SHAH JAHAN(1592-1666)Real name - named Khurram by his grandfather Akbar.Born –  in Lahore on Jan.5,1592Died – 22 jan, 1666 at the age of 74 in Agra. Buried beside his wife in Taj Mahal.Accession to power - Came to power in 1627 at the age of 35 after a bloody civil war, assassinating his brothers Khusrau and Parwiz and others desirous of the throne – including two nephews and two male cousins.Length of rule in India – 31 years, from1627 to1658. The last 8 years of his life imprisoned in Agra fort by son Aurangzeb.

Father – JahangirMother – Princess ManmatiSiblings – Three half-brothers - Khusrau, Parwiz and ShahriyarMarried – Inn 1612 married Nur Jahan’s niece Arjumand Bano [Mumtaz Mahal] a Shia wife– devoted to her for 19 years till she died in 1631, giving birth to the14th child.Children – 14 children. 7 survived to adulthood. 4 sons and 3 daughters. Among sons eldest was Dara Shukoh b 1615, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb b Oct 23 1618, and Murad Baksh. The eldest Dara, was an aesthete who followed the religious eclecticism of Akbar and Jahangir. Daughters Jahanara, Roshanara and Gauharara. ..

Peacock ThroneThe name comes from the shape of a throne, having the figures of

two peacocks standing behind it, their tails being expanded and the whole so inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones of appropriate colors as to represent life, created for theMughal Badshah Shah Jahan of India in the 17th century,

which was in his imperial capitalDelhi's Public audience hall, the Diwan-i-Am. Shah Jahan had the famous Koh-i-noor diamond placed in this throne.

The French jeweller Tavernier, who saw Delhi in 1665, described the throne as of the shape of a bed (a "takhteh" or platform), 6 ft. by 4 ft., supported by four golden feet, 20

to 25 in. high, from the bars above which rose twelve columns to support the canopy; the bars were decorated with crosses of rubies and emeralds, and also

with diamonds and pearls. In all there were 108 large rubies on the throne, and 116 emeralds, but many of the latter had flaws. The twelve columns supporting the canopy were decorated with rows of splendid pearls, and Tavernier considered these to be the most valuable part of the throne. Estimates of its value varied between Rs. 40 million

(Bernier) and Rs. 100 million (Tavernier).Nader Shah invaded the Mughal Empire in 1738, and returned to Persia in 1739 with the

original Peacock Throne as well as many other treasures taken from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

Mumtaz MahalMumtāz Mahal (April, 1593 - 17 June 1631) meaning "beloved ornament of the palace" is the common nickname of Arjumand Banu Begum, an Empress of India during the Mughal Dynasty. She was born in Agra, India. Her father was the Persian noble Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of Empress Nur Jehan (who subsequently became the wife of the emperor Jahangir). She was religiously a Shi'aMuslim. She was married at the age of 19, on 10 May 1612, to Prince Khurram, who would later ascend the Peacock Throne as Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. She died in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. Her body remained at Burhanpur for 23 years until the Taj was completed. Only then was her coffin shifted to Agra. Her body was then buried in the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example

of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the

jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of

structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.The

construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally

considered to be the principal designer

Shah Jahan MosqueThe Shah Jahan Mosque was built in the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It is located

in Thatta, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritageand has been to preserved since its

entry.In the town of Thatta (100 km / 60 miles from Karachi) itself,

there is famous Shahjahani Mosque with its beautiful architecture. This mosque was built in 1647 during the reign of Mughal King Shah Jahan, also known as the builder King. The mosque is built with red bricks with blue coloured glaze tiles

probably imported from another Sindh's town of Hala. The mosque has overall 100 domes and it is world's largest

mosque having such number of domes. It has been built keeping acoustics in mind. A person speaking inside one end

of the dome can be heard at the other end.

End Of Shah Jahan Reign

SHAH JAHAN, Mogul emperor of Delhi, the fifth of the dynasty. After revolting against his father Jahangir, as the latter had revolted against Akbar, he succeeded to the throne on his father’s

death in 1627. It was during his reign that the Mogul power attained its greatest prosperity. The chief events of his reign were the destruction of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar (1636), the loss of Kandahar to the Persians (1653), and a second war against the Deccan princes (1655). In 1658 he fell ill, and was confined by his son Aurangzeb in the citadel of Agra until his death in 1666.

Shah Jahan’s life, which began in 1592 with happy ceremonies, wouldn’t have ended in a more tragic way. He spent the last eight years of his life sequestered in a part of the Agra fort; only

Jahanara, his sincere daughter was allowed to visit him. Yet His only consolation was that from his prison window, he could see his unique architectural work Taj Mahal, though he couldn’t visit.

During those eight years, Shah Jahan’s soul had always yearned for visiting Taj Mahal where his beloved wife lay buried and it only rested when he followed her and was at last buried beside

her.The period of his reign was the golden age of Indian architecture. Shah Jahan erected many

splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, built as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal; while the Pearl Mosque at Agra and the palace and great mosque at Delhi also commemorate him. The celebrated Peacock Throne, said to have been worth 6,000,000

also dates from his reign; and he was the founder of the modern city of Delhi, the native name of which is Shahjahanabad.