When was the invention of cement? – Let us tell you that Joseph Aspin had taken a patent in 1824 for “Portland Cement”, a material which he fired with finely garnished clay and limestone until the limestone was pacified. They called it Portland cement because the concrete made from it resembled Portland stone, a stone widely used in England.
- Aspin is generally regarded as the inventor of Portland cement.
- In such a situation, it can be said that the construction of Taj Mahal was done before the discovery of cement.
- Nowadays, several methods exist for pasting marble, through which marble stones are pasted.
- However, a special kind of material was prepared to paste the said stones or to make the foundation stone.
According to an article by The Constructor.org, a separate solution was made for the foundation of the Taj Mahal, which is called ‘Saroj’. This line is made from clay. Apart from this, jaggery, pulses, sugar, resin, gum etc. were also added to it. With this, the Taj Mahal was built and with its help, it has such a hold that today even after many years, the Taj Mahal is fighting earthquake, storm, rain, sun, heat, winter.
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Who built the Taj Mahal?
Craftsmen – Unfortunately, it is difficult to know who built the Taj Mahal. At that time, the name of the initiator of the project, Shah Jahan, was more to be remembered than to the workers, or even architects. It is a complete team of architects who designed and then directed the work of the monument, but their names are not really known.
Only the names of 40 skilled workers are known. They are draughtsmen, masons, stonemasons, sculptors, marketers, dome builders, calligraphers, carpenters and designers of gardens, This list has come down to us from Persian sources. If most craftsmen are unknown to us, but depending on the trade we know their origins, from a general point of view.
Thus we know that the sculptors were more of Bukhara, the calligraphers of Syria and Persia, the workmen making inlays of southern India, the stone cutters of Baluchistan, and so on. Other regions were widely represented: Rajasthan, Malwa, Gujarat and Punjab, for example.
Ustad Ahmad Lahori : Main architecte Ismail Afandi, Ottoman Empire: Designer of the Main Dome Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi, from Persia: Architectural Designer ‘Puru’ from Benarus, Persia: Supervisor Architect Qazim Khan, Lahore: Gilding Chiranjilal, Delhi: Chief Sculptor and Mosaicist Amanat Khan of Shiraz, Iran: Chief Calligrapher Muhammad Hanif: Mason Supervisor Mir Abdul Karim Khan and Mukkarimat of Shiraz: Financial Manager, Daily Production
Also, for comparison, we know that Babur employed 1491 skilled stonemasons on the construction of its buildings at Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Bayana, Dholpur and Gwalior and 680 on the Agra buildings alone, which, compared to the Taj Mahal, were very minor works.
Thus the Persian lists show us that a certain Ata Muhammad, blood-tarash (stonemason) of Bukhara, worked on the Taj Mahal. He was paid 500 Rupees a month. Shakir Muhammad, Gul-tarash (a sculptor) from Bukhara also, was paid only Rs.400, while Muhammad Sajjad, a Merfiar (Mason) from Multan, and Chiranjilal, a pachchikar (facadier) from Lahore, were paid 590 and 800 Rupees a month respectively.
But these simple names pose a problem. Indeed, we see that stonemasons came Bukhara, and this city, small and little known, was not especially famous for its stonemasons. But India is a specialist in lapidary works, the art of stone is widespread and stonecutters are legion on the spot.
- Moreover, even in the time of Tamerlane, two centuries earlier, Indian laborers were called upon to work in other regions, particularly in Samarkand (to build a large mosque).
- So why bring stonemasons elsewhere? And above all, why have they paid so dear, knowing that the equivalent of the time of the Rupee would nowadays correspond to several months’ wages of a worker? The answer probably lies in the fact that this money did not go directly into the artisan’s pocket.
In fact, the craftsman was – probably – only a team leader, or a guild leader, and they were hired to do a job impossible to do alone. So they surrounded themselves with workers whose salaries they had to pay. These people were probably not even craftsmen but rather entrepreneurs making workers work.
Moreover, what was paid to these people was a contractual sum, monthly, corresponding to the execution of a certain work. It does not matter if this work is done by a person or 10, the contract was frozen. This mode of operation is an invention of Mir-Imarat, coordinator of the construction, and it is thanks to that that we know some names of workers on the site while masking the name of the real workers of the site.
