Taj Mahal Timeline

In December 1652, Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb wrote a letter to his father reporting that the tomb, the mosque and the assembly hall of the complex had developed extensive leaks during the previous rainy season.

In 1658, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at the nearby Agra Fort, from where he could see the Taj Mahal across the river for the rest of his life.

The inscription on Shah Jahan's cenotaph reads: 'Conjunction (Sahib-i Qiran-i Sani), Shah Jahan, Padshah; may it ever be fragrant! The year 1076 [AD 1666]', commemorating the emperor's burial beside Mumtaz Mahal.

Shah Jahan travelled from this world to the banquet hall of eternity on the night of the twenty-sixth of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri [31 January AD 1666]. Upon his death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.

European traveler and gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier visited Agra in 1665. His fanciful writings later gave rise to the legend of a planned black marble mausoleum across the river from the Taj Mahal.

Henry George Keene promoted the unsupported theory that the Taj Mahal was designed by an Italian, Geronimo Vereneo, based on a translation of a Spanish work, Itinerario (The Travels of Fray Sebastian Manrique, 1629–1643). It held sway only briefly.

P. N. Oak published his 1989 book Taj Mahal: The True Story, in which he claimed the monument was built in 1155 AD and not in the 17th century, fueling long-running controversy over its origins.

In 2000, India's Supreme Court dismissed P. N. Oak's petition seeking to reopen the claim that the Taj Mahal was originally a temple, rejecting claims that it predated the Mughal era.

In 2005, a similar petition brought by Amar Nath Mishra, a social worker and preacher claiming that the Taj Mahal was built by the Hindu king Paramardi in 1196, was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court.

A more credible theory for the origins of the legendary black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Mehtab Bagh, suggesting its dark reflection may have inspired Tavernier's tale.

In November 2015, the Union Minister of Culture stated in the Indian Parliament that there was no evidence that the Taj Mahal had ever been a temple, addressing persistent revisionist claims.

In August 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India declared that there was no evidence to suggest the monument ever housed a temple, reaffirming its Mughal-era origins.

In the 18th century, the Jat rulers of Bharatpur attacked the Taj Mahal while invading Agra and took away two chandeliers, one of agate and another of silver, which had hung over the main cenotaph, along with the gold and silver screen.

As the Mughal Empire declined, the gardens were not maintained. When the British Raj assumed management of the gardens, they changed the landscaping to resemble the formal lawns of London in the 19th century.

The main finial atop the Taj Mahal's dome was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century.

By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal's buildings had fallen into disrepair, prompting calls for restoration of the neglected monument.

At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a major restoration project of the Taj Mahal, which was completed in 1908, returning the monument to much of its former glory.

In 1942, the government erected scaffolding to disguise the building in anticipation of air attacks by the Japanese Air Force during World War II.

Since Indian independence in 1947, the Archaeological Survey of India has been responsible for the maintenance of the Taj Mahal monument.

During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffolding was again erected around the Taj Mahal to mislead enemy bomber pilots and protect the monument from air attacks.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being 'the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage'.

In 2007, the Taj Mahal was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative, a global poll confirming its status among the seven wonders of the modern world.

Concerns for the tomb's structural integrity were raised because of a decline in the groundwater level in the Yamuna river basin, with cracks appearing in parts of the tomb in 2010 and the minarets showing signs of tilting.

Minor damage was reported at the Taj Mahal due to storms on 11 April 2018 and again on 31 May 2020, highlighting the monument's vulnerability to severe weather.

In 2019, to address overtourism, the site instituted fines for visitors who stayed longer than three hours, aiming to manage crowds at the immensely popular monument.

About five million visitors visited the Taj Mahal in the financial year 2022–23, underscoring its enduring status as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

As of 2024, the entry fee for Indian citizens was ₹50, for citizens of SAARC and BIMSTEC countries it was ₹540, and for other foreign tourists it was ₹1,100.

According to a 2025 government report, the Taj Mahal earned ₹297 crore (US$31 million) over five years, making it the highest-earning monument managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.