Jehanghire died in 1628 : at the time of his death he was on a journey to Cashmere, in the cool and beautiful vallies of which he was accustomed to reside during the sultry months of summer. " This Monarch had the cha racter of being a Deist, because he protected the followers of Brahma and Zoroaster, and even tolerated Christians as well as Mahomedans : he was most rigorous in administer ing justice, punishing even those he loved, without regard to greatness of situation or office. He was completely free from avarice ; and his disposition was forgiving. In pri vate his temper was capricious, so much so, indeed, as to bear occasionally the character of insanity, with which ma lady his unfortunate son Khosru was certainly afflicted. He was naturally indolent, and indulged much in wine and opium ; but he was fond of literature, and has left a well written life of himself. So well known, and so well be loved was he, that he frequently left his palace in a sim ple habit, and mixed with the evening parties of every rank : his person was too well known to be disguised ; but he never had reason to repent of his familiarity with his people." On the death of Jehanghire, the nobility resumed their intrigues, in the hopes of preventing the succession of his son Shah Jehan ; but as there were several parties among them, each with a different view, though all hostile to Shah Jehan, their schemes were defeated by their own want of concord. It is probable, however, that they might not have been defeated so soon or so easily, had not the em peror received the valuable assistance of the talents of Asiph Jah : this person was the son of Aiaas, and conse quently a brother of Noor Jean ; but he was still more closely connected with the emperor, by the latter having married his daughter. By means of this man, Shah Jehan was seated peaceably and firmly on the throne; and he no less rewarded his services, than secured the tranquillity and prosperity of his own kingdom, by raising him to the rank of vizier. As soon as the intrigues of the nubility were quelled, Shah Jehan caused the male descendants of Baber to be put to death ; and, in order to make the peo ple forget this cruelty, he held a festival, which surpassed in magnificence every thing of the kind that had ever been celebrated in the East.
During the first years of his reign, he was prosperous and happy : his kingdom flourished ; his conquests were extensive ; and in his domestic concerns there was concord and affection. His father-in-law continued vizier till his death, which happened in his 72d year—and though his measures were sometimes despotic, yet they were generally wise and prudent, and productive of beneficial results. The empress was a woman of an amiable and gentle dis position, and of great virtue as well as beauty ; she con ducted herself with so much prudence and propriety, and with such strict and regular regard to her husband's wish es and views, that she obtained unlimited influence over him : during her life, he had no other wife, and when she died, he raised to her memory a beautiful tomb, of the finest marble, inlaid with precious stones, which cost L.750,000.
The Mogul, dominions were considerably enlarged dur ing the reign of Shah Jehan ; the conquest of the Decan was pursued with great vigour, and the plunders and de vastations perpetrated there, occasioned most of its princes to make submission, and acknowledge the emperor as their sovereign. The whole of Bengal was entirely subdued ; and the states of Tibet and Assam were kept in awe ; Candahar was recovered from the Persians ; Cashmere was governed by a viceroy from Delhi ; and Guzerat was reduced to obedience. Golconda was in part actually taken possession of; but Bejapoor and the Carnatic, together with the region of the Gauts, remained in the power of their an cient possessors. In the wars, during which these con quests were achieved, Shah Jehan was principally indebt ed for his success to his general Mohabet, his son Khan Ziman, and on their death, to the military talents of his own sons. There were four of them, Dara, Sujah, Au rengzebe, and Morad. The characters and talents of all these were distinctly marked, and though in some respects they resembled one another, yet in many material points there were great and striking differences. Dara was un
doubtedly most richly gifted by nature of all the sons, both in the qualities of his mind, and in the virtues of his heart. Like all the princes of the house of Baber, he was well versed in the learning of Persia and Arabia; and he caused himself to be instructed in the ancient learning of Hindos tan by some Hindoo Pundits, whom he liberally paid for that purpose; he was even anxious to acquire some insight into the literature and the customs of Europe ; and in or der to gratify his desire in this respect,'he paid great at tention to, protected, add encouraged the Jesuits, who had a college at Agra. In his temper he was frank, far beyond what the manners and habits of the east require or sanc tion ; and his generosity was unbounded, and not always under the guidance of a discriminating prudence. In his person he was remarkably handsome ; and his address was elegant and insinuating. Possessed of these qualifications, he was deservedly a favourite with almost all classes and descriptions of his father's subjects. Sujah, the second son, was distinguished for his prudence, which directed or restrained the openness of his temper, and the generosity of his disposition, much more than Dara was inclined or could be induced to do : but his prudence, though a guard against the excess of these qualities, was but a feeble bar ier, when the attainment of pleasure was Sujah's object ; in this respect he was weak and unrestrained. Both these sons were distinguished, and nearly in an equal dagree, for their talents and success as warriors ; but the third son, Aurengzebe, was superior to either of his brothers, in the politics, the skill, and the bravery, which a state of war fare demands. As he was inferior to his brothers in the advantages of person and address, he endeavoured, and but too successfult, to compensate for these deficiencies, by dissimulation and intrigue. Wrapt up within himself, though apparently open and artless, he tnrew his adversa ries off their guard, and succeeded at one and the same time, in concealing his own sentiments and plans, and in developing those of others; when it was necessary to gain over his opponents, or to make use of them as instruments in his own hands, he displayed wonderful powers of ad dress, and exquisite It of the weak parts of the human character. It is evident that such a disposition and habits as Aurengzebe possessed, aided by no mean talents, and the happy and not common art of having these talents always at command exactly when they were wanted, were capable of producing much good, or much evil, according as they were directed. Unfortunately, ambition, of no low standard, was the ruling passion of his heart ; and this am bition, which aimed at as high power as lay within his reach, he was resolved to gratify, without the smallest com punction of Conscience, regarding the measures which it might call upon him to execute. But he well knew, that as he was not the oldest son, it would be indispensably ne cessary to keep his ambition concealed from every eye ; he therefore affected the habits of a Faquir, and used reli gion as a mask to cover his designs. The distinguishing features in the disposition of the fourth son were, violence and impatience ; but they were not the violence and impa tience of a bad heart, or of an unfeeling temper ; they were rather constitutional than the result of thoughtlessness or vice, and they were accompanied, as is often the case, where they arc of this venial description, by a great share of openness and sincerity ; in courage he surpassed all his brothers. Of the daughters of Shah Jehan, two only re quire particular notice ; the eldest, Jehanara, resembled Dara in almost every respect ; and these two were, of all the emperor's children, the most remarkable for filial pie ty, and for mutual affection. Roshenara resembled her brother Aurengzebe in disposition ; and this similarity in duced her always to support his interest and plans as far as lay in her power.