Mughal Empire · 1628-1658

Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal

When his wife Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, the emperor Shah Jahan began the Taj Mahal, a white marble tomb on the Yamuna River. Students explore how and why it was built, and weigh the glory and the cost of Mughal building.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, AD 1650
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

When his wife Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, the emperor Shah Jahan began the Taj Mahal, a white marble tomb on the Yamuna River. Students explore how and why it was built, and weigh the glory and the cost of Mughal building.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Agra, the Taj Mahal and Shahjahanabad (Delhi) on the map.
  • Describe how and why the Taj Mahal was built.
  • Weigh the glory and the costs of Shah Jahan's building projects.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1650

On the Yamuna

Open the map in 1650 and zoom in on Agra on the Yamuna River. Find the Taj Mahal on the riverbank east of Agra Fort. Why build a tomb beside a river?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1650

A new Delhi

Pan northwest to Delhi. From 1639 Shah Jahan built a new city here, Shahjahanabad, with the Red Fort. Turn on Cities: how big is Delhi in 1650?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1650

The empire in 1650

Zoom out to see the Mughal Empire in 1650. Which states still hold out in the Deccan to the south? (Bijapur and Golconda were the strongest.)

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why would an emperor spend so much on a tomb?
  2. Craftsmen from Persia, Central Asia and India worked on the Taj. What does that tell us about the Mughal Empire?
  3. The Taj Mahal is almost perfectly symmetrical. Why might symmetry give a feeling of peace and order?
  4. Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb kept him prisoner in Agra Fort for his last years. Why might the son have seen his father's spending as a problem?
  5. Millions of people visit the Taj Mahal every year. Who should look after a monument like this, and how?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Akbar, Shah Jahan's grandfather. Let students take turns ruling. Then compare: Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri, Shah Jahan the Taj Mahal and a new Delhi. Why did Mughal emperors build so much?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.