1 Massacre of the royal
2 princes at Lahore.
3 Influence of Mumtaz
4 Z Mahglw U->
5 Shah Jah§n’'s first
6 acts.
7 Til-treatment of the
8 Portuguese,
9 The emperor's pas-
10 sion for magnificence.
11 His first anniversary.
12 He founds new
13 Delhi, 1631.
14 166 - HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
15 along with Shahir Yar, he was shortly after strangled at Lahore, by order of the
16 new king, Shahir Yar possessed singular beauty of person, but was not gifted
17 with corresponding mental power. Hence the nickname Nashudani, ‘Fems-
18 vaut, given to him by the oriental historians. Hoshang and Tymér, sons of
19 the drunken Dénidl, two sons of Muréd and two sons of Parwez were publicly
20 executed, their bodies being buried in a garden at Lihore, and their heads
21 sent as trophies to the new king at Agra.
22 Having been born at Lahore on the 30th Rabi-ul-awal, 100 a.m. (1592
23 A.D.)* by the daughter of Ude Singh, son of Raja Maldeo, Rana of Marwar,
24 commonly known as Jagut Gosain, Shah Jahan was 87 years of age when he
25 was proclaimed emperor of Hindostén. On ascending the throne, he raised
26 Mohéabat Khan to the post of commander-in-chief, and appointed Asif Khan
27 his wazir, with a salary of a million sterling ayear. His daughter, Mumtaz
28 Mahal, niece of Nar Jahan, was the sole and dearly loved wife of Shah Jahan.
29 She had a dazzling white complexion, andshe fascinated Shah Jahan by
30 her beauty, as her aunt, before her, had fascinated Jahangir.
31 Among Shah Jahan’s first acts was the restoration of the lunar month of
32 Islam in ordinary correspondence. His Mosalmén proclivities induced him
33 to capture the Portuguese settlement of Hughli and make 500 or 600 Chris-
34 tians prisoners. The Cathedral Church, built in 1599, was demolished, as were
35 the fortifications and other places of worship. The prisoners were carried to
36 Agra, where some were circumcised, and made converts to Mohamedanism,
37 while others suffered death. Some of the Portuguese women were placed by
38 the emperor in his own harem, while others were distributed among the
39 harems of the nobility.
40 To his military talents Shah Jahéy. addea'a strong love for splendid pa-
41 geantry and architectural grandeur="y: . expensiv e entertainments and costly
42 upholstery were marke tg pr ofusion and display of wealth which were un~
43 a wr i i q
44 ofthe pass th ose days of eastern luxury, and have surrounded the name
45 iva Moghal with a halo of romance. The first anniversary of his
46 oF enone him £1,600,000 sterling, and a suite of tents was piper onye
47 aL CeSsi 1 e of t :
48 qceanion in Késhmir which, according to the historian Khafi Khan, it took
49 cae ve with
50 ths to pitch. He adorned the principal towns of the empire wit
51 handsenie edifices and superb palaces, and his example was hes be
52 nobles and chiefs of the country. The old city of Delhi, which ex i e :
53 more than thirty miles along the banks of the Jamna, having become ; Se a A
54 through repeated depredations, Shah Jahan founded anew Delhi ae ne ,an
55 called it, after his own name, Shahjahénabadf or the city of Shah Ja an. :
56 The new city, which was bounded by the river and & wall, or ea 0
57 red granite seven miles in circumference, was adorned with the > est
58 streets, palaces, gardens, mosques and aqueducts. The waters of the ane
59 near Delhi, being strongly impregnated with nitre, and the water re
60 interior of new Delhi being unwholesome, a canal was constructed whic :
61 drew its supply from that of Feroze Shah, ata distance of seventy miles, ond
62 supplied the principal streets of the town with clear and wholesome Ww ait
63 Another canal, 185 miles in length, ran opposite the palace, on the left bau id
64 * ak-i-Jahingirl. . :
65 + bs tous es Delhi Shah Jahan struck the following coin :—~—
66 wl.ad el obj wh» sla aoe
67 ala fob whyols
68 es ah. wld Wate Ab 2
69 Sri Satguru agit Singh.) LebiRT@Mausa ve ever eM @edAlElOAUP AMALCWne seoona
70 Sahib-i-Quiran.’