He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals and his reign has been called the Golden Age of Mughals. Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra. The Pearl Mosque at Agra, the palace and great mosque at Delhi. 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. His reign also saw the rendering into Persian of several Sanskrit classics; some of these translations were patronized by his son Dara Shikoh.
Shah Jahan had begun his reign by killing his brothers and all male members of their families. His sons likewise recognized no kinship in their pursuit of kingship. In , when the Emperor's health appeared to be failing, his four sons, Dara Shikoh, Shuja, Murad Baksh, and Aurangzeb, began to take steps to secure the succession.
Eventually the contest resolved itself between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb, and the latter proved successful. On June 8, , Aurangzeb entered Agra, made a captive of his father, and assumed the throne.
For 8 years Shah Jahan remained a prisoner in the Agra Fort, attended by his faithful daughter Jahanara and gazing, it is reported, most of the time upon the Taj Mahal, where he was to be laid to rest beside his favorite consort. In some respects Shah Jahan is a paradox. He employed many non-Moslems at his court but nevertheless showed considerable intolerance to Hinduism and Christianity. The first years of Shah Jahan, years in which he was known as Prince Khurram, saw the young man receive a refined and cultivated education.
He studied a large number of disciplines and became a specialist in martial arts. He surprised his world by taking an interest in architecture. An anecdote is told that he himself built his quarters in the Fort of Kabul, but also by proposing various internal arrangements to the fort of Agra.
In , at the age of 25, he took the reins of an army and conquered the Deccan against Loddi, a victory that allowed his father to expand his territory on the southern border of the Empire.
His father rewarded him with the title of "Bahadur Shah Jahan", which indicated to all that he was the favorite to succeed to the throne. Subsequently he increased his aura by winning different victories, still widening a little more the historical territory of the Mughals , but without ever reaching, however, to extend towards the West.
It was in that he took power, succeeding his father Jahangir, who died in The end of his father was not easy, as was the case for all these predecessors and some successors. In fact, Jahangir's wife had become, over the years, the true governess of the Empire, her husband having fallen into drugs such as opium and alcohol.
When he became ill, she was afraid of being out of power, Khurram being eager to take over. So she married the girl she had had from a first marriage with another son of Jahangir, Shahryar, hoping to have a male heir at his command.
Which means Shah Jahan spent his last eight years gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal, attended by his daughter Jahanara Begum. On January 22, , Shah Jahan died at the age of He was interred in the Taj Mahal, beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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