Mumtaz
Mahal
1593-1631
Mumtaz Mahal was the empress consort of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, She is entombed in
the Taj Mahal.
Note on the illustration: Because of the Muslim prohibition against
images, no portraits of her were painted in her lifetime, and we have
no
idea what she looked like. Presumably she was beautiful enough to
deserve the Taj Mahal as her mausoleum. I suppose someday someone
might
crack open her tomb and take her skull away for forensic facial
reconstruction, but that seems a bit rude.
Until then, imagination will fill the gap. The accompanying miniature commonly illustrates
articles about her, but it
was painted about a century after she died .
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