Dara Shikoh, born on March 20, 1615, was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. His name in Persian means the possessor of Glory. Dara Shikoh was favored as a successor by his father and his sister Jahanara Begum, but was unfortunately defeated by his younger brother Aurangzeb in a bitter struggle for the Mughal throne.

On September 6, 1657, the illness of Emperor Shah Jahan brought about a fierce and frantic battle for power among the four Mughal princes. However, only Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb had a preference of emerging victorious. Shah Shuja declared himself emperor in Bengal. Aurangzeb at the battlefield of Samugarh defeated Dara Shikoh on May 30, 1658 and consequently Aurangzeb took over Agra fort and deposed Emperor Shah Jahan on June 8, 1658. After the defeat Dara Shikoh retreated from Samugarh to Delhi and then from there to Lahore. Next, Dara Shikoh went to Multan and then to Thatta (Sindh). From Sindh, he crossed the Rann of Kachchh, reached Kathiawar, and met Shah Nawaz Khan, the governor of the province. Dara Shikoh occupied Surat and advanced towards Ajmer, again he was defeated by the imperial army of Aurangzeb in the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer) on March 11, 1659. After his defeat he ran away to Sindh and hunted protection under Malik Jiwan, a Baluch chieftain who was saved in more than one occasion by the Mughal prince from the wrath of Shah Jahan. However, Malik betrayed Dara Shikoh and turned him over to Aurangzeb on June 10, 1659 along with his second son Sipihr Shikoh.

Dara Shikoh was brought to Delhi, placed on a filthy elephant, and marched through the streets of the capital in chains. He was put on trial and eventually given the death sentence after being declared as a traitor from Islam. The assassins murdered Dara Shikoh on the night of August 30, 1659.

Dara Shikoh was a patron of fine arts, music and dancing. In fact many of Dara Shikoh`s paintings are well detailed and well compared to a professional artist of his era. The `Dara Shikoh album` is a unique collection of paintings and calligraphy gathered during the 1630s until his death. It was presented to his wife Nadira Banu in 1641-42 and she kept them with ultimate care until her death. Then the album was taken into the royal library and the inscriptions connecting it with Dara Shikoh were purposely erased and destroyed forever; however not everything was spoiled and many calligraphy scripts and paintings still bear Dara Shikoh`s priceless mark.