Despite the fact that Shah Jahan made a complete recovery, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and had him confined to Agra Fort. Jahanara remained with her father during the last sad years of his life. He was confined for eight years and died at the age of 74 years. Although father and son communicated throughout this period, Aurangzeb

Unfortunately, Humayun did not live to see his plans fulfilled. On the 27th January 1556, he fell from the top floor of his library to his death. It is said that he was carrying a pile of books when he heard the call to prayer and in his rush to respond he caught his heel in his robes.

Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir, also consumed too much wine and was addicted to opium. He also enjoyed poetry, literature and painting and was probably the greatest of the Mughal Emperors as a patron of the arts. He was known to spend too much time in the company of women and his name has been linked in an illicit affair to Anarkali,

Humayun also gained from his period in Persia where he was introduced to Persian cultural and military life that not only enabled him to retake Delhi but also contribute to the cultural life of India. His agreement to accept Shi’a Islam as opposed to the Sunni tradition was most likely purely pragmatic in order to secure the help offered by Shah

After acceding to the Mughal throne in 1556, he gained the title Akbar the Great, which literally means Great the Great.

The spark that ignited the flame was a small incident relating to the introduction of a new model of rifle, the Enfield P-53. The new rifle used paper cartridges that were pre-greased. Before being inserted into the barrel, it was necessary for the sepoy to bite the end of the cartridge in order to release the powder. Rumours began to spread that

Shah Jahan commissioned many other great works of Mughal architecture, including the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid, which is one of the largest mosques in India. Most of these great buildings were constructed in an area that was known at the time as Shahjahanabad (city of Shah Jahan). Today the area is known as Old Delhi.

Two years later he turned his attention towards Mughal India. After conquering Kandahar in 1738, Nadir Shah swept through the Khyber Pass with his cavalry of 150,000 and easily defeated a Mughal army numbering around 1.5 million. His next move was towards Delhi, seat of the Mughal throne. He managed to capture the Mughal Emperor, Muhammad Shah, and

Aurangzeb reneged on his promise and secretly had Murad arrested. After three years in prison the Prince was accused of murder and sentenced to death. He died at the age of 37, on the 14th December 1661.