The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia (mainly Northern India, North Eastern Pakistan and Bangladesh). It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled. It ended in several generations of conflicts between rival warlords.

The imperial family directly descended from two of the worlds greatest conquerors^{[citation needed]}: Genghis Khan, founder of the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world; and the Amir, Taimurlong or Tamerlane the Great. The direct ancestors of the Mughal emperors, at one point or another, directly ruled all areas from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, and from the Middle East to Russian Plains. They also ruled some of the most powerful states of the medieval world such as Turkey, Persia, India and China. Their ancestors were further also credited with stabilizing the social, cultural and economic aspects of life between, Europe and Asia and opening the extensive trade route known as the Silk Road that connected various parts of the continent. Due to descent from Genghis Khan, the family was called Mughal, or mogul, persianized version of the former's clan name Mongol.The English word mogul (e.g. media mogul, business mogul) was coined by this dynasty, meaning influential or powerful, or a tycoon. From their descent from Tamerlane, also called the Amir, the family used the title of Mirza, shortened Amirzade, literally meaning 'born of the Amir'. The burial places of the Emperors illustrate their expanding empire, as the first Emperor Babur, born in Uzbekistan is buried in Afghanistan, his sons and grandsons, namely Akbar the Great and Jahangir in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively and later descendants, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in Hindustan. The last Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar is buried in Burma.

Shah Jahan(also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan,(Urdu: شاه ‌جہاں, Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592–January 22, 1666), (full title: Shahanshah Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Malik-ul-Sultanat, Ala Hazrat Abu'l-Muzaffar Shahab ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani, Padshah Ghazi Zillu'llah, Firdaus-Ashiyani, Shahanshah—E--Sultanant Ul Hindiya Wal Mughaliya) was the emperor of the Mughal Empire in South Asia from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "Ruler of Everywhere". He was the fifth Mughal emperor after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. While young, he was favourite of his legendary grandfather, Akbar the Great. Shah Jahan was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan through Timur and was the heir of the Mughal Empire of Babur, he is also alleged to have been a descendant of Charlemagne.

At a young age, he was chosen as successor to the Mughal throne after the death of Emperor Jahangir. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death in 1627. He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals, and his reign has been called the Golden Age of the Mughals and one of the most prosperous ages of Indian civilization. Like Akbar, he was eager to expand his vast empire. In 1658, he fell ill and was confined by his son Emperor Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort until his death in 1666.