Shah Jahan

Royalty
Date Of Birth:
5 January 1592
Date Of Death:
22 January 1666
Place Of Birth:
Lahore, Pakistan
Best Known As:
The Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan was a 17th century Mughal (Mogol) emperor who stands apart from others of his era because he built the Taj Mahal. He was the grandson of Akbar the Great, and took the throne after his father's death in 1657. During his thirty-year reign, Shah Jahan had ups and downs in his attempts to expand his empire, but he had great success in architecture. The story goes that he built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had died in childbirth. He also built mosques, gardens and libraries, as well as the Red Fort in Delhi. Shah Jahan was deposed by his third son, Aurangzeb, who took the throne in 1658 and threw his father in prison. That's where Shah Jahan died, eight years later.

Extra Credit

The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build… Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, had 14 children before she died in childbirth at the age of 39… Before becoming emperor, he was known as Prince Khurram.

4 Good Links

Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.