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India: Shah Jahan with his three young sons, Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb, their maternal uncle Asaf Khan to the right. c. 1630

India: Shah Jahan with his three young sons, Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb, their maternal uncle Asaf Khan to the right. c. 1630

Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, Urdu: شاه ‌جہاں, Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Malik-ul-Sultanat, Ala Hazrat Abu'l-Muzaffar Shahab ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani, Padshah Ghazi Zillu'llah, Firdaus-Ashiyani, Shahanshah—E--Sultanant Ul Hindiya Wal Mughaliya, Emperor of India ) was the emperor of the Mughal Empire in the Indian Subcontinent from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning 'King of the World'. He was the fifth Mughal emperor after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir.

The period of his reign was the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shahanshah Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the legendary Taj Mahal at Agra built as a tomb for his wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The Pearl Mosque and many other buildings in Agra, the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid Mosque in Delhi, mosques in Lahore, extensions to Lahore Fort and a mosque in Thatta also commemorate him. The famous Takht-e-Taus or the Peacock Throne, said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. He was also the founder of the new imperial capital called Shahjahanabad, now known as Old Delhi.

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