Arjumand Banu

Mumtaz Mahal
An artistic depiction of Mumtaz Mahal
Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
Tenure	19 January 1628 – 17 June 1631
Predecessor	Shah Begum
Born	Arjumand Banu 27 April 1593 Agra
Died	17 June 1631(1631-06-17) (aged 38) Burhanpur, India
Burial	Taj Mahal, Agra
Spouse	Shah Jahan
Issue among others...	Jahanara Begum Dara Shikoh Shah Shuja Roshanara Begum Aurangzeb Murad Baksh Gauhara Begum
House	Timurid (by marriage)
Father	Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan
Mother	Diwanji Begum
Religion	Shia Islam

Mumtaz Mahal ([mumˈt̪aːz mɛˈɦɛl]; meaning "the Exalted One of the palace";Arjumand Banu; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned to act as her final resting place.

Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility. She was the daughter of Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire, and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief wife of Emperor Jahangir and the power behind the emperor. She was married at the age of 19 on 30 April 1612 to Prince Khurram, later known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, who conferred upon her the title "Mumtaz Mahal". Although betrothed to Shah Jahan since 1607, she ultimately became his second wife in 1612. Mumtaz bore her husband fourteen children, including Jahanara Begum (Shah Jahan's favourite daughter), and the Crown prince Dara Shikoh, the heir-apparent, anointed by his father, who temporarily succeeded him, until deposed by Mumtaz Mahal's sixth child, Aurangzeb, who ultimately succeeded his father as the sixth Mughal emperor in 1658.