The Life of Shah Jahan
by Mindy Grill“Emperor, Brutal Conqueror, and Builder”
Shah Jahan became the ruler of the Mongol empire after the death of his father in 1627. The life of Shah Jahan became much different as he was now responsible for an empire that stretched from Russia to China and included modern day India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Emperor Shah Jahan, who claimed to have descended from Mongol leader Genghis Kahn, was a brutal warrior. Like his predecessors, he conquered and invaded towns and villages, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. Information on Shah Jahan revealed that he also had a romantic side. His marriage to Queen Muntash Mahal was a fabled love story, and his grief over her death lead to the erection of the legendary Taj Mahal, often described as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Shah Jahan, or “king of the world” as the name is translated was only 25 when he became emperor of the Mogul empire, the super power of its day. The life of Shah Jahan is marked by triumphs and tragedies. He was a religious man, who closely followed the tenets of Islam. He was one of the few Mongol leaders at the time to abstain from drinking alcohol as mandated by the Koran. As a follower of the Sufi or mystical sect of Islam, Jahan felt a personal connection to some of the teachings of Sufism. For example, he regarded the date of his birth during the year of the Islamic millennium as a sign of his own greatness, and gave himself Sufic titles such as “Lord of the Age” and “Shadow of God” to reflect his notion that he was somehow modeled after the perfection of God.
Monuments Built by Shah Jahan During his Reign
This egomaniacal streak had manifestations in other aspects of the life of Shah Jahan. He was obsessed with building emblems of his great power, and no one could recount the history of India during the reign of Shah Jahan without referring to these. In particular, he enjoyed exhibiting his greatness in the form of monumental thrones. Immediately following his coronation in 1628, Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the creation of the Peacock Throne. The throne took seven years to complete and had as its centerpiece the famous Koi Nur diamond, once valued at half the wealth of all India. Today, the Koi Nur diamond is among the crown jewels of England’s Queen Elizabeth. It is from the Peacock throne at his place in Delhi, known as the Red Fort, that Jahan was said to have ruled his empire. The emperor is said to of had forty hangmen at his beck and call ready to mete out justice on the spot.
The Taj Mahal—the greatest of the monuments built by Shah Jahan has its origins in the fabled love affair he had with his favorite wife, Muntash Mahal. In fact, anyone seeking information on Shah Jahan will come across the love story between him and his wife. The legend goes that the two met when they were both fifteen years old at a market place. The palace approved of their marriage at age 20, as Muntash Mahal was a niece of the Queen at the time. The couple was described as inseparable, devoted to each other and deeply in love. During the course of their 19-year marriage, Muntash Mahal bore Emperor Shah Jahan’s 14 children. It was during the birth of her 14th child that she died in childbirth, leaving Jahan overcome with grief.
Heartbroken over his loss, Emperor Shah Jahan dreamed of a way to immortalize his beloved wife. He decided to build the most beautiful tomb in the world to honor her memory: the Taj Mahal. The undertaking was massive. It is said that he summoned 20,000 craftsmen from all over his empire to work on the project. Court records indicate that the emperor was involved in every aspect of the Taj Mahal’s construction, from the design of the gardens to choosing the Koranic passages that were inscribed all over the monument. A lot of mystery and rumors swirled over the lengthy building of Emperor Shah Jahan’s tribute to his wife. Some scholars say that the Taj Mahal and its surrounding gardens and water features were built to mimic the layout of paradise or heaven as described in the Koran. Others say that Jahan had started but never completed another building identical to the Taj Mahal except all black as its mirror image across the river. One particularly colorful rumor, tells of information on Shah Jahan and how he summoned the monument’s architect to reward him for a job well done. He proceeded to apparently have the architect’s hands cut off so that he would never be able to build a more beautiful building.
The Taj Mahal, which today can receive as many as 200,000 visitors a day, is still a sight to be seen. In fact, the history of India during the reign of Shah Jahan is replete with details of the creation of the Taj Mahal. The entire building is covered in white marble and has inlays of a variety of precious gems such as amethyst, lapis lazuli, and sapphire. And in addition to being the final resting place of Muntash Mahal, it is also the burial ground for Emperor Shah Jahan himself. The downfall of Jahan was almost as tragic as the death of his wife. The emperor had fallen ill, which began a bloody power struggle among his four sons to see who would take the throne. Three of his four sons died in the struggle-leaving son Orangzeb as the victor. But Orangzeb wasn’t kind to his father. He imprisoned him in a fort in Agra for eight years, where he lived out the remainder of his life stripped of his power. Luckily for Jahan, he was able to look out his window at the beautiful monument that he built for his wife. In 1666, Shah Jahan died at age 74. His body was put in a boat and rowed down the river Yamuna to the Taj Mahal. Here he was buried next to his beloved wife.
