Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, was the fifth Mughal emperor, who was born on 5th January, 1592. His reign represented the height of the Mughal architecture, most notably the Taj Mahal.
Legend Associated With His Birth
Emperor Akbar’s first wife Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was childless throughout her marriage. Though she couldn’t give birth to a royal prince or princess, she was told by a fortune teller that she would be responsible in raising a future Emperor.
The prediction was such that Akbar’s favorite grandson, who would go on to become the the fifth Mughal Emperor, would be brought up by the childless Empress. So, when Jahangir’s third son was born, Akbar instinctively knew that he would be raised by his childless Empress.
Early Life
The child who would become Shah Jahan was born on March 4, 1592, in Lahore, now in Pakistan. His parents were Prince Jahangir and his wife Manmati, a Rajput princess who was called Bilquis Makani in the Mughal court. The baby was Jahangir’s third son. He was named Ala Azad Abul Muzaffar Shahab ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, or Khurram for short.
As a child, Khurram was a particular favorite of his grandfather, Emperor Akbar the Great, who personally oversaw the little prince’s education. Khurram studied warfare, the Koran, poetry, music, and other subjects suitable for a Mughal prince.
In 1605, the 13-year-old prince refused to leave his grandfather’s side as Akbar lay dying, despite the potential threat from his father’s rivals for the throne. Jahangir succeeded to the throne, after crushing an uprising led by one of his other sons, Khurram’s half-brother.
The incident brought Jahangir and Khurram closer; in 1607, the emperor awarded his third son the fiefdom of Hissar-Feroza, which court observers took to mean that 15-year-old Khurram was now the heir apparent.
Also in 1607, Prince Khurram was engaged to marry Arjumand Banu Begum, the 14-year-old daughter of a Persian nobleman. Their wedding did not take place until five years later, and Khurram would marry two other women in the meantime, but Arjumand was his true love. She later became known as Mumtaz Mahal – “The Chosen One of the Palace.”
Khurram dutifully sired a son by each of his other wives, and then neglected them almost entirely. He and Mumtaz Mahal had 14 children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.
When descendants of the Lodi Empire rose up on the Deccan Plateau in 1617, Emperor Jahangir sent Prince Khurram to deal with the problem. The prince soon put down the rebellion, so his father granted him the name Shah Jahan, meaning “Glory of the World.” Their close relationship broke down, however, over court intrigues by Jahangir’s Afghan wife, Nur Jahan, who wanted Shah Jahan’s youngest brother to be Jahangir’s heir.
In 1622, with relations at their zenith, Shah Jahan went to war against his father. Jahangir’s army defeated Shah Jahan’s after a four-year fight; the prince surrendered unconditionally. When Jahangir died just one year later, in 1627, Shah Jahan became the Emperor of Mughal India.
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.
Road to Throne
The accession to the throne in the Mughal Empire was determined through military successes and display of power by potential successors. The Mughal had stayed away from the traditional primogeniture method of choosing the rightful heir and that made Khurram a potential successor to Jahangir, even though he was the third child of the emperor.
In 1614, Khurram got an opportunity to display his military prowess, something he was so desperately waiting for.The moment he was waiting to seize came in the form of Maharana Amar Singh II, who was asked to surrender his Rajput state to the Mughal. Khurram led an army of more than 200,000 men and defeated the forces of the Rajput king. This brave act of his, paved the way for moresuch opportunities.
Three years later in 1617, he was asked to conquer the Deccan Plateau in order to expand the empire. After his success in doing so, his father Jahangir bestowed upon him the title Shah Jahan, which literally meant King of the World in Persian. This made him the blue-eyed boy of the empire and his dream of succeeding his father strode a step closer to reality.
Though Shah Jahan had proved his abilities and prowess more than once, the fight for the throne was harder than he thought it would be. Jahangir married Nur Jahan and she along with her brother Asaf Khan, became important members in the court. Also, Nur Jahan got her daughter (from first marriage) married to Shahzada Shahryar, Shah Jahan’s younger brother.
