Loving Couple
The woman who would one day rest in the Taj
Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in 1593
in Agra, India, to Persian nobility. Her father
was the brother-in-law of Shah Jahan’s father,
Jahan gir. Her beauty was so arresting that Prince
Khurram (as Shah Jahan was then known) fell in
love with her on sight. They were betrothed in
1607 and married when it was deemed propi-
tious in 1612. Khurram renamed her Mumtaz
(“chosen one of the palace”) shortly after their
marriage.
Together Mumtaz and Shah Jahan traveled
the Mughal Empire for 19 years. She rarely left
his side and accompanied him on military cam-
paigns, even during her 14 pregnancies and
throughout his campaign to overthrow his
father. Mumtaz was his confidante and
counselor, yet she did not seek politi-
cal power for herself, even after Shah
Jahan’s successfully secured the throne
in 1628, a year after his father’s death.
Shah Jahan was renowned for his
exquisite taste and for being a major
patron of the arts. He was fascinated
with gemology and supported the work ofcourt miniaturists, who became famous world-
wide for their elaborate decoration in the mar-
gins of their paintings and for their mastery of
floral designs. Shah Jahan focused much of his
energy on architectural design, continuing the
magnificent tradition of his predecessors. He
completed the Agra Fort, with its distinctive red
sandstone; the Lahore Fort, with its beautiful
marble and tile work; the Red Fort in Delhi; and
impressive mosques in Lahore and Delhi—but
his most famous monumental work of them all
is the glorious Taj Mahal.
Seven of the 14 children born to Mumtaz
and Shah Jahan lived past infancy. Mumtaz
died in childbirth when she and Shah Jahan
were on a military campaign in 1631, and he
never fully recovered from the loss of his wife.
For the next two decades, he focused on build-
ing a timeless memorial to their eternal love.
In part because Shah Jahan was so preoccupied
with Mumtaz’s Taj Mahal, the empire’s con-
cerns were neglected. In 1658 their son Aurang-
zeb wrested control of the empire from his father
while killing off his three brothers. He cloistered
Shah Jahan in the Agra Fort until his father’s
death in 1666.GROWING
WEALTH
Coins of silver
(below), minted
during the reign
of Shah Jahan’s
grandfather,
Akbar the Great,
represented the
empire’s wealth,
enhanced through
the centralization
of its finances.
Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford
Chosen One
of the Palace
UNDER ISLAMIC LAW, Mughal emperors
could have four contractual wives (begum).
By custom, they also had lower-status
wives as well as concubines. Shah Jahan
married five times, twice before marrying
the Persian princess Arjumand Banu Be-
gum, known as Mumtaz Mahal, in 1612.
They met as teenagers but waited five years
to marry until court astrologers thought the
stars aligned. Mumtaz was Shah Jahan’s
favorite wife and was empress consort un-
til her death in 1631. They had 14 children.
Shah Jahan married two more “royal wives”
for political reasons, but he never remarried
after Mumtaz’s death. He devoted the next
two decades to building the Taj Mahal.BRIDGEMAN/ACI
THIS HUNTRESS, IDENTIFIED BY SOME AS MUMTAZ MAHAL,
STEADIES HER HORSE. 18TH-19TH CENTURY. UNIVERSITY OF
EDINBURGH LIBRARY
BRIDGEMAN/ACI