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| Mirza Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram |
Shah Jahan (Mirza Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, born (5 January 1592), reigned (1628 - 1658)) was the third son of Jahangir and his wife Jagat Gosain, a Rajput Princess and The Fifth Mughal Emperor. His reign was called as "The Golden Age of Mughal Architecture" because the splendour of the Mughal court reached its peak, as exemplifed by the Taj Mahal.
Shah Jahan participated in military campiagns against the Rajputs of Mewar and the Lodis of Deccan. After Jahangir's death in October 1627, Shah Jahan defeated his youngest brother Shahryar Mirza and crowned himself emperor in Agra Fort.
In 1607, Khurram became engaged to Arjumand Banu Begum (1593 - 1631), who is also known as Mumtaz Mahal. They were about 14 and 15 when they were engaged, and five years later, got married. The prince would have to wait five years before he was married in 1612. However, Shah Jahan first married to Princess Kandahari Begum, the daughter of a great grandson of Shah Ismail I of Persia, with whom he had a daughter, his first child.
In 1612, aged 20, Khurram married to Mumtaz Mahal on a date chosen by court astrologer. She bore him fourteen children, out of whom seven survived adulthood.
Mumtaz Mahal died at age 38 (7 June 1631), upon giving birth to Gauhar Ara Begum in Burhanpur, of a postpartum haemorhage, which caused considerable blood-loss after painfull labour of thirty hours.
Her body was temporarily buried in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad, originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Prince Daniyalalong the Tapti River. Her death had a profound impact on Shah Jahan's personality and inspired the construction of Taj Mahal, where she was later reburied.
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| Taj Mahal |
When Shah Jahan became ill in 1658, Dara Shikoh (Mumtaz Mahal's eldest son) assumed the role of regent in his father's stead, which swiftly incurred the animosity of his brothers. Upon learning of his assumption of the regency, his younger brothers, Shuja Viceroy of Bengal, and Murad Baksh, Viceroy of Gujraat, declared their inependence and marched upon Agra in order to claim their riches.
Aurangzeb, the third son, gathered a well- trained army and became its chief commander.
He faced Dara's army near Agra and defeated him during the Battle of Samugarh. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and put him under house arrest in Agra Fort.
Jahanara Begum Sahib, Mumtaz Mahal's eldest surviving daughter, voluntarily shared his 8-year confinement and nursed him in his dotage. In January 1666, Shah Jahan fell ill. Confined to bed, he became progressively weaker until, on 30 January, he commended the ladies of the imperial court, particularly his consort of later years Akbarabadi Mahal, to the care of Jahanara. After reciting the Kal'ma (Laa ilaaha ill allah) and verses from the Quran, Shah Jahan died, aged 74.
Princess Jahanara had planned a state funeral which was to include a procession with Shah Jahan's body carried by eminent nobles followed by the notable citizens of Agra and officials scattering coins for the poor and needy. Aurangzeb refused to accommodate such ostentation. The body was taken to the Taj Mahal and was interred there next to the body of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.