Meet the Mughals

The awe inspiring Taj Mahal - built by Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child.

No trip to India would be complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal. Yet the Taj is just one, albeit the most impressive, of a spate of palaces constructed by the rulers of the Mughal Empire. Hailing from Mongolia by way of Afghanistan, they rode into Northern India and defeated the ruling Muslim Sultans and Hindu Maharajas. At a time when European powers were establishing their first settlements in the Americas, the Mughals ruled over the Southern Asia from Afghanistan in the west to present day Bangladesh in the east.

Royal family gate at Fatephur Sikri, home to the Sufi priest who predicted the birth of Akbar's only son - Jehangir.

While visiting the Mughal seats of power in Delhi and Agra, I was awestruck at the sheer grandeur and volume of wealth, building, and art concentrated by the empire in a relatively short amount of time. When one visits the grand fort palaces of Agra and Delhi, the serene tomb of the second Mughal emporer Humayun, or the Taj Mahal, arguably the greatest building ever built, one is basically witnessing the vision of two men - Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, and his grandson Shah Jahan. 

Tomb of Itimad-Ud-Daula, also known as the "Baby Taj Mahal", resting place of her father who served in Akbar's court.

What was it about these men (and in many cases their wives and daughters) and this time in history that fostered such an explosion of architectural beauty? I think of similar periods - the rule of Herod in ancient Israel or Mehmet the Conqueror in Istanbul, and wonder what sets them apart. Were there exceptional men, exceptional times, or a combination of the two?

* Begun by Akbar and completed by Jehanghir
** Built by his wife, Nur Jahan
*** Built by his daughter, Jahanara