Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor: History & Monuments

Meet Shah Jahan

What would you do for love? How would you honor someone who has your heart and soul and can no longer be with you? The answer for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was to create one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Let us take a journey to meet this emperor of the once-mighty Mughal Empire, learn a little about his life, and of course, the woman who inspired him.

Shah Jahan was born in what is today Pakistan, in 1592 CE. His mother was a Rajputi princess named Manmati and his father was Prince Jahangir who became emperor after the death of Akbar the Great. Shah Jahan was not born with this name. His full name, however, was a real mouthful, Ala Azad Abul Muzaffar Shahab al-Din Muhammad Khurram. It is much easier to just refer to him as Prince Khurram, for the moment.

Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) spent much of his childhood hanging out with his grandfather, the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, one of the greatest emperors the Mughal Empire had ever seen. Akbar the Great took the young prince under his wing and gave him an eclectic education. This included learning about the Quran, military strategy and fighting, literature, and music.

When Prince Khurram was old enough to go to battle, his father sent him to repress a rebellion. By this time his father was Emperor Jahangir and he was so impressed with Prince Khurram's performance that he gave him the name Shah Jahan, which means ''Glory of the World''.

At around nineteen-years-old, Shah Jahan married a Persian noblewoman named Arjumand Banu Begum, but most of the world knows her as Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan's favorite wife. Mumtaz Mahal translates to ''Jewel of the Palace'' and she was, indeed, as precious as a jewel to Shah Jahan, whom she had been engaged to since she was fourteen and he fifteen.

A Seated Mumtaz Mahal Wife of Shah Jahan being Administered to by a Servant

Mumtaz Mahal wife of Shah Jahan

After the death of his father in 1627 CE, Shah Jahan moved quickly to secure his right to rule by killing his male siblings and then focused on outside threats to his empire. Sadly, it was during one of these military campaigns that Shah Jahan lost his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. She was pregnant at the time with their fourteenth child and was accompanying him on his campaign when she went into labor. She died giving birth to their daughter, in 1631. Shah Jahan would go on to live another thirty-five years without the love of his life. During that time, he would continue with his military campaigns but as he got older his began to experience health issues.

In 1658 Shah Jahan was struck down by an illness and appointed his son Dara Shikoh to act in his place. Unfortunately, the other children were not happy with this choice, and another son, Aurangzeb, defeated his brother Dara Shikoh and his other brothers to become ruler. Even when Shah Jahan recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb refused to give up power and had his father imprisoned at Agra Fort. Shah Jahan remained locked away until his death in 1666 CE. He is buried in the Taj Mahal with his beloved Mumtaz.

Shah Jahan the Builder

Part of Shah Jahan's legacy is his love of Mughal architecture and building which relied heavily on symmetry and balance. He built mosques including the Jama Masjid Mosque in Delhi and the Red Fort, also in Delhi. In Agra, he built mosques as well, but what Shah Jahan is most remembered for is the construction of the magnificent mausoleum complex known as the Taj Mahal.