Secrets of the Taj Mahal Page #2

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if they were truly vertical they

would seem to be leaning inwards

by leaning away from each other

they look perfectly upright

and that brings another advantage

in an earthquake the minarets

will collapse outwards

sparing the Taj and it's mighty dome

the dome is the crowning

glory of the Taj Mahal

the element that makes it

so timeless and graceful

today we have other options

we can build giant supporting

structures and steel for dome like that

we have other materials

they have to solve all

their problems in stones

they laid stone on stone and

built up the diamond rings

the dome rises layer by layer

the mortar between the

stones gives its stability

the result is self-supporting with

new reinforcing struck so columns

the weight if the Dome is

transferred directly downwards

to the massive masonry below

the Dome is more than 40 meters high

and four meters thick

it it seems to float

over the model for some a

miracle of stress calculation

still admired by engineers. for

over three hundred and fifty years

this dome has been the ultimate

expression local architecture

1621 the Mogul Empire

is at a turning point

the Emperor Shah Jahan's

father is desperately ill

his son's a gathering in

the shadow of the throne

ready to fill the vacum of power

Shah Jehan knows that

his moment has come

nothing will stop him in

his lust for absolute power

no means a ruled out not even poison

when the Great Mogul finally dies

Shah Jehan has his rivals eliminate

brotherly love means nothing

when the prize is so great

there wasn't notion of family

and there was a notion of affection

there wasn't notion of family

and there was a notion of affection

but this feeling recede

into the background

and then that particular vision

of acquiring power for yourself

and to rule the country

or Empire as you see fit

becomes the rationale

behind all the violence

that is perpetrate

with his rival is gone

Shah Jehan seizes the throne

his crowned emperor in 1628

in the red fort in Agra

his crowned emperor in 1628

in the red fort in Agra

Shah Jehan soon proves himself

a wise and moderate ruler

he guides the empire to

even greater prosperity

Mumtaz Mahal stays in the background,

but she is one the Shah's

most important advisors

this Mogul dynasty seems

to have a glorious future

perhaps it will be equal

the illustrious past

the moguls are descended from the

greatest warlod of them all: Gengis Khan

That distant ancestors were fierce

warrior of the Asian steppes:

the Mongols

a mere 100 years before

Shah Jahan's rise to power

the Mughals swept down from the north

onto the plains of India

their cannons crushed one Indian city

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