218. Creator of The Taj Mahal: Shah Jahan’s Rise to Power (Ep 1)

Empire

Jack Davenport

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Shah Jahan, the third son of the opium-addicted Jahangir, was born in 1592 with the name Khurram. More interested in precious gems and architecture than dancing girls at court, Khurram was reserved and carefully crafted his image as the “millennial sovereign”. Upon Jahangir's death, Khurram finds himself embroiled in a fierce succession struggle. His cunning and military experience, honed from years of avoiding his father's armies, proves invaluable in this fight for the throne. But Khurram was not powerful on his own. He was surrounded by powerful women – raised by his step-grandmother Ruquiya Sultan, adored by his eldest daughter Jahanara, and most important of all loved and supported by his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She was his confidante and best friend, and to lose her would break his heart. But his broken heart would lead to the building of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world… Join Anita and William as they explore the early life of the fifth Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis & Becki Hills Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you want access to bonus episodes reading lists for every series of Empire, a chat community.
0:06.7	Discounts for all the books mentioned in the week's podcast, add free listening and a weekly newsletter,
0:12.4	sign up to Empire Club at www.mpowerpod.uk.com.
0:19.6	This episode is brought to you by Sun Express Airlines.
0:23.6	Looking for an affordable escape for the whole family, Sun Express has you covered.
0:28.9	Early birth deals to Turkey start at just 5999, fly non-stop to sunny Antalya or scenic
0:35.8	Izmir.
0:36.5	Perfect for making family memories. These low fares
0:39.6	won't last long. So book now, tan later at sunexpress.com and secure your seats today.
0:51.7	They've got a text!
0:56.2	That's right, dating royalty returns.
0:59.5	The Love Island All-Stars have got their invites and are heading back to the villa.
1:04.6	Which couple will wear Love's crown?
1:07.6	Tune in to ITV2 and ITVX on Monday 30th of January at 9pm when love will reign supreme.
1:31.9	Hello and welcome to Empire with me Anita Arnh.
1:34.0	And me, William Turamphol.
1:42.2	I'm not even going to berate you for the pause because I think actually I would allow you to have a lie down in between saying William and Dalrynple today.
1:51.0	Because you are a man up against it. Are you not? You're right, Anita. This is the first week of January, and I have now two and a half weeks till the largest literary fest from the world opens in Jaipur, and everything is sort of tottering.
1:57.2	Remember that nice picture of Jihungir we were describing in the last episode,
2:01.4	where he's sort of standing on a globe that's resting on an ox and shooting at an Abyssinian head
2:07.6	representing Malik Umber. My life at the moment is a bit like that. Your example was much, much better
2:12.6	before we came on. You said, someone, paint this. There are very talented people on the Discord.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jack Davenport, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jack Davenport and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.