Dara Shikoh

Who was Dara Shikoh?

Dara Shikoh, M 20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659 [Julian]/9 September 1659 [Gregorian] was the eldest son and the heir-apparent of the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. His name دارا شكوه in Persian means "as magnificent as Dara". He was favoured as a successor by his father and his sister Princess Jahanara Begum Sahib, but was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.

The course of the history of the Indian subcontinent, had Dara prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.