Shah Jahan Biography

Shah Jahan was a 17th century Mughal (Mogol) emperor who stands apart from others of his era because he built the Taj Mahal. He was the grandson of Akbar the Great, and took the throne after his father’s death in 1657. During his thirty-year reign, Shah Jahan had ups and downs in his attempts to expand his empire, but he had great success in architecture. The story goes that he built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had died in childbirth. He also built mosques, gardens and libraries, as well as the Red Fort in Delhi. Shah Jahan was deposed by his third son, Aurangzeb, who took the throne in 1658 and threw his father in prison. That’s where Shah Jahan died, eight years later.