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Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility. She was the daughter of Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire, and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief wife of Emperor Jahangir and the power behind the emperor. [10] .
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Mumtaz Mahal, (born c. 1593—died June 17, 1631, Burhanpur, India), wife of Shah Jahān, Mughal emperor of India (1628–58). Having died at a young age only a few years into her husband’s reign, her memory inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal, where she is entombed.
Born Arjumand Banu, she was a member of a family that came to command the inner court of the Mughal dynasty in the 17th century. Her family’s high status was secured when her aunt Mehr al-Nesāʾ married Shah Jahān’s father, Jahāngīr, in 1611 (and thereafter she was known as Nūr Jahān). Arjumand’s grandfather Mirzā Ghiyās Beg (known also as Iʿtimād al-Dawlah, “Pillar of the State”), who had entered the royal court during the reign of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), was then appointed the grand vizier of the empire. Abū al-Ḥasan Āṣaf Khan, Arjumand’s father and Nūr Jahān’s brother, also attained a high rank within the court and later became grand vizier under Shah Jahān.
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Arjumand was betrothed to Prince Khurram (the pre-regnal name of Shah Jahān) in 1607, but it was not until 1612—the date chosen by the court astrologers—that they were permitted to marry. In the meantime, he had taken another wife, and Arjumand thus became his second wife. She bore 14 children during their marriage, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Their third son was Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor (1658–1707).
Shah Jahān acceded the throne in 1628 and conferred on Arjumand the title of Mumtāz Maḥall (“Chosen One of the Palace”). Though she did not assert authority to the extent her aunt had done, she used her position to promote humanitarian programs for the needy. In 1631, though pregnant, she accompanied Shah Jahān on a military campaign in the Deccan....
- Optical illusions can be spotted everywhere. The architects and craftsmen of the Taj Mahal were masters of proportions and tricks of the eye. When you first approach the main gate that frames the Taj, for example, the monument appears incredibly close and large.
- The most famous myth is probably false. According to a popular legend, Shah Jahan wanted desperately for the mausoleum to be an exquisite masterpiece without an equal.
- Both of the cenotaphs are empty. Inside the Taj Mahal, the cenotaphs honoring Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are enclosed in an eight-sided chamber ornamented with pietra dura (an inlay with semi-precious stones) and a marble lattice screen.
- It’s (almost) perfectly symmetrical. The Taj Mahal is the pinnacle of Mughal architecture, constructed with impeccable symmetry according to the doctrines of the period’s style.
Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. Her original grave still lies here. Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife's final resting spot.
Jul 17, 2018 · Place of Death: Burhanpur, India. Father: Abu’l-Hasan Asaf Khan. Mother: Diwanji Begum. Siblings: Shaista Khan, Farzana Begum, Parwar Khanum. Spouse: Shah Jahan. Children: Six daughters and eight sons. Mumtaz Mahal was the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Taj Mahal, the pinnacle of Mughal architecture, was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658), grandson of Akbar the great, in the memory of his queen Arjumand Bano Begum, entitled ‘Mumtaz Mahal’.
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Indian empress of Persian extraction who is buried in the Taj Mahal, the most beautiful mausoleum—and, according to many, the most beautiful building—in the world. Name variations: Arjemand or Arjumand Banu; Nawab Aliya. Pronunciation: MOOM-taz mah-HALL.
