SHAH JAHAN (fl. 1627-1658)  ,

Mogul emperor of Delhi, the fifth of the dynasty . After revolting against his father Jahangir, as the latter had revolted against Akbar, he succeeded to the throne on his father's death in 1627 . It was during his reign that the Mogul power attained its greatest prosperity . The chief events of his reign were the destruction of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar (1636), the loss of Kandahar to the Persians (1653), and a second war against the Deccan princes (1655) . In 1658 he fell ill, and was confined by his son Aurangzeb in the citadel of Agra until his death in 1666 . The period of his reign was the golden age of Indian architecture . Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, built as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal; while the Pearl Mosque at Agra and the palace and great mosque at Delhi also commemorate him . The celebrated " Peacock Throne," said to have been worth £6,000,000 also dates from his reign; and he was the founder of the modern city of Delhi, the native name of which is Shahjahanabad .