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Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire

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While Galileo suffered under house arrest at the hands of Pope Urban VIII, the Thirty Years War ruined Europe, and the Pilgrims struggled to survive in the New World, work began on what would become one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Taj Mahal. Built by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, its flawless symmetry and gleaming presence have for centuries dazzled everyone who has seen it, and the story of its creation is a fascinating blend of cultural and architectural heritage. Yet, as Diana & Michael Preston vividly convey in the first narrative history of the Taj, it also reflects the magnificent history of the Moghul Empire itself, for it turned out to mark the high point of the Empire's glory at the same time as it became a tipping point in Moghul fortunes.

The roots of the Moghul Empire lie with the legendary warriors Genghis Khan and Tamburlaine; at its height it contained 100 million people, from Afghanistan in the north and present-day Pakistan in the west, to Bengal in the east and southwards deep into central India.. With the storytelling skills that characterize their previous books, Diana & Michael Preston bring alive both the grand sweep of Moghul history and the details that make it memorable: the battles and dynastic rivalries that forged the Empire alongside an intimate chronicle of daily life within the imperial palace. A tale of overwhelming passion, the story of the Taj has the cadences of Greek tragedy and the ripe emotion of grand opera, and puts a memorable human face on the marble masterpiece.

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Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

954.0257 PRE t

Publisher

New York : Walker Books., 2007

Collation

16x24 cm; hc; bw; pic; 317p

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

9780802715111

Classification

950

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

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Subject(s)

Art
History
Taj Mahal
Architecture
Agra, India
India - Moghul Empire
Mumtaz Mahal, Empress, consort of Shahjahan, Emper
Shahjahan, Emperor of India, approximately 1592-16
Moghul Empire
Medieval

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