The death of Jahangir was followed by a brief struggle for succession to the throne.  Shah Jahan was still in Deccan when his father died in Oct 1627, brothers Khusrau and Parviz had already expired.  But there was another prince Shahriyar strongly supported by his mother-in-law Nur Jahan.  Nur Jahan did not waste time, she declared Shahriyar as the emperor.  Shah Jahan's cause was ably served by Asaf Khan, the father of Mamtaz Mahal.  He intimated Shah Jahan to return to north, and installed prince Dawar Bhaksh (the son of late prince Khusrau) as a stop-gap emperor, pending the arrival of Shah Jahan.  Meanwhile Asaf Khan marched to Lahore and imprisoned Shahriyar and blindfolded him.  Shah Jahan hurried to Agra from the Deccan and was proclaimed emperor in Feb 1628.  The 'sacrificial lamb' Dawar Bhaksh was removed from the throne and was sent to Persia after a brief imprisonment!  All the possible rivals were removed one after the other.  Two of his sons were executed, a third driven out of the country.  His fate was against him during his last days as he died as a captive.

Though not as a great warrior as some of his ancestors, he was devoid of military qualities.  He was a zealous champion of faith.  He revived the pilgrimage tax and checked the conversion of the Muslims to other faiths.  Being a devoted father and a devoted husband, he had intense love for Mumtaz Mahal since he had married her in 1612.  The couple enjoyed a happy married life for nearly 19 years.  Mumtaz died in child birth at 1631, and to immortalize her name, Shah Jahan built on her grave, the Magnificent Monument of India, the Taj Mahal.  The reign of Shah Jahan is considered to have been the golden period of Mughal rule in India.  The period saw beautiful architecturally marvellous productions like the magnificent Taj Mahal, The pearl Mosque of Agra, the Diwan-i-Am, the Diwan-i-Khas, the Jamia-Masjid, and the celebrated Peacock throne.
 

THE COINAGE

Shah Jahan's coins does not lack any artistic merit, his earlier coins both silver and gold has the Kalima and mint name on the obverse and has emperor's name and title on the reverse.  He is known for his endless types and varieties of coins.  It varies in shape such as square, circle and lozenges form enclosing Kalima on the obverse and title & name on the reverse.  Calculation of the dates seems to be confusing because of both Hijri and solar years.

Badshah Nama mentions about his big coins of 400, 300 and 200 tolas in weight presented to the ambassador of  Persia - Md Ali Beg.  The biggest available of his coins, minted at Lahore in 1639 weighs 1094.5 gms and measures 9.5 cm in dia.  Though smaller than that of Jahangir's gigantic coin, this coin was estimated to fetch more than 3 million US$ in 1987 itself whereas  Jahangir's big coin was worth ten million.

Shah Jahan's wealth could be assessed by his coin production.  Atleast about thirty millions of rupees, supplemented with equal worth of gold and copper were the production volume!
 

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