The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra.it was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The Emperial court documenting Shah Jahan's grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrated the love story held as the inspirational for Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. It is believed over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. It took effort of 22,000 laborers, painters, embroidery artists and stone cutters to shape the Taj Mahal.

The taj mahal was designate as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." Taj Mahal attracts 7-8 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the new 7 wonders of the world initiative.