Jahan09

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Script**  On January 5, 1592, in Lahore India, a third son of the Mughal Emperor Jahnigar was born. His Density was to become great Emperor with campaign of conquest for his empire and a great patriarch of the arts and architecture of India. His name was Shah Jahan. He was a great Ruler of the Mughal empire of India from 1628-1658. He kept the Mughal tradition of art and culture alive while creating great monuments that still stand today to remember his leadership and authority over the land of the Mughal Empire.It all started when Shah Jahan was at the age of 30 when he rebelled because of ambitious to win the succession, rebelled, ineffectually roaming the empire until Jahnigar came back into power in 1625. For three years he fought his way up to become the emperor of the Mughal Empire. Jahan’s reign was notable for its successes against the Deccan states; his campaign against Balkh, Badakhshan, the Deccan States and his attempts to recover Kandahar brought the empire to the verge of bankruptcy as he reconquered lost territory. Mughal power was also temporarily extended in the northwest; In 1638 the Persian governor of Kandahar, Ali Mardan Khan, surrendered that fortress to the Mughals. Shah Jahan was also a patron of the fine arts; he continued the Mughal patronage of painting, although his passion was architecture. Painting during his reign reflected the serene prosperity that the Mughals enjoyed with many scenes reflecting Shah Jahan's interest in romance. Indian writers have generally characterized Shah Jahān as the very ideal of a Muslim monarch. At his first capital, Agra, he undertook the building of two great mosques, the Moti Masjid and the Jami Masjid. At Delhi; Shah Jahān built a huge fortress-palace complex called the Red Fort. In Shah’s first capital, he built one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal. He built this great Tomb for his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, which she was later renamed to Mumtaz Mahal. After she died from bearing Shah’s 14th son, Jahan was devastated by his loss, but he decided to build the world's greatest tomb for her. He collected items from all over the eastern world; jade from China; turquoise from Tibet; lapis lazuli from Afghanistan; chryolite from Egypt; and mother-of-pearl from the Indian Ocean. In religion Shah was not as enthralled as many other emperors. he was less orthodox than his son and successor, Aurangzeb, and he was relatively tolerant of his Hindu subjects. He came to power through violence and betrayal and was ultimately brought down by the same means, exacerbating the legacy of the Mughals. In September 1657 Shah Jahan fell ill, precipitating a struggle for succession between his four sons, Dara Shikoh, Murad Bakhsh, Shah Shuja, and Aurangzeb .The victor, Aurangzeb, declared himself emperor in 1658. Aurangzeb strictly confined Shah Jahan in the fort at Agra until his death. Shah Jahan died in 1666 and was entombed, along with his favorite wife, inside the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is the only lasting piece that Shah Jahan has truely left iin his World to remember his great Emperor of the Mughal Empire.

**Research** http://w[|ww][|.biography.com/articles/Shah-Jahan-9480261]
 * He was the third son of the Mughal emperor Jahnigar and the Rajput princess ManmatiShahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan 1st, born Jan. 5, 1592, Lahore, India—died Jan. 22, 1666, Agra
 * Mughal emperor of India 1628–58
 * In 1622 Shah Jahān, ambitious to win the succession, rebelled, ineffectually roaming the empire until reconciled to Jahāngīr in 1625
 * 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
 * A patron of the fine arts, he continued the Mughal patronage of painting, although his passion was architecture, with the highlight being undoubtedly the Taj Mahal
 * Painting during his reign reflected the serene prosperity that the Mughals enjoyed with many scenes reflecting Shah Jahan's interest in romance
 * His reign was notable for its successes against the Deccan states
 * reconquer lost territory almost bankrupted the empire, his reign marked the zenith of Mughal court splendour
 * part of the clique that dominated Mughal-dynasty politics
 * greatest legacy that Shah Jahan was a part of during the Mughal rule of India was that of the ferocity of his successor to gain control of the empire
 * Shah Jahan gives us a great wealth of knowledge into the internal workings of an empire that was built from conquering, violence, and tolerance while alluding to the unstable hierarchy and the right to power in the Mughal Empire
 * He came to power through violence and betrayal and was ultimately brought down by the same means, exacerbating the legacy of the Mughals
 * Had nine wives
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">he was less orthodox than his son and successor, Aurangzeb, and he was relatively tolerant of his Hindu subjects
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahan was the son of Mughal Emperor Jehangir and was originally known as Prince Khurram
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">first aggression he faced after ascending the throne was from Jujhar Singh, son of Bir Singh Deo, the Bundela chief
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">A major revolt for Shah Jahan came in the year 1628 by Khan Jahan Lodi
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Jahan's accession was the Deccan policy of the Mughals, which resulted in a suspicion of their alliance with the Shia rulers of Persia but, the problem solved with the death of Malik Ambar
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahan fell in love with Arjumand Banu Begum at first sight, when he was a teen
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Five years later he married her and gave her the name of Mumtaz Mahal
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">she became his inseparable companion, accompanying him even on military ventures
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">died while giving birth to their 14th child
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657 and one of his son's, Aurangzeb,took adventage of the oppertunity and took over the throne and imprisoned Shah Jahan
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahan died in 1666 in captivity only and was entombed, along with his favorite wife, inside the Taj Mahal
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahan fell in love with Mumtez at the age of 16 and adored his queen throughout her life until she died giving brith to Shah's 14th son, desvested by his loss he decided to build the world's greatest tomb for her
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">all the items came from around asai: jade from China; torquise from Tibet; lapis lazuli from Afghanistan; chryolite from eygpt; and mother-of-pearl from the Indian Ocean
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">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**]
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Mughal power was also temporarily extended in the northwest
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">In 1638 the Persian governor of Kandahār, ʿAlī Mardān Khan, surrendered that fortress to the Mughals
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">In 1646 Mughal forces occupied Badakhshān and Balkh, but in 1647 Balkh was relinquished, and attempts to reconquer it in 1649, 1652, and 1653 failed
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The Persians reconquered Kandahār in 1649
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahān transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1648, creating the new city of [|**Shāhjahānābād**] there
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">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
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Shah Jahān’s reign was also a period of great literary activity, and the arts of painting and calligraphy were not neglected
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">His court was one of great pomp and splendour, and his collection of jewels was probably the most magnificent in the world
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Indian writers have generally characterized Shah Jahān as the very ideal of a Muslim monarch
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">But though the splendour of the Mughal court reached its zenith under him, he also set <span class="IL_LINK_STYLE" style="border-bottom: #009900 1px solid; color: #009900; font-family: Arial,'Arial Unicode MS' ,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline;">in motion influences that finally led to the decline of <span class="IL_SPAN">the empire
 * <span class="IL_SPAN"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">His expeditions against Balkh and Badakhshān and his attempts to recover Kandahār brought <span class="IL_SPAN">the empire to the verge of bankruptcy
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">In religion, Shah Jahān was a more orthodox Muslim than Jahāngīr or his grandfather [|**Akbar**] but a less orthodox one than Aurangzeb
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">He proved a relatively tolerant ruler toward his Hindu subjects
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">In September 1657 Shah Jahān fell ill, precipitating a struggle for succession between his four sons, Dārā Shikōh, Murād Bakhsh, Shah Shujāʿ, and [|**Aurangzeb**]
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The victor, Aurangzeb, declared himself emperor in 1658
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">strictly confined Shah Jahān in the fort at Agra until his death

[] __ [] __ National Geographic: World History: The Human Experience by: Farah Karls []