Arjumand Banu

Who was Arjumand Banu?

Mumtaz Mahal was a Mughal Empress and chief consort of emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra was constructed by her husband as her final resting place.

Born as Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra in a family of Persian nobility as a daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, making her a niece and later daughter-in-law of Empress Nur Jehan, the wife of the emperor Jahangir. Arjumand Banu Begum was married at the age of 19, on 10 May 1612, to Prince Khurram, known as Shah Jahan, who conferred upon her the title "Mumtaz Mahal". Though betrothed to Shah Jahan in 1607, she ultimately became his second wife in 1612 and was his favorite. She died in Burhanpur in the Deccan during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum.

Mumtaz Mahal mothered fourteen children by Shah Jahan, including Aurangzeb, the son who temporarily succeeded Shah Jahan until deposed by his brother and the Imperial Prince Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent anointed by Shah Jahan and Jahanara Begum, the Imperial Princess.