India: Shah Jahan (r.1627-1658) and his court, showing the emperor on a balcony, fanned by attendants standing on gilded elephants.

Shan Jahan (1592-1666) was the emperor of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from the Persian meaning 'King of the World'. He was the fifth Mughal ruler after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. While young, he was a favourite of his legendary grandfather Akbar the Great. He is also known as 'Shah Jahan the Magnificent'. The period of his reign is considered the golden age of Mughal expansion—by the end of his reign the Mughal Empire covered 3 million square km and most of India.

The Shah Jahan era was also a Golden Age in Mughal architecture. He built many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the legendary Taj Mahal at Agra, built as a tomb for his wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He also had constructed the Red Fort in Delhi and the Pearl Mosque in the Lahore Fort.

Mughal period miniature painting from an album featuring portraits of Timur the Great and his descendants, mid-17th century

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