Mirza Shahab-ud-din Baig Muhammad Khan Khurram, better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, was the fifth Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1628 to 1658.
Background
Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram was born on 5 January 1592, in Lahore, in modern-day Pakistan, and was the third son of Prince Salim (later known as 'Jahangir' upon his accession). His mother was a Rajput princess from Marwar called Princess Jagat Gosaini (her official name in Mughal chronicles was Bilqis Makani). The name "Khurram" (joyous) was chosen for the young prince by his grandfather, Emperor Akbar, with whom the young prince shared a close relationship.
Just prior to Khurram's birth, a soothsayer had reportedly predicted to the childless Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, Akbar's first wife and chief consort, that the still unborn child was destined for imperial greatness. So, when Khurram was born in 1592 and was only six days old, Akbar ordered that the prince be taken away from his mother and handed him over to Ruqaiya so that he could grow up under her care, and Akbar could fulfill his wife's wish to raise a Mughal emperor. Ruqaiya assumed the primary responsibility for Khurram's upbringing and he grew up under her care. The two shared a close relationship with each other as Jahangir noted in his memoirs that Ruqaiya had loved his son, Khurram, "a thousand times more than if he had been her own (son)."
Khurram remained with her until he had turned almost 14. In 1605, as Akbar lay on his deathbed, Khurram, who at this point was 13, remained by his bedside and refused to move even after his mother tried to retrieve him. Given the politically uncertain times immediately preceding Akbar's death, Khurram was in a fair amount of physical danger of harm by political opponents of his father, and his conduct at this time can be understood as a precursor to the bravery that he would later be known for.
After Akbar's death in 1605, the young prince was allowed to return to his father's household, and thus, be closer to his biological mother.
Education
As a child, Khurram received a broad education befitting his status as a Mughal prince, which included martial training and exposure to a wide variety of cultural arts, such as poetry and music, most of which was inculcated, according to court chroniclers, by Akbar and Ruqaiya.
Career
During Shah's father's reign he distinguished himself in many military campaigns, especially in Mewar (1615), the Deccan (1617 and 1621), and Kangra (1618). During Jahangir's closing years, Shah Jahan came into open conflict with Empress Nur Jahan, but his rebellion against his father, in 1622, was unsuccessful. On the death of Jahangir on October 29, 1627, disputes for the succession broke out, and Shah Jahan emerged successful. He was proclaimed emperor at Agra on February 4, 1628.
Between 1630 and 1636 Shah Jahan reduced the independent kingdoms of the Deccan. Ahmadnagar was taken in 1632, Golkonda in 1635, and Bijapur in 1636. In the northwest, however, imperial armies were unsuccessful. The attempt in 1647 to annex Balkh and Badakshan, ancestral possessions of Babur, the founder of the Mogul Empire, failed.
Shah Jahan commissioned many monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal in Agra, which entombs his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. In this most beautiful of the world's tombs, the minutest detail has been carefully thought out and executed with tireless precision. In inscribing texts from the Koran round the tall doorways, the artists have shown themselves such masters of perspective that the letters 30 feet or more above the line of the eye appear to be exactly of the same size as those a foot above the floor level. Onyx, jasper, cornelian, carbuncle, malachite, lapis lazuli, and other precious stones are studded in the mosaic. It has been described as "A Dream in Marble."
The Jama Mosque of Delhi and the Pearl Mosque of Agra are two other masterpieces. Near the city of Old Delhi, Shah Jahan built a new capital, Shahjahanabad, with its magnificent Red Fort. Within the fort is the Hall of Public Audience, and here Shah Jahan sat on the Peacock Throne, which consisted entirely of jewels and precious metals and stones. Four legs of gold supported the seat; 12 pillars of emeralds held up the emerald canopy; each pillar bore two peacocks encrusted with gems; and between each pair of peacocks rose a tree covered with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls.
Under Shah Jahan's patronage jewelry reached a high degree of perfection, and jewelers from both Asia and Europe visited the Mogul court to sell their craft and gems. Yet in spite of all these lavish expenditures, the imperial treasury was never in debt; in fact, Shah Jahan ended his reign with more money in the treasury than he had at the beginning of his reign.
