The Taj Mahal, once described as "a sigh made stone," was built by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mogul emperor of India, in tribute to his wife, who died giving birth to their 14th child.
For 22 years master craftsmen guided 20,000 laborers working the finest materials. Together they created this triumph of Mogul architecture in a tradition stemming from the dynasty's Central Asian roots but mindful of its Indian setting. A Persian dome, balanced by four Indian cupolas, crowns the white marble tomb. After his death Shah Jahan was interred in the tomb beside his beloved.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, the National Geographic book Our World's Heritage, 1987)
