Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal
| Sultan Shah Jahan Begum سلطان شاہ جہاں بیگم |
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| Nawab Begum of Bhopal | |
| Reign | 1844 – 1860 |
| Coronation | 1860 |
| Predecessor | Jahangir Muhammad Khan |
| Successor | Sikandar Begum |
| Regent | Sikandar Begum |
| Reign | 1868 – 16 June 1901 |
| Predecessor | Sikandar Begum |
| Successor | Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum |
| Born |
29 July 1838 Islamnagar, Bhopal State, now Madhya Pradesh, India) |
| Died | 16 June 1901 (aged 62) Bhopal State, now India |
| Burial | (now in Madhya Pradesh, India) |
| Spouse | Baqi Muhammad Khan Siddiq Hasan Khan |
| Issue | Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum |
| Urdu | سلطان شاہ جہاں بیگم |
| House | Nawab of Bhopal |
| Father | Jahangir Mohammed Khan |
| Mother | Sikandar Begum |
| Religion | Sunni Muslim |
Shahjahan Begum GCSI CI (29 July 1838 – 16 June 1901) was the Begum of Bhopal (the ruler of the princely state of Bhopal in central India) for two periods: 1844–60 (her mother acting as regent), and secondly during 1868–1901.
Born in Islamnagar near the city of Bhopal, Shahjahan was the only surviving child of Sikandar Begum of Bhopal, sometime Nawab of Bhopal by correct title, and her husband Jahangir Mohammed Khan. She was recognised as ruler of Bhopal in 1844 at the age of six; her mother wielded power as regent during her minority. However, in 1860, her mother Sikandar Begum was recognised by the British as ruler of Bhopal in her own right, and Shahjahan was set aside. Shahjahan succeeded her mother as Begum of Bhopal upon the death of the latter in 1868. Having been groomed for leadership of the state, Shahjahan improved the tax revenue system and increased state intake, raised the salaries of her soldiers, modernised the military's arms, built a dam and an artificial lake, improved the efficiency of the police force and undertook the first census after the state suffered two plagues (the population had dropped to 744,000). To balance her budget deficit, she commissioned the farming of opium. She was regarded as an effective and popular ruler.
Known for her learning and piety, Shahjahan is credited with the authorship of several books in Urdu. She was instrumental in initiating the construction of one of the largest mosques in India, the Taj-ul-Masajid, at Bhopal. The construction however remained incomplete at her death and was later abandoned; work was resumed only in 1971. She also built the Taj Mahal palace at Bhopal. While Shahjahan had desired to perform the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, frail health and her phobia of shipwrecks prevented her from ever doing so.
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