was molesting tribal women sparked a revolt among the Pashtuns, which led to a complete break-down of control over the northern tier of the empire and its critical trade routes.
Death and Legacy:
On February 20, 1707, the 88-year-old Aurangzeb died in central India. He left an empire stretched to the breaking point and riddled with rebellions. Under his son, Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal Dynasty began its long, slow decline into oblivion, which finally ended when the British sent the last emperor into exile in 1858, and established the British Rajin India.
Emperor Aurangzeb is considered to be the last of the "Great Mughals." However, his ruthlessness, treachery and intolerance surely contributed to the weakening of the once-great empire.
Perhaps Aurangzeb's early experiences of being held hostage by his grandfather, and being constantly overlooked by his father warped the young prince's personality. Certainly, the lack of a specified line of succession cannot have made family life particularly easy. The brothers must have grown up knowing that one day they would have to fight one another for power.
In any case, Aurangzeb was a fearless man who knew what he had to do in order to survive. Unfortunately, his choices left the Mughal Empire itself far less able to fend off foreign imperialism in the end.