4/5 Samuel J. 3 years ago on Google • 140 reviews
The Mumtaz
Mahal is
one
of
the
six
main
palaces
that
were
situated
facing
the Yamuna
River.
All
six
palaces
were
connected
by
the
Stream
of
Paradise
(Nahr-i-Bishisht),
a
waterway
which
ran
through
them.
At
one
time
the Chhoti
Baithak,
which
no
longer
exists,
was
located
just
to
the
north
of
the Mumtaz
Mahal.
The
building
was
constructed
with
white marble in
the
lower
half
of
its
walls
and
pillars.
It
consists
of
six
apartments
divided
by
arched
piers
and
was
originally
painted
with
floral
decorations
on
the
interior.
The Mumtaz
Mahal was
part
of
the
Zenana. After
the British occupied
the
fort,
it
was
used
as
a
prison
camp.
The
building
currently
houses
an
exhibition
of
the Red
Fort
Archaeological
Museum,
consisting
largely
of
exhibits
of
the Mughal
period.
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. She
was
married
at
the
age
of
19
on
30
April
1612
to
Prince
Khurram, later
known
by
his
regnal
name
Shah
Jahan,
who
conferred
upon
her
the
title
"Mumtaz
Mahal"
(Persian:
the
exalted
one
of
the
palace). Although betrothed to
Shah
Jahan
since
1607, she
ultimately
became
his
second
wife
in
1612.
Mumtaz
and
her
husband
had
fourteen
children,
including Jahanara
Begum (Shah
Jahan's
favourite
daughter), and
the
Crown
prince Dara
Shikoh,
the heir-apparent, anointed
by
his
father,
who
temporarily
succeeded
him,
until
deposed
by
Mumtaz
Mahal's
sixth
child, Aurangzeb,
who
ultimately
succeeded
his
father
as
the
sixth Mughal
emperor in
1658.
Mumtaz
Mahal
died
in
1631
in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya
Pradesh),
during
the
birth
of
her
fourteenth
child,
a
daughter
named Gauhar
Ara
Begum.
Shah
Jahan
had
the
Taj
Mahal
built
as
a
tomb
for
her,
which
is
considered
to
be
a
monument
of
undying
love.
As
with
other
Mughal
royal
ladies,
there
are
no
contemporary
likenesses
that
are
accepted
as
of
her,
but
numerous
imagined
portraits
were
created
from
the
19th
century
onwards.
The Mumtaz
Mahal is
one
of
the
six
main
palaces
that
were
situated
facing
the Yamuna
River.
All
six
palaces
were
connected
by
the
Stream
of
Paradise
(Nahr-i-Bishisht),
a
waterway
which
ran
through
them.
At
one
time
the Chhoti
Baithak,
which
no
longer
exists,
was
located
just
to
the
north
of
the Mumtaz
Mahal.
The
building
was
constructed
with
white marble in
the
lower
half
of
its
walls
and
pillars.
It
consists
of
six
apartments
divided
by
arched
piers
and
was
originally
painted
with
floral
decorations
on
the
interior.
The Mumtaz
Mahal was
part
of
the
Zenana.
After
the British occupied
the
fort,
it
was
used
as
a
prison
camp.
The
building
currently
houses
an
exhibition
of
the Red
Fort
Archaeological
Museum,
consisting
largely
of
exhibits
of
the Mughal
period.
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. She
was
married
at
the
age
of
19
on
30
April
1612
to
Prince
Khurram, later
known
by
his
regnal
name
Shah
Jahan,
who
conferred
upon
her
the
title
"Mumtaz
Mahal"
(Persian:
the
exalted
one
of
the
palace). Although betrothed to
Shah
Jahan
since
1607, she
ultimately
became
his
second
wife
in
1612.
Mumtaz
and
her
husband
had
fourteen
children,
including Jahanara
Begum (Shah
Jahan's
favourite
daughter), and
the
Crown
prince Dara
Shikoh,
the heir-apparent, anointed
by
his
father,
who
temporarily
succeeded
him,
until
deposed
by
Mumtaz
Mahal's
sixth
child, Aurangzeb,
who
ultimately
succeeded
his
father
as
the
sixth Mughal
emperor in
1658.
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