How was the Taj Mahal built when cement was not yet discovered? | What Materials were used in the Construction of Taj Mahal

Have you ever wondered how the Taj Mahal was built without cement, despite being considered the most important building material? It is known to all that cement plays a very important role in all the strong buildings that are built in today's time. But the Taj Mahal is ultra-strong, as it has been standing for so many years with such incredible strength, no matter how many times the earthquake hits the region. Then what is the secret of its unusual strength? In earlier times, when cement was not invented at all, then how could such a strong structure be made?

Everyone knows that the Taj Mahal is very famous for its beauty, and every year millions of people come to see this wonder. But have you ever thought that how such a big building stands so firmly? Regarding its history, you must know how Shah Jahan had erected this monument for his wife, to express his love after her death. So the main question is how did this structure become so strong when there was no cement and what material is it glued with that makes it so strong.

Cement was invented in 1824 by an intelligent man named Joseph Aspdin who lived in England. From 1811 he was engaged in the experiment of making cement and in 1824 he finally succeeded and made the world's first cement named portland cement. But if we talk about the Taj Mahal, its construction started in 1631 and ended in 1648, but during this time such an amazing structure of the world had been built up, which has not even got any scratch till date, despite being built without cement.

So what was the reason behind this? the answer is that when cement was not invented in 1631, architects used a special kind of paste, which contained very strange ingredients. And if we talk about the stones of the Taj Mahal, then many semi-precious stones like Aqiq, Yemenite, Firoza, Lajward, Moonga, Sulaimani, Lahsania, Tamra, Yashab, and Petunia were used in construction which considered to be very rare stones. Some ultra rare stones are also used like Tilai, Ajuba, Pai-Zahar, Khattu, Shelter, Nakhod and Maknatis. 

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These are all very rare and unusual stones, no one knows how Shah Jahan arranged these precious stones as it seems very difficult to find. From where and how he got all this, it is a secret right now, but whatever he did, it was praiseworthy and due to that such a strong monument has been able to stand. So now let's talk about the secret paste that has been used as an ideal cementing material. Its ingredients include molasses; batashe (sugar-bubbles), belgiri-water, urd-pulse, curd, jute, and Kankar were mixed with lime mortar to make it an ideal cementing material. This paste was actually as strong as cement.

Another question must be arising in your mind that it is true that Taj Mahal is so amazing and so many rare stones have been used in such huge quantity. But if we estimate the price of the Taj Mahal, how much Shah Jahan would have spent to build it. The currency of that time, you know, in the olden days even one rupee was worth a lot. So adjusted to inflation, setting everything, and if we put the cost then the cost of Taj Mahal becomes approximately $1-$2 billion i.e. from about 8,000 crores to 10,000 crores has been spent in making this monument. And some people even claimed that more than 20,000 crores have been spent on this.