Mumtaz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal
An artistic depiction of Mumtaz Mahal
Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
Tenure	19 January 1628 – 17 June 1631
Born	Arjumand Banu 17 April 1593 Agra, India
Died	17 June 1631 (aged 38) Burhanpur, India
Burial	Taj Mahal, Agra
Spouse	Shah Jahan
Issue	Hur-un-Nisa Begum Jahanara Begum Dara Shikoh Shah Shuja Roshanara Begum Aurangzeb Ahmad Bakhsh Surayya Banu Begum Unnamed son Murad Baksh Lutfu'llah Daulat Afzal Husnara Begum Gauhara Begum
House	Timurid (by marriage)
Father	Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan
Mother	Plondregi Begum
Religion	Shia Islam

Mumtaz Mahal ([mumˈt̪aːz mɛˈɦɛl]; meaning "the elect of the palace"; born Arjumand Banu) (17 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 and was the chief consort of the fifth 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 by her husband to act as her final resting place.

Born as Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra, to a family of Persian nobility, Mumtaz Mahal was the daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan. 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 favorite 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.

Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya Pradesh), during the birth of her fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a mausoleum for her, which is considered to be a monument of "undying love".