Mumtaz Mahal

Arjumand Banu Begum  (also called  Mumtaz Mahal) was the third  wife  of  Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal (meaning ‘Jewel  of the  palace') was the  nickname  her husband gave to her. Mumtaz Mahal was born in  April  1593  in  Agra, India. Her father was the  Persian  noble  Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of  Nur Jahan. Mumtaz was a  Muslim  and fell in love with and married her cousin,  Shah Jahan, later to be the Mughal emperor on  May 10,  1612  at the age of 19. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were married for 19 years. They had thirteen children together. Seven of the children died at birth or at a very young age. Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan and his army as he carried out  military campaigns. Mumtaz Mahal supported Shah Jahan and they respected each other very much. Mumtaz Mahal died on  June 17,  1631  in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in  Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. She had been with her husband as he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was kept at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad. A popular story says that on her deathbed, her last wish to the emperor was for a  symbol  or a  monument  to their love. She also asked her husband not to marry anyone else. The emperor promised immediately. Her body was buried in the  Taj Mahal  in Agra. After she died, Shah Jahan went into  mourning  for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Jahan's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum, slowly brought him out of mourning and took the place of Mumtaz at court.