Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is said to have built the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a major attraction for tourists around the world. However, there are many claims regarding Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal that are viral on social media. A verified user tweeted, “We know the Taj Mahal as a symbol of love, but there are also some facts we know very little about:
1- Mumtaz was the fourth wife among Shah Jahan’s 7 wives (great).
2- Shah Jahan killed Mumtaz’s husband to marry her (excellent).
3- Mumtaz died during her 14th delivery (wow).
4- After Mumtaz’s death, Shah Jahan married her sister (surprising). Where was the love after all?”
Tweet Archive Link
Similarly, many other users too shared the same claim.
Fact Check:
To know the truth behind the viral claims, the DFRAC team checked the DFRAC archive and found that we have already fact-checked this claim. The claim in the viral post says that Mumtaz was the fourth wife among Shah Jahan’s seven wives. However, various historical sources show that Mumtaz Mahal, also known as Arjumand Abu-al-Hasan, was Shah Jahan’s second wife. Therefore, the claim that “Mumtaz was the fourth wife among Shah Jahan’s 7 wives” is false.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Taj Mahal is an outstanding work of Shah Jahan’s reign, which he built in memory of his three queens, with his favorite Arjumand (Mumtaz Mahal; Aurangzeb’s mother) in mind.
Shah Jahan had a total of four wives, according to his Wikipedia page, and historians believe that these marriages were made for political reasons.
Mumtaz Mahal was engaged to Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) in the Arabic month of 7 Zilhijja 1015/5 April 1607, at the age of 14/15. Then, she married Shah Jahan on May 10, 1612, and celebrations continued for a month. There is no record of Mumtaz’s marriage to anyone else. Shah Jahan was her only husband throughout her life. Therefore, the claim that “Shah Jahan killed Mumtaz’s husband to marry her” is false.
bbc
It is true that Mumtaz Mahal died after giving birth to her fourteenth child. After her death, there is no record of Shah Jahan marrying anyone else. Therefore, the claim that “After Mumtaz’s death, Shah Jahan married her sister” is false.
Conclusion:
It is clear from DFRAC’s fact-check that many false claims have been made about Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal in the viral tweet.
