Hvem giftede sig med Shah Jahan?

Shah Jahan (dvs. Verdens konge – egl. navn Khurram), (5. januar 1592 – 22. januar 1666) var en indisk stormogul i perioden 1627-1658.

Shah Jahan virkede tidligt som provinsguvernør og general for faderen Jahangir og udmærkede sig i begge henseender. På grund af intriger fra stedmoderen Nur Jahan (hvis broder var hans svigerfader) så han sine tronfølgerchancer truet og rejste to gange oprør mod faderen. Efter dennes død nedkæmpede han 1627-1628 hensynsløst alle rivaler og blev enehersker.

I ydre forhold blev Shah Jahans regering i mange henseender en storhedstid for mogulriget. Han synes at have været en handlekraftig, udadvendt og hårdhændet regent som lagde stor vægt på sin magt og værdighed. Erobringspolitikken over for de endnu uafhængige indiske fyrstendømmer blev genoptaget og enkelte nye provinser (bl.a. Bijapur og Golkonda i Deccan) indlemmet eller gjort afhængige. I øvrigt førte kejseren sig frem med stort hofhold og imponerende bygningsmæssige initiativer. Den kostbare krigs- og byggepolitik førte dog også til stigende social nød og flere bondeoprør som blev slået ned. I religiøse anliggender opgav Shah Jahan delvis forgængernes tolerancepolitik og favoriserede klart islam på hinduernes bekostning. Han flyttede desuden hovedstaden tilbage til Delhi, der var et tradtitionelt muslimsk centrum.

I de senere år synes Shah Jahans handlekraft at være taget af og han selv at have koncentreret sig om hoflivet. Dette førte til stigende intriger blandt hans sønner om tronfølgen, og i en bitter borgerkrig 1657-59 blev han sommeren 1658 besejret, afsat og fængslet af sønnen Aurangzeb, som derefter tog magten. Shah Jahan tilbragte de sidste år i husarrest, forholdene her er stærkt omdiskuterede.

For eftertiden er Shah Jahan først og fremmest berømt som grundlæggeren af gravmælet Taj Mahal (opført 1631-1653 til minde om hans yndlingshustru), hvor han også selv ligger begravet. Blandt hans øvrige bygningsværker er Det Røde Fort i Delhi.

Kandahari Begum (also spelled Qandahari Begum; c. 1593 – ?; also known as Kandahari Mahal; meaning "Lady from Kandahar") was the first wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and the mother of his first child, Princess Parhez Banu Begum.

Mumtaz Mahal (Persian pronunciation: [mum.ˈtɑːz ma.ˈhal]; lit. 'The Exalted One of the Palace'; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her tomb.

Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility. She was the daughter of Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire, and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir and the power behind the emperor. Arjumand Banu was married at the age of 19 on 10 May 1612 or 16 June 1612 to Prince Khurram, later known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, who conferred upon her the title "Mumtaz Mahal" lit. 'The Exalted One of the Palace'. Although betrothed to Shah Jahan since 1607, she ultimately became his second wife in 1612. Mumtaz and her husband had 14 children, including Jahanara Begum (Shah Jahan's favorite daughter), and the Crown prince Dara Shikoh, the heir-apparent, anointed by his father, who temporarily succeeded him until deposed by Mumtaz Mahal's sixth child, Aurangzeb, who ultimately succeeded his father as the sixth Mughal emperor in 1658.

Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of her 14th child, a daughter named Gauhar Ara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a tomb for her, which is considered to be a monument of undying love. As with other Mughal royal ladies, no contemporary likenesses of her are accepted, but imagined portraits were created from the 19th century onwards.

Izz-un-Nissa Begum was the third wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. She is popularly known by the title, Akbarabadi Mahal (which probably indicates that she hailed from the city of Akbarabad), and commissioned the Akbarabadi Mosque in Shahjahanabad (present-day Old Delhi). Less commonly, she is also referred to as Sirhindi Begum.