n 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.
[15] Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632.
[16] The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.
[17][18]
The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding
buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan
himself described the Taj in these words:
[19]
Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal -"Shah jahan on a globe" from the Smithsonian Institution