Mirza Ghiyas Beg

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A portrait from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution

Mirza Ghiyas Beg (Persian: مرزا غياث بيگ) was an important official in the Mughal empire, and whose children served as wives, mothers, and generals of Mughal emperors.

[edit] Biography

Ghiyas Beg immigrated to India from Persia after the death of his father and his family's fall into disgrace. He was received by the Emperor Akbar, and quickly climbed his way through the intricate Mughal court, serving as a court official under Akbar and his son, Jahangir.

He was an important official the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and served as the Diwan of the Empire, the chief treasurer, and he was given the title Itmad-ud-Daulah (Persian: اعتماد الدوله), which means Pillar of the State. His daughter, Mehrunissa (Nur Jahan) married Jahangir in 1611, and his son Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan served a general to Jahangir.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb in Agra

He was also the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal (originally named Arjumand Bano, daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan), the wife of the emperor Shah Jahan, responsible for the building of the Taj Mahal. Jahangir was succeeded by Shah Jahan, son of Jahangir and Nur Jahan, and Abdul Hasan served as one of Shah Jahan's closest advisors. Shah Jahan married Abdul Hasan's daughter Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal), who was the mother of his four sons, including his successor Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal to serve as Mumtaz Mahal's tomb.

Ghiyas Beg died shortly before Jahangir's death in 1627. Nur Jahan commissioned the construction of Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb in Agra, which is as an architectural predecessor of the Taj Mahal.