In 1569, Akbar's eldest son, Salim, was born. Frustrated by his father's long reign and eager to take control of the empire himself, Prince Salim launched a rebellion in 1600, during which time he established his own court and painting atelier at Allahabad to the east of his father's capital of Agra. When he ascended the throne in 1605, he took the title Jahangir (Seizer of the World).
Jahangir (reigned 1605-27) was generally considered to have a good disposition, although he was quickly driven to rage in his younger years. In contrast to his father, a brilliant military commander, Jahangir much preferred the comforts and pleasures of the imperial court to the battlefield. Hunting, constructing gardens, and testing his connoisseurial skills were his main interests, and he is most remembered for his patronage and appreciation of great works of art. Jahangir spent most of his adult life addicted to opium and wine, an affliction that led to his death in 1627 in his late fifties.
In 1617, Jahangir granted Khurram (born 1592), the third of his five sons, the title Shah Jahan (King of the World). Shah Jahan (reigned 1627-58) inherited a largely depleted imperial treasury, but his careful management of the state allowed his own son, Awrangzib, to inherit a powerful and immensely wealthy empire.
When Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, his fours sons immediately commenced a struggle for the throne. The end of his reign came in June 1658, when Awrangzib imprisoned him in Agra Fort, and he remained captive there until his death in 1666. Shah Jahan is remembered as a brilliant patron of painting and the book arts, but he was most passionate about architecture. Today, he is the most widely known of all Mughal emperors through his building of the world-renowned Taj Mahal.