Shah Jahan became seriously ill in September 1658. During his days of recovery, Dara Shikoh, one of his sons, assumed the role of the ruler. This made his brothers furious and almost immediately, Shuja and Murad Baksh sought independent provinces and claimed their rightful share. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb had formed an army of his own and went on to defeat his brother Dara Shikoh. He then killed rest of the contenders and declared himself as the emperor. Though Shah Jahan later recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb deemed him unfit to rule and imprisoned him in the citadel of Agra. He also imprisoned his sister Jahanara Begum Sahib who wanted to stay with her father in order to take care of him. Shah Jahan is said to have spent eight long years of his imprisonment by staring at the tomb of his beloved wife the marvel that he built in her memory.
In the first week of January 1666, Shah Jahan once again fell ill and never recovered. On January 22, he is said to have summoned Akbarabadi Mahal and requested her to take care of his daughter, Jahanara Begum. He is then said to have recited a few lines from the holy Quran before breathing his last, aged 74. The emperor who once ruled the whole of India and more had died a prisoner. Princess Jahanara Begum wanted a procession with the state’s noblemen carrying her father’s body all over Agra so that the subjects could waive a final goodbye to their beloved emperor. However, Aurangzeb was in no mood for such an extravagant funeral. In the end, Sayyid Muhammad Qanauji and Kazi Qurban moved the body of Shah Jahan out of the prison, washed it and placed it in a coffin made out of sandalwood. The coffin was then brought to the Taj Mahal through the river, where he was laid to rest, next to his beloved wife, Mumtaz.
