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Baadshah Shah Jahan was born
He was born as Prince Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram. He was born in Lahore, Pakistan as the third and favorite son of the emperor Jahangir from his wife Gossaini who was a Rajput. He was the gradson of Akbar who gave him the name Khurram which is Persian for joyful. -
Married Arjumand Banu Begum
Prince Khurram was 15 years old when he got married. She was the daughter of a Persian noble. She was 14 at the time -
A New Emperor
Upon the death of Jahangir in 1627, Prince Khurram was next for the Mughal throne as Shah Jahan. He would later be called the King of the World. -
Death of His Wife
After having 14 children, Prince Khurram’s wife, who he named Mumtaz Mahal, died. She died in Burhanpur. She died giving birth to her fourteenth child. -
The Start of the Taj Mahal
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The Taj Mahal was Built
The Taj Mahal was made as a memorial for Mumtaz, Shah’s wife. He wanted it to be the most beautiful building on the planet. After the construction was done, he had the hands of the construction workers cut off so they would not build anything as beautiful. There is a story of a black Taj Mahal being built on the other side of the river. People have searched this site and have not found any black marble. There is a reflecting pool there that might have made the reflection of the white Taj Mahal -
A New Capital City
Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra to a city in Delhi. It was known as Shahjahanabad. The massive project was designed by Ahmed Lahwari, the chief architect of the Taj Mahal. -
The Great Water Garden
Lahore is the site of one of the greatest Mughal water gardens known as Shalimar. Water flows under the bluster-legged throne and into the tank, the tanks edge is treated with a lotus ornament. The patform in the center of the tank, called a mahtabi or place for viewing moonlight, might have been used for musicians. -
Mass Military
It was recorded in the year 1648 that Shah Jahan’s infantry consisted of 440,000. He also had musketeers, artillery men, and 185,000 Sowars. The Sowers was another name for the horseman in their military. -
The Taj Mahal is Finished
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Shah Jahan Became ill
When he became ill, Dara, Mumtaz Mahal's oldest son, took over the thrown in his fathers place. After hearing about this one Dara’s younger brothers, Aurangzeb, made an army and challenged his brother. Dara was defeated and Aurangzeb took the throne. Although Shah recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him unable to rule and put him on house arrest. -
Shah Jahan is Very ill
Shah Jahan became ill again with strangury and dysentery. He was bed ridden and became very weak. His daughter Jahanara Begum Sahib took care of him. On January 22 he commanded the imperial court to take care of Jahanara and protect her.
