|...the Mughal dynasty
|The citadels of glory the prince is destined to inherit...
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Shah Jahan's ancestry was no ordinary birthright. He was descended from the merciless Mongol invader, Ghengis Khan, on his mother's side and on his father's side the infamous Amir Timur, known as Tamberlane to the Western world. Scarcely less notorious for his barbarism than the Mongols, the Turkish ruler had invaded Hindustan in 1398, massacred its inhabitants and brought back riches beyond his wildest dreams: trays of gold and carved ivory and mounds of jewels rubies, pearls, emeralds, turquoise, topaz and cat's eye, and diamonds said to be so valuable they might have fed the world for a day.
According to Timurid custom, when the head of a clan died, his lands were parceled out among the sons. But by the early 1500s, struggles for succession had divided the mighty Central Asian empire (what is now Uzbekistan) into small warring kingdoms. One young prince, driven from his rightful kingdom and drawn by the memory of his ancestor's success, looked south into Hindustan for a dominion of his own. The land was not well defended, and Babur the Tiger soon conquered what is now northern India.
"Babur was the first in a series of emperors of north India called Mughals," says Beach. "They were men of enormous physical activity, especially the first three emperors. They were out defeating rebels, building their power, building up the empire, establishing the wealth of the dynasty. (The term "Mughal" is derived from "Mongol," although Babur preferred to think of himself as Timurid.)
The Timurid rulers brandished the sword and the pen with equal ability and were themselves accomplished poets of the loftiest form. It is from their memoirs that we have come to know of their illustrious history. Prince Kurrham loved to hear the stories of his famous ancestors. His favorite books were the Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur), the Akbarnama (Memoirs of Akbar) and volumes of poetry.
Babur's son, Humayun, became the second Mughal emperor. A gentle man who preferred aesthetics to battle, he almost lost the new dominion to rebellious local rulers. But the kingdom survived and passed into the capable hands of his son, and Babur's grandson, Akbar the Great.
Third in the line of Mughal rulers, Akbar defeated the Afghans and firmly established Mughal supremacy in northern India, bringing the empire to the height of its power and wealth. He was the Grand Mughal, renowned even in the most distant corners of the civilized world.
Having inherited a stable and prosperous empire, Shah Jahan's father, Jahangir, pursued his delight in the more refined art of miniature painting, bringing about a golden age of painting at the Mughal court.
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|young lovers | the Mughal dynasty | Shah Jahan | architectural antecedents
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