Jahangir (1605–1627)

• Full Name: Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Jahangir ("Conqueror of the World"). Born 1569 in Fatehpur Sikri.
• Son of Akbar and Harkha Bai (Jodha Bai) of Amber.

Key Events and Features:

1. Revolt of Prince Khusrau (1606):

• His son Khusrau revolted shortly after Jahangir's accession and fled towards Punjab.
• The 5th Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, gave shelter and blessings to Khusrau. Jahangir had Guru Arjan Dev executed in 1606 — making him the first Sikh martyr.

2. "Chain of Justice" (Zanjir-i-Adal):

• Jahangir hung a golden chain with 60 bells from the fort at Agra to the Yamuna bank. Any petitioner who could not get justice through courts could pull the chain to attract the king's attention.

3. Nur Jahan's Influence:

• Jahangir married Mehr-un-Nisa in 1611, whom he gave the title "Nur Jahan" (Light of the World). She was a Persian lady, the widow of Sher Afghan, and became the most powerful woman of the Mughal era.
• Nur Jahan effectively ran the empire — coins were struck in her name, farmans (royal orders) were issued with her seal, and she managed all affairs of state while Jahangir indulged in art and wine.
• She formed a powerful junta with her father Itimad-ud-Daulah, her brother Asaf Khan, and Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan) — later fell out with Khurram.

4. Nur Jahan's Architecture:

• Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah (her father, Ghiyas Beg) at Agra — the first Mughal building entirely of white marble with pietra dura (inlay) work; a precursor to the Taj Mahal.

5. English Embassy:

• Captain William Hawkins visited Jahangir's court (1608-11) seeking trade privileges for the English East India Company but failed.
• Sir Thomas Roe (ambassador of King James I of England) visited (1615-18) and obtained some trading privileges.

6. Art and Culture:

• Jahangir was a great connoisseur of art and his reign is the golden age of Mughal painting. He boasted he could identify any painter's work by a single stroke.
• Famous painters: Ustad Mansur (wildlife paintings — called "the Wonder of the Age"), Abul Hasan, Bishan Das, Manohar.
• Jahangir wrote his memoirs: Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Jahangirnama).

7. Military:

• Fought with the Mewar ruler Amar Singh (son of Rana Pratap). A treaty was signed — Mewar submitted to Mughal suzerainty, becoming the last major Rajput state to do so.
• Ahmednagar (Deccan) was conquered with the help of the great Abyssinian general Malik Ambar being outwitted.

Shah Jahan (1628–1658)

• Full Name: Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan ("King of the World"). Born 1592.
• Son of Jahangir and a Rajput princess (Jagat Gosain — the daughter of Jodhpur Raja Udai Singh).
• His mother tongue was Braj Bhasha.

Key Events:

Revolts and Consolidation:

• Put down revolts by Khan Jahan Lodi (Afghan chief in Deccan, 1628-31) and Jujhar Singh Bundela.
• His reign started on a grim note — he killed his brother Shahryar and cousins as security measures.

The Deccan Policy:

• Shah Jahan's persistent fixation was the recovery of Kandahar (his "ancestral" homeland) and expansion in the Deccan.
• He annexed Ahmednagar (1633), fought wars against Bijapur and Golconda — reducing them to vassals paying tribute.
• The Deccan wars were managed by his son Aurangzeb (as governor of the Deccan).

Kandahar:

• Fought three wars with Persia for Kandahar (1639, 1649, 1652) but could never permanently hold it — a persistent failure.

Architecture — The Golden Age:

Shah Jahan's reign is considered architecture's golden age in India.

1. Taj Mahal (1632–1653):

• Built at Agra on the banks of Yamuna in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum), who died in 1631 giving birth to their 14th child (Gauhar Ara).
• Chief architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahauri (though many historians debate this). 20,000 workers worked for 22 years.
• Built of pure white Makrana marble from Rajasthan; inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones (pietra dura). The magnificent central dome (called an "onion dome") is 73 metres high.
• Called by poet Rabindranath Tagore: "A teardrop on the cheek of time."
• The four minarets are topped with chhatris (small dome-shaped pavilions) and are slightly tilted outward so that in the event of an earthquake, they would fall away from the tomb.

2. Red Fort (Lal Qila), Delhi (1638–1648):

• Built when Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi).
• Contains the famous Diwan-i-Aam (Hall of Public Audience), Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque), and the famous Peacock Throne (Takht-i-Taus) — encrusted with jewels including the legendary Koh-i-Noor diamond and Timur Ruby.

3. Jama Masjid, Delhi (1644–1658):

• The largest mosque in India; built of red sandstone and white marble.

4. Shahjahanabad:

• New capital city built; contained the Red Fort and Jama Masjid.

Succession War and Imprisonment:

• Shah Jahan fell seriously ill in 1657, triggering a war of succession among his four sons: Dara Shikoh (eldest, his favorite, a liberal like Akbar), Shah Shuja (Bengal), Aurangzeb (Deccan), and Murad (Gujarat).
• Aurangzeb was the ablest military commander. He allied with Murad, defeated and killed Dara at the Battle of Samugarh (May 1658) near Agra, and then treacherously imprisoned Murad.
• Shah Jahan was imprisoned by Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort in 1658, where he spent his last 8 years gazing at the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna. He died in 1666.
• Dara Shikoh was a scholar who translated the Upanishads into Persian as Sirr-i-Akbar (The Great Secret) and wrote Majma-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of the Two Oceans — comparing Hindu and Islamic philosophical concepts).