Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan (A.D. 1628-1658)

Shah Jahan was proclaimed emperor at Agra. His mother was Jagat Gasain and his childhood name was Khurram. He married Arjumand Danu Begum (Mumtaj Mahal).

He destroyed Portuguese settlement at Hoogly.  The Port of Daulatabad was occupied by Mahabat Khan, Viceroy of Deccan. Under a treaty with Bijapur and Golconda in 1636 Mughal suzerainty was established.

In 1638 Ali Mardan Khan, the Persian Governor of Qandhar, surrendered the fort to the Mughal government of Kabul. Shahjahan secured Kandahar and immediately fortified it. But Persia wrested Kandahar from the Mughals in 1649. Shahjahan sent three expeditions to recover Kandahar, but all failed. This is called the permanent loss of 'Qandhar'.

Last 8 years of his life were very painful, as rumor of Shah Jahan’s death opened a war of succession among his sons. There was a brutal war of succession am his four sons Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad. Dara was his favourite but Aurangzeb was the ablest. Combined forces of Aurangzeb and Murad defeated Dara’s army under Raja Jaswant Singh near Dharmat (Ujjain).  Again Dara was decisively defeated at Samugarh. Ultimately, Aurangzeb took control and Shah Jahan was made the prisoner in the Agra being looked after by his daughter, Jahan Ara, till his death in 1666.  Shah Jahan was placed under arrest by Aurangzeb in the Agra-fort where he died in 1666.

  • Foreign travellers like Bernier, Travernier and Manucci have left accounts about his reign.
  • Moti Masjid (Agra), Red Fort (Delhi), Jama Masjid (Delhi) and above all the superb Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of his beloved Mumtaj Mahal are his famous contributions.
  • His reign is considered the ‘Golden Age’ of the Mughal Empire

Related Questions

1. Ain-i-Akbari gives information about -- View Answer

2. Tulsidas was a contemporary of : -- View Answer

3. On the wall of which of the following buildings built by Shah Jahan, the Persian couplet "If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this" is inscribed? -- View Answer

4. Which of the following is similar to the Taj Mahal in construction? -- View Answer

5. The most famous musician at the court of Akbar was Tansen. His original name was : -- View Answer

6. The mausoleum of sher shah is at : -- View Answer

7. Buland Darwaza, built by Akbar, is to commemorate the victory of : -- View Answer

8. Buland Darwaza is situated in : -- View Answer

9. Which of the following forts was not built by Akbar ? -- View Answer

10. Purana Quila was constructed during the reign of : -- View Answer


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