On this principle, the guild leaders were, for the Naqshanawi department (draughtsmen) Ustad ‘Isa Afan di who had come from Shiraz. He received Rs.1000 per month for the men who worked under him. ‘Abdul Haq, named Amanat Khan Shirazi, himself an expert artist, led the calligraphers department.
- Ran Mal was the draftsman of the gardens, he came from Kashmir.
- Pira was a master carpenter from Delhi, when the builders of the dome, they worked under the responsibility of Ismail Khan Rumi.
- Qadir Zaman Khan was mentioned as dar-har-ek-phan-ustad-e-kamil, ie an expert in construction techniques which consisted of digging and filling the foundations, masonry, stone laying, lifting large weight blocks by ropes and pulleys, handling levels, maintaining drainage and dozens of other techniques in addition.
Mir-Imarat, he was in charge of the entire construction of the Taj Mahal, he realized the purchase and storage of materials, the recruitment craftsmen and workers and disbursement of wages. He also coordinated all the work.
What materials were the walls of the Taj Mahal made of?
The 7 Wonders of the World are indeed the greatest man made buildings in the world. These man made buildings were declared to be The 7 Wonders of the World by more than 100 million population of the world. One of the most amazing architectures that has made into the 7 Wonders of the Worlds is, Taj Mahal.
In this article, we are going to talk about the Taj Mahal and how it was made and also what the materials that were used. If you are interested in buying industrial materials, go to 3D Resources and check it out! Taj Mahal is a marble mausoleum which is located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in a city in India named Agra.
Back in 1632, there was a Mughal emperor named Shah Jahan that engaged his people to build Taj Mahal as the house of the tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal and for his tomb as well. The architecture concept of the Taj Mahal is Indo-Islamic. It actually was a style that mixed with two different religions which is Hindu arts and Islamic arts. Who built the Taj Mahal? The area of the Taj Mahal once was populated by non-Muslims and the workforce were not very familiar with Islamic styles of art. However, the building process of the Taj Mahal were under the guidance by the Muslim artists. The one who brought the idea to build the Taj Mahal was Shah Jahan.
Ustad Ahmad Lahori as the main architect Puru as the supervisor architect Ismail Afandi as the designer of the Main Dome Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi as the architectural designer Amanat Khan of Shiraz as the calligraphy chief Chiranjilal as the sculptor chief Mir Abdul Karim Khan as the financial manager Mukkarimat of Shiraz as the daily production manager Muhammad Hanif as the mason supervisor
Moreover, these people are not the only one that are in charge of building the Taj Mahal. There were like 20,000 workers that were involved in this project. What material was used to build the Taj Mahal? According to popular opinion, the Taj Mahal’s mausoleum is not made from marble entirely in fact, it was only covered. The walls of the Taj Mahal were made from red bricks and apparently the bricks were used for scaffolding.
- This becomes uncertain because back in the time, bamboo and woods are usually used for scaffolding.
- For the marbles, it was made from Makrana, the southwest of Jaipur and the distance was about four hundred kilometres away.
- To send the marbles all the way from Makrana, they had to rent a few trolleys and send it away to the site.
The expenses were charged into the royal treasury. The marbles that were used are from many different regions which are from Punjab, China, Afghanistan, Tiber, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan and Arabian Peninsula. Other than marbles, there are also a few semi-precious stones as the material for Taj Mahal.
The examples of semi-precious stones that were used are Yemenite, Lajward, Aqiq, Firoza, Moonga, Tamra, Pitunia, Sulaimani, Yashab and Lahsania. There are also some rare stones that were used like Ajuba, Nakhod, Shelter, Tilai, Kahttu, Maknatis and Pai Zahar. These stones are used for marquetry that is going to be the decoration for the floors and turrets.
If you want to order industrial materials, go and check out 3D Resources, Other common stones such as Sang-i-Musa, Sang-i-Surkh and Sang-i-Rukham were used for masonry and foundations and also as the exterior walls. To conclude, Taj Mahal is indeed a Wonder of the World because of the story behind it and the process of the making of it.
