Shah Jahan - Early Life

Early Life

Born on 5 January 1592, Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, which was Shah Jehan's birth name, was the third son born to Emperor Jehangir, his mother was a Rajput princess from Mewar called Princess Manmati – her official name in Mughal chronicles being Bilquis Makani. The name "Khurram" was chosen for the young prince by his grandfather, Emperor Akbar, with whom the young prince shared a close relationship.

As a child, Prince Khurram received a broad education befitting his status as a Mughal prince, which include martial training and exposure to a wide variety of cultural arts, such as poetry and music, most of which was, according to court chroniclers, under the watchful gaze of his grandfather. In 1605, as the Emperor Akbar lay on his deathbed, Prince Khurram, who at this point was 13, remained by his bedside and refused to move even after his mother tried to retrieve him. Given the politically uncertain times immediately preceding Akbar's death, Prince Khurram was in a fair amount of physical danger of harm by political opponents of his father and can be understood to be a precursor of the bravery that he would later be known for.

In 1605, his father acceded to the throne – after crushing a rebellion by Prince Khausrau – Prince Khurram remained distant from the court politics and intrigues in that event's immediate aftermath, which was apparently a conscious decision on Jahangir's part. As the third son, Prince Khurram did not challenge the two major power blocs of the time, his father and his step-brother, thus he enjoyed the benefits of Imperial protection and luxury, while being allowed to continue with his education and training. This relatively quiet and stable period of his life allowed Prince Khurram to build his own support base in the Mughal court, which would be useful later on in his life.

Due to the long period of tensions between his father and step-brother, Prince Khurram began to drift closer to his father and over time started to be considered the de-facto heir apparent by court chroniclers, this status was given official sanction when Jahangir granted the jagir of Hissar-Feroza, which had traditionally been the fief of the heir apparent, to Prince Khurram in 1607.