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EarlierDutch East India Company Station At The Cape1652 CE
LaterVelazquez Paints Las Meninas1656 CE
Taj Mahal Completion
1653 CE

The Taj Mahal (TAHJ mə-HAHL, TAHZH -⁠; Hindustani: [t̪ɑːd͡ʒ ˈmɛɦ(ɛ)l]; lit. 'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

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