Rebuilding of Mewar Dynasty-III

Prince Khurram was witty and determined, but was a few brothers removed from being heir apparent to the Mughal throne. Over the next few years, the brothers ahead of him were removed in what might be called "suspicious circumstances". Needless to say, Khurram was not well liked at Court, particularly by Empress Nur Jahan, despite the fact the prince had married her niece, Mumtaz Mahal.
She wanted Prince Shahriyar (a youngster by one of Jahangir's lesser wives) to be named successor, mainly because he had married Nur Jahan's daughter, which would assure the Empress of continued power at Court. Nur Jahan worked with her husband.
Realizing his ambitions were being thwarted, Prince Khurram rebelled against his father and was supported by a strong Rajpur elite. When the Imperial Army put down his revolt, Khurram sought refuge in Udaipur, the capital of his friend Karan Singh, who immediately extended him hospitality Khurram's wife, Mumtaz, and two of their young sons, Dara and Aurangzeb, were with him.
Originally, they were allocated some apartments in the City Palace. However, a special domed palace was built at Jag Mandir for the Mughal prince, becoming known, appropriately, as Khuraram's Palace. There the rebel lived a quiet, safe existence for some months. Meanwhile, in an effort to pacify his father, and as a gesture of his target, Khurram sent his two young sons to the Mughal Court as "hostages".
Ultimately, Prince Khurram was forgiven, and he rejoined his father. Before he left Jag Mandir, Khurram embraced his gracious host, Maharana Karan Singh, and in a traditional ritual of respect, they exchanged turbans.
As a further mark of respect, and no doubt a thank you for his stay in Udaipur, Khurram restored five districts of Mewar taken by the Mughals, gave Karan Singh permission to reconstruct the old capital at Chittor, and presented his friend with a garnet of enormous value.
Fortunately, Jahangir did not seek vengeance against Mewar for having harbored his mutinous son. Not that he would have had an opportunity to do so, for there followed a series of amazing intrigues in the north, too complicated to recount in Mewar's story.
They climaxed with Jahangir's sudden death in 1627. Very quickly, pretenders to the Mughal throne, including Nur Jahan's son-in-law Shahriyar, were killed; Nur Jahan retired from public life; and Khurram was proclaimed the new Emperor of the mighty Mughal Empire, assuming his later famous title of Shah Jahan

Footnote to this story of unusual friendship and the orange turban. It is believed that jag Mandir's haughty dome and fine inlay work of semi-precious stones into the white marble impressed Shah Jahan. So much so that several years later, he is said to have incorporated these features in the superb tomb he built for his wife in Agra - The Taj Mahal.

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