Empire of the Moghul: The Tainted Throne (54 page)

Chapter 26

Khurram’s (Shah Jahan’s) formal accession to the throne was on 14 February 1628 – the 72nd anniversary of Akbar’s accession and the 145th anniversary of Babur’s birth. Among the lofty titles to which Shah Jahan laid claim were ‘King of the World’, ‘Meteor of the Faith’ and ‘Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunctions’ – a direct appropriation of the title once proudly used by Timur.

By the time of his accession, Arjumand had borne Khurram ten children of whom six – Jahanara, Dara Shukoh, Shah Shuja, Roshanara, Aurangzeb and Murad Bakhsh – had survived.