The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of the complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
