1. Taj Mahal Taj Mahal – a mausoleum located on the bank of the river Jamna in Agra, India. It was built by the order of the padishah of the Great Moguls Empire, Shah Jahan, in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz-Mahal, who died at the birth of the fourteenth child. For the construction of the Taj Mahal, which began in 1632, and was completed in about 1653, some 20,000 artisans and craftsmen were involved, led by the court architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. It is estimated that its construction at that time cost about 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately $ 827 million. This magnificent structure with a height of 74 m is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world.
2. Terracotta Army Terracotta Army – The name of the burial, discovered in March 1974. It is located in the mountain Lishan, a suburb of Xian, Shaanxi Province, China, near the mausoleum of the emperor Qin Shihuandi. It represents at least 8099 full-size terracotta (burned clay) statues of Chinese soldiers and their horses, whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. It is interesting that the height of the soldiers varies from 185 cm to 209.77 cm and they all differ from each other. It is believed that the archaeological find was built around 240 BC. e. According to the then historian Sima Qian, more than 700,000 workers and artisans were involved in the creation of the mausoleum, and it lasted 38 years.
3. Pyramid of Cheops Pyramid of Cheops or the Great Pyramid of Giza – the largest of the Egyptian pyramids, which is the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh IV Dynasty Khufu (Cheops). It is assumed that it was built around 2645-2613 BC. e. designed by architect Hemion. The pyramid is located on the banks of the Nile, in the necropolis of the city of Giza and is a complex of ancient monuments that were part of the ancient city of Memphis (today part of Greater Cairo) during the Egyptian pharaohs. This is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in Giza, as well as the only surviving structure of the “Seven Wonders of the World”.
4. The Lenin Mausoleum On the fourth place in the list of the most famous tombs in the world is the Lenin Mausoleum – a well-known mausoleum located on Red Square in Moscow, Russia. It was built by the architect Alexei Shchusev between 1929-1930. Here, since 1924, the embalmed body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin rests. In 1953, Joseph Stalin’s body was also placed here, but on October 30, 1961, by the decision of the 22nd Congress of the CPSU, Stalin’s body was buried next to the Kremlin wall under a simple granite monument.
5. Castle of the Holy Angel Castle of the Holy Angel or Mausoleum of Adrian – an architectural monument and mausoleum, originally intended for the Roman emperor Hadrian, his family and heirs. However, later the castle was used as a tomb for other emperors (Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Caracalla), even later as a fortress. At present it is one of the most visited museums in Italy. Its construction began in 135, and was completed in 139. There is a castle on the right bank of the Tiber River, near the Vatican, Italy. At one time was considered the tallest building in Rome. Its height is about 20 meters.
6. Church of the Holly Sepulcher Church of the Holly Sepulcher – the world-famous Christian church located in Jerusalem, Israel, presumably in the place where, according to tradition, was crucified, buried, and then Jesus Christ was resurrected. It is a place of pilgrimage for Christian believers from around the world from the IV century. This architectural complex includes Golgotha with the site of the Crucifixion, a rather large rotunda, Kafolikon, the underground temple of the Life-Giving Cross, the church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Elena and several chapels. On the territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher there are also several functioning monasteries, and a number of auxiliary buildings, galleries, etc.
7. Mausoleum of Kira Mausoleum of Cyrus – a small stone structure, located about 1 km south-west of the ancient Persian city of Pasargada in Iran. Approximately in the IV century BC. e. was plundered. According to Greek sources, here is buried one of the greatest monarchs in history – the Persian king Cyrus II the Great who ruled in 559-530 BC. e. However, the belonging of this monument as a mausoleum of Cyrus is not documentarily proved.
8. Shahi Zinda Shahi Zinda (translated “living king”) – a monument of medieval architecture, consisting of eleven mausoleums of the Samarkand nobility, alternately attached to each other during the XIV-XV centuries. The whole complex consists of twenty buildings and includes an ensemble of mausoleums and other ritual facilities located in the north-eastern part of the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. According to one of the legends, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, Kusam ibn Abbas, is buried here.
9. The Tomb of Jehangir (Tomb of Jahangir) The tomb of Jahangir is a mausoleum built between 1627-1637 for the fourth padishah of the Empire of the Great Moguls – Jahangir (1605-1627). It is located in the northern suburb of Lahore, Pakistan. This structure with a zigzag inlay of white and yellow marble, has four minarets 30 meters high.
10. Mausoleum of Seyyid Yahya Bakuvi Mausoleum of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi – a small mausoleum, built around 1457-1458, in the capital of Azerbaijan, the city of Baku. It is located in the center of the palace complex called the Palace of Shirvanshahs. Among the locals is known as the mausoleum “dervish”. It was named in honor of the philosopher, thinker and astrologer Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, who is buried there.
