NAKARAJAN

  The slumdog princess: How the descendant of the Indian Moghul rulers who built the Taj Mahal now lives in desperate poverty -> Sultana Begum, 60, married the great-grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar -> After ruling India for 300 years, he was overthrown by Britain in 1857 -> Descendants of the last Mughal emperor survive on a pension of £60 -> Their home is a two-room hut in a bleak shantytown in Kolkatta Her ancestors would have lived in luxurious palaces while they ruled over a vast and wealthy empire. But Sultana Begum's lifestyle is a far cry from the conditions enjoyed by the rulers of the Mughal empire. She is confined to life in a slum on the outskirts of Kolkatta (once known as Calcutta). The 60-year-old is the great grand daughter-in-law of the last emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and struggles to make ends meet on a basic pension, despite her royal heritage. Destitute: Her relatives once ruled over a mighty empire, but now she barely has enough money to lo...

AURANGAZEEB, MOGHUL DYNASTY 1658-1707 Emperor Shah Jahan lay sick, confined to his palace. Outside, the armies of his four sons clashed in bloody battle. Although the emperor would recover, his own victorious third son killed off the other brothers and held the emperor under house arrest for the remaining eight years of his life. Emperor Aurangzeb of India's Mughal Dynasty was a completely ruthless and guileful ruler, who evinced few qualms about assassinating his brothers or imprisoning his father. How did this merciless man spring from one of the most celebrated loving marriages in history? Early Life Aurangzeb was born on November 4, 1618, the third son of Prince Khurram (who would become Emperor Shah Jahan) and the Persian princess Arjumand Bano Begam. His mother is more commonly known as Mumtaz Mahal, "Beloved Jewel of the Palace." She later inspired Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal. During Aurangzeb's childhood, however, Mughal politics mad...

SHAH JAHAN,MOGHUL DYNASTY 1628-1658 Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, considered to be one of the greatest of the Mughals. He was the son of Emperor Jahangir and the grandson of Akbar the Great. He was very close to his grandfather and after ascending to the throne he took forward Akbar’s legacy and embarked on several military campaigns to expand his vast empire. As the third son born to Emperor Jahangir, initially it seemed unlikely that he would be the chosen heir to succeed his father. But a soothsayer had predicted before his birth that he would one day become the emperor. Even after the death of Akbar, he remained distant from the court politics when his father and brothers were engaged in conflicts over the throne. However, with time he became very ambitious for the throne and started eliminating all the brothers and nephews who he considered to be threats. He also grew closer to his father and was named the emperor upon Jahangir’s death. As the ...

MOGHUL DYNASTY - HUMAYUN 1508 -1556 Humayun was the son and successor of Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty. He became the Mughal emperor at the age of 23. He was inexperienced at the time of ascending to the throne and faced bitter rivalry from his half-brother Kamran Mirza who ruled over Kabul and Lahore. Even though Humayun was a brave soul and an adventurous ruler, he lost several territories to his rivals over the ensuing years.  However, he was not someone to accept defeat so easily and he successfully won back his territories after a few years. Many years of his reign were spent in defending territories from his rivals, and he was even forced to seek refuge in Persia for some time. When he returned to his kingdom as the undisputed Mughal leader after the death of his rivals, he set about consolidating the empire for the generation to come.  He embarked on several campaigns to expand the Mughal territories and at the time of his death, the Mughal Empi...

BABUR , FORMATION OF MOGHUL DYNASTY 1526 Babur was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, governor of Farghana and great grandson of Timur the Great. He ascended the throne of Farghana in its capital Akhsikent in 1494 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose the vilayat of Fergana soon after. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of Turkistan, including Samarkand, only to again lose it and the other newly conquered lands to the Sheybanids After losing Samarkand for the third time , Babur turned his attention to the South. At that time, the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the northern Indian Subcontinent was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Afghan Lodi dynasty, whereas Rajputana was ruled by a Hindu Rajput .  According to historical records and Baburnama (autobiography written by Babur himself) Daulat ...