Mumtaz Mahal, meaning “beloved ornament of the palace”) was the name conferred upon Arjumand Banu Begum, Empress of India during the Mughal Dynasty. She was born in Agra, India into a family of Persian nobility, as a daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, making her a niece (and later daughter-in-law) of Empress Nur Jehan (who subsequently became the wife of the emperor Jahangir). Her...