| Shihab ud-Din SHAH JAHAN (r.1627-1658) | |
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GIR'S TOMB* |
Jahangir's elaborate tomb in Shahdara, Lahore, was built by Shah Jahan, with the active collaboration of Jahangir's widow Nur Jahan |
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Shah Jahan holds court, in a splendid painting by Bichitra (1650); and other views of his darbar, including a depiction of the now-lost Peacock Throne |
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Along with the Peacock Throne, the "Late Shah Jahan Album" was probably part of the astonishing amount of loot carried off by Nadir Shah in 1739 |
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Shah Jahan's "shamsah" design, perhaps the most famous piece of calligraphic ornament in the world, is one of the glories of the Met's collection |
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Like Jahangir, Shah Jahan minted
some gorgeous
coins; it's usually believed that his reign represented the golden age
of the *Mughal
empire* |
|
FORT* |
To the Lahore Fort he added the spectacular Naulakha Pavilion (1631) and other buildings, as well as creating the Shalimar Gardens |
|
ABAD* |
In 1633 he captured the hilltop fortress of Daulatabad, which became the key to his and Aurangzeb's efforts to subdue the Deccan |
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He also built in Thatta, Sind, the striking "Shahjahani Mosque," with its 101 domes and lavish tilework (1644-47) |
|
FORT* |
To the Agra Fort he added its Moti Masjid, and Khas Mahal, and other buildings; his daughter Raushanara built Agra's Jama Masjid |
|
MAHAL* |
And across the river he built, as a tomb for his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, the inescapable, unforgettable Taj Mahal (1631-48) |
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JAHAN- ABAD* |
In 1638 he laid the foundations for the Red Fort, around which he also built the walled city of Shahjahanabad; in his reign Delhi replaced Agra as the Mughals' official capital |
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"Shah Jahan embraces his son
Aurangzeb,"
and other retrospective views; *a Mughal
dynastic chart* |