Taj Mahal belongs to the Common Era — dated here to c. 1653 CE at Agra, India. Dates mark a scholarly centre of gravity (dedication, completion, or iconic phase), not a single foundation day.
Shah Jahan’s white-marble mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal — symmetry so exact it feels like a proof, not a building.
How it amazes the brain
Pietra dura inlay, a double dome, minarets tilted outward as a fail-safe, and a charbagh garden that mirrors paradise diagrams.
Why it counts as a wonder
It sits on the New7Wonders of the World list (2007 global poll) — a modern people’s roster of amazement.
UNESCO’s most visited Mughal dream. The brain-amaze is optical: the dome changes colour with the sun.
On dating
CE means years after the traditional birth of Christ. A monument listed as c. 1653 CE may have been founded earlier, rebuilt later, or become famous only in one phase. Engineering wonders (dams, tunnels, orbiting labs) are dated to opening or assembly.
This is story 8 of 100 in The Trend Ledger’s illustrated desk on world wonders raised after the birth of Christ — the companions to our BCE series.