The History of the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a beautiful white marble mausoleum in the city of Agra, India. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest architectural masterpieces in the world  and is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Every year, the Taj Mahal receives visits from between four and six million tourists from all over the world.   Interestingly, less than 500,000 of those visitors are from overseas; the vast majority are from India itself. UNESCO has designated the building and its grounds as an official World Heritage Site, and there is much concern that the sheer volume of foot traffic may have a negative impact on this wonder of the world. Still, it is hard to blame people in India for wanting to see the Taj, since the growing middle class there finally has the time and leisure to visit their countrys great treasure. Why the Taj Mahal Was Built The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan  (r. 1628 - 1658) in honor of the Persian princess Mumtaz Mahal, his beloved third wife. She died in 1632 while bearing their fourteenth child, and Shah Jahan never really recovered from the loss. He poured his energy into designing and building the most beautiful tomb ever known for her, on the southern banks of the Yamuna River. It took some 20,000 artisans more than a decade to build the Taj Mahal complex. The white marble stone is inlaid with floral details carved from precious gems. In places, the stone is carved into delicate vined screens called pierce work so that visitors can see into the next chamber. All of the floors are inlaid with patterned stone, and incised painting in abstract designs adorns the walls. The artisans who did this incredible work were supervised by an entire committee of architects, headed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The cost in modern values was about 53 billion rupees ($827 million US).  Construction of the mausoleum was completed around 1648. The Taj Mahal Today The Taj Mahal is one of the loveliest buildings in the world, combining architectural elements from across the Muslim lands. Among the other works that inspired its design are the Gur-e Amir, or the Tomb of Timur, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan; Humayuns Tomb in Delhi; and the Tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah in Agra. However, the Taj outshines all of these earlier mausoleums in its beauty and grace. Its name literally translates as Crown of Palaces. Shah Jahan was a member of the Mughal Dynasty, descended from Timur (Tamerlane) and from Genghis Khan.  His family ruled India from 1526 to 1857.  Unfortunately for Shah Jahan, and for India, the loss of Mumtaz Mahal and the construction of her amazing tomb utterly distracted Shah Jahan from the business of governing India.  He ended up being deposed and imprisoned by his own third son, the ruthless and intolerant Emperor Aurangzeb.  Shah Jahan ended his days under house arrest, lying in bed, gazing out at the white dome of the Taj Mahal.  His body was interred in the glorious building he had made, beside that of his beloved Mumtaz.

Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchthons Contributions in...

Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchthons Contributions in Educational Reform in the Protestant Reformation The life of Martin Luther is frequently studied and his ideas are widely known. Accounts of the nailing of his Ninety-Five theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg and his condemnation at the Diet of Worms are considered by many in the western world to be common knowledge. What is less frequently explored; however, are his vast achievements outside of his direct conflict with the Catholic Church. A major example of this is Luthers achievement in educational reform. Although at first Luther resisted new forms of education, he came to view schools as powerful tools for getting his†¦show more content†¦Luther also took notice of Melanchthon, specifically of his inaugural address at the university, which he entitled, Discourse on Reforming the Studies of Youth. Because of the mutual respect and admiration given towards one another the two became collaborators in the Protestant Reformation. Melanchthon gave strength to the Reformation in his argumentative yet rational works, like Loci Communes Rerum Theologicarum(Commonplaces of Theology, 1521). When Luther was confined to the Castle of Wartburg following the Diet of Worms, Melanchthon took over as the leader of the Reformation at the University of Wittenberg, becoming the professor of theology there and standardizing the constitutions of the reformed German churches. Melanchthon then, as the leading representative of the Reformation at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, presented the Augsburg Confession, consisting of 21 articles of faith that he had drawn up with Luthers advice.[1] While Melanchthon was deeply influenced by Luthers ideas on religious reform, it was he who helped to shape Luthers stance on educational reform. At first, Luthers ideas and those of the education, specifically humanist education, seemed to clash. Luthers passionate teachings about faith and religion seemed to be an immediate threat to humanist schools that were more worldly and oriented towards reason and practical learning. He

Leadership Styles

Question: How would you defend the return on investment when suggesting to an incredulous leader that they develop soft skills such as being friendly or being approachable as an effective way to improve the morale in their organization? Answer: Return on investment is the ratio that renders economic benefits in relation with cost. It is recommended to an incredulous leader for developing soft skills because it will help in understanding people skills asking for return on particular investment (Goleman et al. 2013). These skills will help in describing personal attributes and indicating high level of emotional intelligence. Soft skills are mostly applicable for job titles as well as industries. Friendly attitude of leaders will help employees in expressing grievances against the organization. Therefore, morale of an organization can be built easily by transparent communication between management and employees (Northouse, 2015). Employees working in an organization should approach the leaders and easily accessible at the same time. Transformational leadership allows followers in expressing views as well as opinions in the most appropriate way. Defending return on investments demonstrates in related investments for various est hetic qualities in stimulating co-investments. Reference List Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., McKee, A. (2013).Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press. Northouse, P. G. (2015).Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.