She then continued to convince the emperor that Shahzada Shahryar was better than Shah Jahan and that he should be the one to succeed him. This led a rebellious Shah Jahan to build his own army with the help of a Mughal general named Mahabat Khan. He then led his army against his own father and Nur Jahan but was defeated comprehensively in the year 1623.
Three years later, he was forgiven by the emperor but Shah Jahan continued to find ways which would lead him to the throne. In 1627, upon the demise of Jahangir, Shah Jahan crowned himself emperor as the entire military was under his control.
Overcoming The Opposition
As soon as he became the emperor, Shah Jahan eliminated all his foes just to make sure the throne had no further contenders. He killed many in the year 1628 including his brother Shahzada Shahryar; his cousins, Tahmuras and Hoshang; his nephews, Garshasp and Dawar, and sons of prince Daniyal and prince Khusrau. Anyone he thought would be a threat to his throne was put to rest permanently. His step-mother Nur Jahan was spared but was imprisoned under tight security.
Shah Jahan’s Reign
Throughout his reign, Shah Jahan constantly strived towards expanding his empire. This gave rise to many battles and some alliances. While he joined hands with some of the Rajput kings of Bundelkhand, Baglana and Mewar, he waged war on the others like the Bundela Rajputs. In 1632, he captured the fortress at Daulatabad and imprisoned Husain Shah. He appointed his son Aurangzeb as his Viceroy who in turn captured places like Golconda and Bijapur of South India. He then went on to capture Kandahar, which led to the famous Mughal–Safavid War. His empire now stretched beyond Khyber Pass and all the way to Ghazna.
Shah Jahan’s Army
Shah Jahan invested most of his time in building a massive army. It is said that his army included more than 911,400 soldiers and 185,000 horsemen. He was also responsible in manufacturing cannonsin huge numbers. During his 30 year reign, Shah Jahan transformedhis empire into a well-oiled military machine.
Contribution to Mughal Architecture
Shah Jahan was an avid builder and is responsible for building some of the most beautiful edifices in present day India and Pakistan. It is said that many European travelers would visit his empire just to learn the different techniques used in the construction of buildings. It is also said that some of the world’s most talented engineers and architects resided in his empire.
Major Work
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 exquisite building, constructed from white marble underlaid with brick, took 20 years to complete. 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 Jahan 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, Mumtaz Maḥal (the mother of Aurangzeb). At Delhi, Shah Jahan 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 Jahan’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.
Final Days
Shah Jahan became seriously ill in September 1658. During his days of recovery, Dara Shikoh, one of his sons, assumed the role of the ruler. This made his brothers furious and almost immediately, Shuja and Murad Baksh sought independent provinces and claimed their rightful share. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb had formed an army of his own and went on to defeat his brother Dara Shikoh.
He then killed rest of the contenders and declared himself as the emperor. Though Shah Jahan later recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb deemed him unfit to rule and imprisoned him in the citadel of Agra.
He also imprisoned his sister Jahanara Begum Sahib who wanted to stay with her father in order to take care of him. Shah Jahan is said to have spent eight long years of his imprisonment by staring at the tomb of his beloved wife – the marvel that he built in her memory.
Death
In the first week of January 1666, Shah Jahan once again fell ill and never recovered. On January 22, he is said to have summoned Akbarabadi Mahal and requested her to take care of his daughter, Jahanara Begum. He is then said to have recited a few lines from the holy Quran before breathing his last, aged 74.
The emperor who once ruled the whole of India and more had died a prisoner. Princess Jahanara Begum wanted a procession with the state’s noblemen carrying her father’s body all over Agra so that the subjects could waive a final goodbye to their beloved emperor.
However, Aurangzeb was in no mood for such an extravagant funeral. In the end, Sayyid Muhammad Qanauji and Kazi Qurban moved the body of Shah Jahan out of the prison, washed it and placed it in a coffin made out of sandalwood. The coffin was then brought to the Taj Mahal through the river, where he was laid to rest, next to his beloved wife, Mumtaz.
