Shah Jahan became the emperor in 1627, at the age of 35. Being a megalomaniac ignorant or insensitive to the grinding poverty prevalent in the empire, he began a series of grand buildings and ornamented thrones. Millions of people perished in famines and pestilence, but Shah Jahan continued building his grand mosques, palaces, mausoleums and thrones without giving the suffering poor any comfort. There were very few emperors in human history who was so distant from the masses over which he ruled roughshod. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, while in labour for the 13th time, after delivering a girl child. Shah Jahan built the world renowned Taj Mahal at Agra in memory of her, even though he visited it only once after it was complete. The second time he entered it was for himself to be buried there. He made his eldest son, Dara Shikoh, who was a moderate, the crown prince. Aurangzeb, the third son, strongly resented this, as he was militarily the most able. When the emperor fell ill, struggle for the crown ensued with the four sons of Shah Jahan pitted against each other. Aurangzeb made a tactical alliance with his brother, Murad Bakhsh and defeated his brother Dara Shikoh at the Battle of Samugarh. Dara was chased, imprisoned and beheaded. His headless corpse was carried out in victorious procession through the streets of Delhi. Aurangzeb’s forces defeated his brother Shah Shuja, who was the governor of Bengal and chased him. He fled to the forests of Arakan in Burma and his fate is not known. After defeating his enemy brothers, Aurangzeb turned treacherously against his ally. He imprisoned and killed Murad Bakhsh and Suleiman Shikoh, Dara’s son. Shah Jahan was imprisoned at Agra fort while these fratricidal war was raging around him. Aurangzeb never visited his father in prison and he died at the age of 74, on January 31, 1666. He was buried secretly in Taj Mahal at night. |