Shah Jahan Dies: Builder of the Taj Imprisoned to the End

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on June 17, 1631, giving birth to their fourteenth child during a military campaign. The emperor was reportedly so grief-stricken that his hair turned white within months. Born on January 5, 1592, in Lahore, Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal emperor, ruling an empire of 150 million people at the peak of its territorial extent and cultural achievement. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 and continued for 22 years, employing 20,000 workers drawn from across the Mughal Empire and beyond. Materials came from all over Asia: white marble from Rajasthan, jade from China, turquoise from Tibet, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, sapphires from Sri Lanka. The complex includes not just the main mausoleum but a mosque, a guesthouse, formal gardens in the Persian charbagh pattern, and a reflecting pool designed to mirror the building at specific times of day. The architectural plan achieves near-perfect bilateral symmetry, with every element on one side replicated precisely on the other. Shah Jahan also commissioned the Red Fort in Delhi, the Jama Masjid, and the legendary Peacock Throne, a gold-encrusted seat of power studded with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds that was reportedly worth more than the Taj Mahal itself. In 1658, his four sons fought a war of succession as Shah Jahan fell ill. Aurangzeb, the most ruthless and religiously orthodox, emerged victorious. He deposed his father and imprisoned him in the Agra Fort for the last eight years of his life. Shah Jahan's window faced the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River. He died in captivity on January 22, 1666, at age 74, and was buried beside Mumtaz, the only asymmetry in a building designed for perfect symmetry.