Columbia Encyclopedia

Shah Jahan or Shah Jehan , 1592 1666, Mughal emperor of India (1628 58), son and successor of Jahangir. His full name was Khurram Shihab ud din Muhammad. He rebelled against his father in 1622 but was pardoned and succeeded to the throne in 1628. In the course of his long reign he conquered most of the Deccan and temporarily (1638 49) recovered Kandahar from the Persians. Shah Jahans reign is considered the golden age of Mughal art and architecture. Among the buildings he erected were the unsurpassed Taj Mahal and the Pearl Mosque, both at Agra, and the new city at Delhi, which he made his capital. Literature also flourished at his magnificent court. Shah Jahan fell seriously ill in 1657, and this led to a war of succession among his sons. In 1658 he was deposed and imprisoned for the rest of his life by his son Aurangzeb.