We can see that the materials that were being used are not common and pretty rare. Keep in mind that back in the time, there were no machines used on the construction of the Taj Mahal. So, it was fascinating that humans can make an architecture that is so beautiful like Taj Mahal. To be able to build something amazing as this, requires lots of effort, along with that you need the right materials.
If this sort of architecture is something you would like to build in Malaysia. Check out 3D Resources, the best concrete additives in Malaysia, for your best architectural piece.
Is Taj Mahal one of the 7 Wonders of the world?
The 7 Wonders of the World are indeed the greatest man made buildings in the world. These man made buildings were declared to be The 7 Wonders of the World by more than 100 million population of the world. One of the most amazing architectures that has made into the 7 Wonders of the Worlds is, Taj Mahal.
In this article, we are going to talk about the Taj Mahal and how it was made and also what the materials that were used. If you are interested in buying industrial materials, go to 3D Resources and check it out! Taj Mahal is a marble mausoleum which is located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in a city in India named Agra.
Back in 1632, there was a Mughal emperor named Shah Jahan that engaged his people to build Taj Mahal as the house of the tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal and for his tomb as well. The architecture concept of the Taj Mahal is Indo-Islamic. It actually was a style that mixed with two different religions which is Hindu arts and Islamic arts. Who built the Taj Mahal? The area of the Taj Mahal once was populated by non-Muslims and the workforce were not very familiar with Islamic styles of art. However, the building process of the Taj Mahal were under the guidance by the Muslim artists. The one who brought the idea to build the Taj Mahal was Shah Jahan.
Ustad Ahmad Lahori as the main architect Puru as the supervisor architect Ismail Afandi as the designer of the Main Dome Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi as the architectural designer Amanat Khan of Shiraz as the calligraphy chief Chiranjilal as the sculptor chief Mir Abdul Karim Khan as the financial manager Mukkarimat of Shiraz as the daily production manager Muhammad Hanif as the mason supervisor
Moreover, these people are not the only one that are in charge of building the Taj Mahal. There were like 20,000 workers that were involved in this project. What material was used to build the Taj Mahal? According to popular opinion, the Taj Mahal’s mausoleum is not made from marble entirely in fact, it was only covered. The walls of the Taj Mahal were made from red bricks and apparently the bricks were used for scaffolding.
This becomes uncertain because back in the time, bamboo and woods are usually used for scaffolding. For the marbles, it was made from Makrana, the southwest of Jaipur and the distance was about four hundred kilometres away. To send the marbles all the way from Makrana, they had to rent a few trolleys and send it away to the site.
The expenses were charged into the royal treasury. The marbles that were used are from many different regions which are from Punjab, China, Afghanistan, Tiber, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan and Arabian Peninsula. Other than marbles, there are also a few semi-precious stones as the material for Taj Mahal.
The examples of semi-precious stones that were used are Yemenite, Lajward, Aqiq, Firoza, Moonga, Tamra, Pitunia, Sulaimani, Yashab and Lahsania. There are also some rare stones that were used like Ajuba, Nakhod, Shelter, Tilai, Kahttu, Maknatis and Pai Zahar. These stones are used for marquetry that is going to be the decoration for the floors and turrets.
If you want to order industrial materials, go and check out 3D Resources, Other common stones such as Sang-i-Musa, Sang-i-Surkh and Sang-i-Rukham were used for masonry and foundations and also as the exterior walls. To conclude, Taj Mahal is indeed a Wonder of the World because of the story behind it and the process of the making of it.
We can see that the materials that were being used are not common and pretty rare. Keep in mind that back in the time, there were no machines used on the construction of the Taj Mahal. So, it was fascinating that humans can make an architecture that is so beautiful like Taj Mahal. To be able to build something amazing as this, requires lots of effort, along with that you need the right materials.
If this sort of architecture is something you would like to build in Malaysia. Check out 3D Resources, the best concrete additives in Malaysia, for your best architectural piece.
How many people worked on the construction of Taj Mahal?
As you can imagine, the Taj Mahal required a lot of people for its manufacture. The specialists of each profession were called to work on a site that brings together the peak of its activities up to 20,000 people. It was started in 1631.17 years later, in 1648, the mausoleum hand was completed.