Hindi language was coming into vogue, and Shah Jahan himself spoke Hindi and patronized Hindi poets like Sundar Das and Chintamani and Hindi musicians like Jagan Nath, Sukh Sen, and Lal Khan. His reign also saw the rendering into Persian of several Sanskrit classics; some of these translations were patronized by his son Dara Shikoh.
When Shah Jahan became ill in 1658, Dara Shukoh (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 Gujarat, declared their independence, and marched upon Agra in order to claim their riches. Aurangzeb, the third son, and ablest of the brothers, 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, Jahan's first 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 22 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.
Shah Jahan's chaplain Sayyid Muhammad Qanauji and Kazi Qurban of Agra came to the fort, moved his body to a nearby hall, washed it, enshrouded it and put it in a coffin of sandalwood.
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 by river to the Taj Mahal and was interred there next to the body of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Emperor Shah Jahan is best remembered as a patron of Mughal architecture and is known for the grand legacy of architectural structures constructed during his reign. The most famous of them is the Taj Mahal, which he built in the memory of his favorite wife the empress Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal till date remains one of the most visited tourist attractions in India.
Religion
Under Shah Jahan, the reaction by the orthodox Muslims to the policies of Akbar and Jahangir had an effect for the first time. He was more radical in his thinking than his father and grandfather. Upon his accession, he adopted new policies which reversed Akbar's treatment of non-Muslims. In 1633, his sixth regnal year, Shah Jahan began to impose his interpretation of Sharia provisions against construction or repair of churches and temples. After learning that wealthy Hindus wished to complete several unfinished temples in Benares, he ordered all new temples in the city to be destroyed. Following this, only prominent shrines encountered during military campaigns were damaged. He celebrated Islamic festivals with enthusiasm unfamiliar to his predecessors. Long-dormant royal interest in the Holy Cities was also revived during his reign.
Politics
Shah Jahan did not follow the liberal religious policy instituted by his grandfather, Emperor Akbar.
Personality
Shah Jahan was an exceedingly capable man. Enriched with every one of the qualities required of a medieval Muslim ruler, he was a valiant and skillful administrator; a liberal expert who approached his hirelings with deference, respect and amiability; and a far-located pioneer with a strict feeling of equity.
Interests
Shah Jahān had an almost insatiable passion for building. At his first capital, Agra, he undertook the building of two great mosques, the Motī Masjid (Pearl Mosque) and the Jāmiʿ Masjid (Great Mosque), as well as the superb mausoleum known as the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is the masterpiece of his reign and was erected in memory of the favourite of his three queens, Mumtāz Maḥal (the mother of Aurangzeb). At Delhi, Shah Jahān built a huge fortress-palace complex called the Red Fort as well as another Jāmiʿ Masjid, which is among the finest mosques in India. Shah Jahān’s reign was also a period of great literary activity, and the arts of painting and calligraphy were not neglected. His court was one of great pomp and splendour, and his collection of jewels was probably the most magnificent in the world.
Connections
In 1607, Khurram became engaged to Arjumand Banu Begum (1593–1631), who is also known as Mumtaz Mahal (Persian for "the chosen one of the Palace"). They met in their youth. They were about 14 and 15 when they engaged, and five years later they got married. The young girl belonged to an illustrious Persian noble family that had been serving Mughal Emperors since the reign of Akbar. The family's patriarch was Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who was also known by his title I'timād-ud-Daulah or "Pillar of the State". He had been Jahangir's finance minister and his son, Asaf Khan – Arjumand Banu's father – played an important role in the Mughal court, eventually serving as Chief Minister. Her aunt was the Empress Nur Jahan and is thought to have played matchmaker in arranging the marriage.
The prince would have to wait five years before he was married in 1612 (1021 AH), on a date selected by the court astrologers as most conducive to ensuring a happy marriage. This was an unusually long engagement for the time. However, Shah Jahan first married Princess Kandahari Begum, the daughter of a great-grandson of Shah Ismail I of Persia with whom he had a daughter, his first child.
Politically speaking, the betrothal allowed Khurram to be considered as having officially entered manhood, and he was granted several jagir, including Hissar-Feroze and ennobled to a military rank of 8,000, which allowed him to take on official functions of state, an important step in establishing his own claim to the throne.
In 1612, aged 20, Khurram married Arjumand Banu Begum, who became known by the title Mumtaz Mahal, on the auspicious date chosen by court astrologers. The marriage was a happy one and Khurram remained devoted to her. She bore him fourteen children, out of whom seven survived into adulthood. In addition, Khurram had two children from his first two wives.
