Taj Mahal replicas and derivatives Taj Mahal replicas and derivatives The Taj Mahal, an iconic structure in India, has inspired numerous replicas and derivatives. "The Taj", informally, is now a major tourist attraction in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and has been regarded as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Since 1632, when Mughal emperor Shah Jahan began building the Taj to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, it has inspired many notable replicas, and major derivative structures include a 1678-started project of the emperor's grandson. Some are intended to be scale models or otherwise to be more or less faithful
Taj Mahal mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being