[I 001 / SHAH JAHAN] - THE EMPEROR WHO BUILT THE TAJ MAHAL:
January 5, 1592, Shah Jahan's birthday, was a momentous date according to astrologers. This could have been among the reasons his grandfather, Akbar, favored him so. The Taj Mahal, although by no means the only one of Shah Jahan's great architectural and artistic achievements, is the best known.
Akbar (1542-1605) was a great [G 15 / Mogul] ruler and the man considered to be the real founder of the Mogul Empire. Shah Jahan's mother was Jodh Bai, a Hindu princess of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and his great, great grandfather was Babur (1493-1530) who had come from Central Asia to India and whose lineage can be traced to Genghis Khan, the Mongol emperor.
Akbar's influence on Shah Jahan, a third son, was much larger than that of his father, Jahangir (Seizer of the World). Akbar renamed the boy Khurram and assumed responsibility for his upbringing. His mother was placated with rubies and pearls when her son was given to one of Akbar's childless wives, Ruqayyah Sultan Begum. Shah Jahan's relationship with his two older brothers, both of whom came to very little, was distant. Although well schooled in languages and writing, Shah Jahan preferred the outdoors.
Shah Jahan was best known for his architectural achievements and he was considered the greatest builder of all the Moguls. Apart from the Taj Mahal, he was responsible for improvements to the Agra Fort, and the building of the Jami Masjid and the Red Ford at Delhi.
Shah Jahan also turned his attention to building mosques besides residential and civic projects. Two of his largest are at Agra. One is the Jami Masjid at Agra, which he allowed his daughter Jahanara to endow, and which was to be his last major structure. It was completed in 1656. The second is the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque - with its three domes - inside the Agra Fort which was finished in 1653.