Though there was genuine love between the two, Arjumand Banu Begum was a politically astute woman and served as a crucial advisor and confidante to her husband. Later on, as empress, Mumtaz Mahal wielded immense power, such as being consulted by her husband in state matters and being responsible for the imperial seal, which allowed her to review official documents in their final draft.
Mumtaz Mahal died, aged 37 (7 July 1631), while giving birth to Gauhara Begum in Burhanpur, the cause of death being postpartum haemorrhage, which caused considerable blood-loss after a painful labour of thirty hours. Contemporary historians note that Princess Jahanara, aged 17, was so distressed by her mother's pain that she started distributing gems to the poor, hoping for divine intervention, and Shah Jahan was noted as being "paralysed by grief" and weeping fits. Her body was temporarily buried in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad, originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Prince Daniyal along the Tapti River. Her death had a profound impact on Shah Jahan's personality and inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal, where she was later reburied.
In the intervening years Khurram had taken three other wives, Kandahari Begum (m. 12 December 1609) and Izz un-Nisa Begum (m. 3 September 1617), the daughters of Muzaffar Husain Mirza Safawi and Shahnawaz Khan, son of Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, respectively. But according to court chroniclers, his relationship with his other wives was more out of political consideration, and they enjoyed only the status of being royal wives.
Father:
Jahangir
(31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627)
He was the fourth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.
Mother:
Jagat Gosain
(died 19 April 1619)
She was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire as the wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir and the mother of his successor, the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Spouse (1):
Mumtaz Mahal
(27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631)
She was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Spouse (2):
Kandahari Begum
She was the first wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Spouse (3):
Izz-un-Nissa Begum
She was the third wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Daughter:
Parhez Banu Begum
(21 August 1611 – c. 1675)
She was a Mughal princess, the first child and eldest daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan from his first wife, Kandahari Begum. She was also the older half-sister of her father's successor, the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Daughter:
Hur-al-Nisa Begum
(30 March 1613 - 5 June 1616)
The first of fourteen children born to Shah Jahan's second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She died of smallpox at the age of 3.
Daughter:
Jahanara Begum
(23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681)
She was a Mughal princess and the eldest daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She was also the older sister of Crown prince Dara Shikoh and Emperor Aurangzeb.
Son:
Dara Shukoh
(20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659)
He was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He was favoured as a successor by his father, Shah Jahan, and his older sister, Princess Jahanara Begum, but was defeated and later killed by his younger brother, Prince Muhiuddin (later, the Emperor Aurangzeb), in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.
Son:
Shah Shuja
(b. 23 June 1616 )
He was the second son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the governor of Bengal and Odissa and had his capital at Dhaka, presently Bangladesh.
Daughter:
Roshanara Begum
(3 September 1617 – 11 September 1671)
She was a Mughal princess and the second daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his chief consort, Empress Mumtaz Mahal. Roshanara was a brilliant woman, a talented poet, the mastermind behind her brother, Aurangazeb's accession to the Mughal throne and, by the time of her death in 1671, one of the most notorious women in the Mughal Empire.
Son:
Jahan Afroz
(25 June 1618 - March 1619)
The only child of Shah Jahan's third wife, Izz-un-Nissa (titled Akbarabadi Mahal). Jahan Afroz died at the age of one year and nine months.
Son:
Aurangzeb
(3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707),
He was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal emperor. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.
Son:
Izad Bakhsh
(18 December 1619 - February/March 1621)
Died in infancy.
Daughter:
Surayya Banu Begum
(10 June 1621 - 28 April 1628)
Died of smallpox at the age of 7.
Son:
Murad Bakhsh
(9 October 1624 – 14 December 1661)
He was a Mughal prince as the youngest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the Subedar of Balkh until he was replaced by his elder brother Aurangzeb in the year 1647.
Son:
Lutf Allah
(4 November 1626 - 13 May 1628)
Died at the age of one and a half years.
Son:
Daulat Afza
(8 May 1628 - 13 May 1629)
Died in infancy.
Son:
Husnara Begum
(23 April 1630 - 1629)
Died in infancy.
Daughter:
Gauhara Begum
(17 June 1631 – 1706)
She was a Mughal princess and the fourteenth and youngest child of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
