Shah Jahan

Born Prince Khurram in Lahore, Mughal Empire. Grandson of Emperor Akbar the Great, who personally raises him at court. The name Khurram means "joyful." Akbar favors him above all other grandchildren.

Marries Arjumand Banu Begum after a five-year engagement. She'll become Mumtaz Mahal, "Chosen One of the Palace." She travels with him everywhere, including military campaigns. He consults her on state affairs. Court chroniclers note he takes no interest in his other wives.

Seizes the throne after a succession war following his father Jahangir's death. He executes his brothers and nephews to eliminate rivals. Takes the name Shah Jahan, "King of the World." He's 35.

Mumtaz Mahal dies in childbirth at age 38 in Burhanpur while delivering their fourteenth child. Shah Jahan is reportedly inconsolable. His beard turns white within months. He commissions the most expensive tomb ever built.

Construction begins on the Taj Mahal in Agra. Twenty thousand workers, a thousand elephants, marble from Rajasthan, jade from China, turquoise from Tibet. It takes 22 years to complete. The cost in modern terms is estimated at over $800 million.

His son Aurangzeb seizes the throne, defeats Shah Jahan's armies, and imprisons his father in Agra Fort. Shah Jahan spends his last eight years as a prisoner, looking out at the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River.

Dies a prisoner in Agra Fort at 74. He's buried beside Mumtaz Mahal in the Taj Mahal. His is the only asymmetrical element in the entire complex. She lies at the center. He was placed beside her, breaking the building's perfect symmetry.