We all know that Shah Jahan, who ruled between 1628 and 1658, was a great Mughal Emperor. Shah Jahan built some of the most iconic Mughal monuments including the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid during his reign. His real name was Shihab al-Din Muhammad Khurram and he was known as Prince Khurram in his early life. But Shah Jahan was neither the eldest son (he was the third) nor the son of the empress (his mother was one of the many wives of Emperor Jahangir). In fact, he was not even the first choice for the throne. Not surprisingly, Shah Jahan’s journey to the throne is a story of gory politics and intrigue. How exactly did he beat the odds to take over the Mughal throne?
Shah Jahan’s early days
Shah Jahan grew up away from the hustle-bustle of his parent’s household. Shah Jahan’s father was Emperor Jahangir, but he was raised by his grandparents, Emperor Akbar and Empress Ruqaiya Sultana Begum. The royal astrologers had predicted that Ruqaiya would raise an emperor. Did the astrologers have Shah Jahan in mind? Though he grew up sheltered from palace politics, he acquired all the education a prince needed: martial arts, law and administration, liberal arts and more.
Shah Jahan and Khusrau
Meanwhile, Jahangir’s eldest son, Prince Khusrau, was being apprenticed in all key posts in the government. He was Emperor Akbar’s favourite as well. Perhaps, one day he would occupy the Mughal throne? Unfortunately for Khusrau, he had a tense relationship with his father Jahangir. And in 1606, he made a cardinal mistake. He rebelled against his own father, the emperor! Jahangir not only crushed Khusrau’s rebellion, he also imprisoned and blinded him. All of Khusrau’s supporters were publicly executed. His sons too were imprisoned. Shah Jahan, till now a dark horse, became closer to Jahangir, and gradually developed wide political connections in the capital. Shah Jahan assumed key political and military responsibilities and exhibited excellent leadership abilities. Jahangir’s second son Parviz Mirza was incompetent and an alcoholic, so it was clear that Shah Jahan was the potential successor. And just to be doubly sure that there would be no other contenders to the throne, Shah Jahan quietly arranged for the assassination of his blind brother, Khusrau.
Detour: But why were the succession battles in the Mughal dynasty so violent? Watch this short video for that story: The triumphs and tragedies of Shah Jahan
Nur Jahan, the powerful queen
But all was not well in the palace. Jahangir was a pleasure-seeker, slowly drifting into addiction. So his 20th wife, Nur Jahan became the real power centre. Cleverly, she started plotting and scheming about Jahangir’s succession. She had one of her daughters, by her previous husband, married to Jahangir’s other son, Shahryar. And she got her niece, Mumtaz, married to Shah Jahan. Yes, Shah Jahan’s wife, the famous Mumtaz, was the daughter of Asaf Khan, Nur Jahan’s own brother. With this, Nur Jahan had covered all bases.
The power struggle between Nur Jahan and Shah Jahan
But Nur Jahan was keen to place her son-in-law Shahryar on the throne. The opportunity came when the Persians besieged Kandahar. Nur Jahan influenced Jahangir to order Shah Jahan to fight the Persians. Shah Jahan refused, because he believed that in his absence, she would poison Jahangir and install Shahryar as emperor. This, of course, meant that Shah Jahan had disobeyed the imperial command, and so he was promptly arrested. His young sons were sent to Nur Jahan’s harem. Shah Jahan quickly realized that he had painted himself into a corner, and sought royal pardon. Jahangir probably sensed this background and forgave him; but the cold war between Shah Jahan and Nur Jahan was heating up.
The flashpoint came when Jahangir died near Lahore in 1627. At that time Shah Jahan was busy fighting a war in Deccan. Shahryar, then Governor of Lahore, immediately declared himself emperor, using the Lahore treasury to buy off key nobles.
Shah Jahan and Asaf Khan
Thankfully for Shah Jahan, his father-in-law, Asaf Khan, now made some brilliant moves to protect his claim. First, he rescued Shah Jahan’s sons from Nur Jahan’s harem, and arrested Nur Jahan. This prevented Nur Jahan from taking any hostages. Next, he released Prince Dawar Baksh from prison and proclaimed him as emperor. Interestingly, Dawar Baksh was the son of the late Prince Khusrau who had earlier revolted against Jahangir. Dawar Baksh was put on the royal elephant and sent with an army to fight Shahryar in Lahore. Dawar Baksh, a man without any political or military experience, could not believe his luck! He did not realize that he was a proxy and a red-herring to fool the opposition. The imperial army, which was really commanded by an able Shah Jahan loyalist, destroyed Shahryar’s army anyway.
The crowning of Shah Jahan
Meanwhile, Shah Jahan rushed back from Deccan and was declared the emperor. All the nobles fell in line. Shah Jahan then executed every possible male rival to the throne. That included Shahryar and many cousins and nephews. Dawar Baksh too was executed, as he had outlived his usefulness.
Finally, with all the gory business behind him, Shah Jahan commenced his long and glorious reign as emperor, with Asaf Khan as Prime minister. Shah Jahan ruled for 30 years, until 1658 and died in 1666.
It appears that the royal astrologers were right, after all!
