Mumtaz Mahal

Who was the empress that inspired India's most iconic landmark?

- Emily Staniforth

On the banks of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra stands one of the world's most famous buildings. The white marble mausoleum of the Taj Mahal is visited by around eight million people every year, keen to see its beauty and grandeur for themselves. But how much do people really know about the powerful and devoted woman for whom the magnificent mausoleum was built?

Born in Agra in April 1593, Mumtaz Mahal was given the name Arjumand Banu Begum upon birth - the name she is better-known by was given to her much later in her life. Her father, Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, was a wealthy Persian nobleman who occupied an important station within India's Mughal Empire (he would later become the chief minister). Her aunt - her father's sister - was Nur Jahan, who would become the favoured wife and powerful consort of Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1620. Her grandfather was also an important figure in Mughal history, having been appointed grand vizier of the empire during the reign of Akbar the Great, who ruled over the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605.

As a member of such a well-connected and powerful family, young Mumtaz inevitably found herself in the company of India's most influential people. But little else is known about her childhood, and it was not until she was 14 years old that she first appeared with any significance in the historical records.

An imperial love story