After his father’s death, Prince Khurram ascended the throne in 1627 AD under the title Shah Jahan which meant King of the World. He came to the throne after killing his blind brother Khusrow and younger brother Shahryar.
The Mughal empire at this time, was truly unmatched in military might, territorial extent and wealth. Many scholars regard the reign of Shahjahan as the ‘climax’ or ‘golden age’ of the Mughal empire. Mughal architecture under him reached its zenith.
CONQUESTS BY SHAHJAHAN
In the first year of his reign, Shahjahaa had to overcome the revolts of the Bundelas at Bundelkhand and the Afghan noble named Khan Jahan Lodhi, an ex-viceroy of Deccan. During Jahangir’s reign, Bir Singh Bundela had become the emperor’s favourite by assassinating Abul Fazl. After his death, his son Jujhar Singh succeeded him. Jujhar and his son, Vikramajit, rebelled against the Mughals, but the imperialist forces pursued them relentlessly and eventually murdered them.
AHMEDNAGAR (1633 AD)
Shahjahan pursued the Mughal designs of the complete conquest of the Deccan. However, it could not be completed during Shahjahan. After the death of Malik Ambar, his son, Fateh Khan failed to get the cooperation of the Nizam Shahi nobles and consequently surrendered to the Mughals. Ahmednagar was annexed to the empire in 1633 AD.
OTHER DECCAN STATES
Next Shahjahan forced the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda to accept his overlordship. Both Bijapur and Golconda signed a treaty with the emperor in 1636 AD. Khandesh, Berar, Telangana and Daulatabad were made into four Mughal provinces. This brought 20 years of peace to the Deccan, till war broke out again in 1656 AD.
MARATHAS, PORTUGUESE AND KAMARUP
Shahjahan lured some Maratha leaders into his service. The most influential among them was Shahji Bhonsle.
Shahjahan also expelled the Portuguese from Hooghly, as they were abusing their trading privileges and indulging in pirney and slave trade. Kamarup was also annexed.
CENTRAL ASIA KANDAHAR AND TRANSOXIANA
Shahjahan’s policy towards Central Asin was to secure a possession of Kandahar, which the Persians had re-occupied during the Jahangir’s reign. He had recovered Kandahar in 1638 AD, only to lose it in 1649 AD. But his three expeditions to regain it were without success.
Thus, Kandahar was forever lost to the Mughal Empire. Shahjahan, wanting to conquer Badakshan and Balkh, sent his forces there in 1646 AD, but the campaign proved a failure. The Mughal inability to fight prolonged wars in mountains A frustrated Shahjahan’s ambitions to conquer Transoxiana, his ancestral lands.
The Mughals lost more than 5000 lives during their successive invasions between 1638 AD and 1647 AD. Shahjahan became more realistic and stopped dreaming of ruling over his former ancestral lands.
STRUGGLE FOR THE THRONE
Shah Jahan’s sudden illness in 1657 plunged the empire into a Civil War (1657-59 AD) among his four sons-Dara Shikoh (Crown-Prince), Shah Shuja (Governor of Bengal), Aurangzeb (Governor of Deccan) and Murad Baksh (Governor of Malwa and Gujarat).
Of their sisters, Jahanara Begum also called ‘Begum Sahiba supported Dara; Roshanara supported Aurangzeb and Gauharara acted as a spy for Murad. Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb had made a friendly alliance. Murad also became friendly with Aurangzeb.
Though, Shahjahan had recovered by November 1657, the princess refused to believe the news and raised the issue of liberating Shahjahan from Dara’s control. Murad declared himself king and Shah Shuja proclaimed his independence in Bengal. When Shah Shuja reached Banaras, Dara’s son, Sulaiman Shikoh, defeated him in the Battle of Bahadurgarh in 1658 AD.
THE BATTLE OF DHARMAT
Early in 1658 AD, Aurangzeb set off from Aurangabad and met Murad at Depalpur near Ujjain and the two armies camped at Dharmat. The imperial forces under Maharaja Jaswant Singh had already arrived at Ujjain to prevent the princess, processing to Agra. In the battle followed the forces of Jaswant Singh were defeated
THE BATTLE OF SAMUGARH
Next, Aurangzeb defeated Dara in the Battle of Samugarh, near Agra. Then after besieging Agra, Aurangzeb rejected all Shahjahan’s invitations to visit him. The emperor was confined within the ladies palace, alongwith Jahanara and Aurangzeb refused to see his father until he had killed Dara, whom he declared an infidel. Aurangzeb and Murad marched together from Agra towards Delhi in pursuit of Dara. But on the way Aurangzeb treacherously took Murad captive and later sentenced him to death. Aurangzeb then moved to Delhi, forcing Dara to flee to the Punjab. At Delhi, Aurangzeb formally crowned himself king with the title Alamgir (Conqueror of the Universe). He was also called as Zinda Pir, (the living saint). Meanwhile, Dara was taken captive by his treacherous Afghan chief, Malik Jiwan, who handed him over to Jai Singh after the Battle of Devrai, in April 1659. Shah Jahan spent 8 years in confinement in the Agra fort. In 1666 AD, Shah Jahan died, having been attended throughout his captivity by Jahanara.