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Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Mohammad Shah Jahan ascended to throne in 1628 and he ruled India for next thirty years. During thirty years of his rule he not only kept his empire secured from the external threats but also worked ceaselessly for its expansion and development. In the early years of his rule two Rajputs nobles Jujhar Singh Bundela and Khanjahan Lodhi revolted against the Mughal rule. He had to send many expeditions against them and in the last these revolts were quelled. Shah Jahan had to fight against the Hugly based Portuguese as they had started to indulge in illegal activities. They had started spreading their religion with the use of power. In East-Bengal they had created a law and order problem and they used to loot the inhabitants. Under the leadership of Bengal Governor Kasim Khan Mughal forces attacked the Portuguese and severally punished them. Except these achievements, Shahjahan had many other important achievements. With his ascension to the throne, a new era of Deccan policy commenced. Like his predecessors Shah Jahan enthusiastically tried to conquer south Indian territories and was more successful than them.

Deccan Conquests He gave orders to his military general Mahabat Khan to march against Ahmadnagar. Mughal forces laid seize to the Daultabaad fort and succeeded to conquer it after four months of seize. It is said that Fateh Khan (son of Malik Ambar) took ten lakhs as bribe to open the gates of the fort. Young Sultan of Ahmadnagar Hussain Nizamudin was captured and sent to the Gwalior prison. Thus 1n 1633, the era of Nizamshahi rule ended in Ahmadnagar and it was annexed into Mughal Empire. In 1636 Shah Jahan sent letters to the Gulkunda and Bijapur rulers to acknowledge the lordship of the Mughal Badshah.  Golkunda ruler Abdulah Qutubshah welcomed the Mughal messenger and signed an agreement to give six lakh as annual tax to the Mughal ruler and also to help them against their campaign against Bijapur. But the Bijapur Sultan declined to accept the offer of the Mughal Sultan so Shah Jahan ordered his military to march against him. Mughal forces attacked Bijapur from three sides and destroyed every village and town that came into their way. Thousands of native of Bijapur were put to sword. But they fought very bravely against the invaders and gave a big blow to their military power. In  the last both the sides signed an agreement according to which Bijapur sultan accepted to give 20 lakhs as annual tax to the Mughals and on the other hand Mughal Emperor acknowledged him as the Sultan of Bijapur and gave some Ahmadnagar areas to him. Shah Jahan appointed his third son Aurangzeb as the governor of Mughal territory of Deccan. He successfully ruled these areas from 1636 to 1644. He was again appointed the governor of this territory in 1653 as Golkunda and Bijapur Sultans has become free. He defeated them and forced them to acknowledge the lordship of the Mughal Emperor.

Minor Conquests of North India Mughals had scored many minor victories during the rule of Shah Jahan. Free or rebel rulers of north India were defeated and forced to acknowledge the lordship of the Mughal Emperor. Conquest of Little Tibet is important among these victories. Its ruler Abdal had helped some rebels of the Mughal Empire so Mughal forces marched against him. On Kashmir governor Jafar Khan’s advice he surrendered. But after four years he rebelled. On the orders of Mughal Emperor, Jafar Khan marched against him. After resisting for some time he accepted his defeat and acknowledged lordship of the Mughal Emperor. He submitted an amount of ten lacks as damages of the battle to the Mughals. Bundelkhand ruler Champat Rai had started to create problems in the Mughal territories. During 1639 to 1642 many expeditions were sent against him. In 1642 he accepted Mughal Emperor as his ruler. Many expeditions were sent against the Bhil and Gond tribes of Malwa. After it rulers of Kumaun and Srinagar (Dehradoon) were subdued.

Setbacks and Death In 1629 the able and clever ruler of Iran Shah Abbas died. His successor was not clever like his father. The Kandhar governor has some differences with him. He surrendered Kandhar fort to the Mughal forces and was appointed at a high rank in the Mughal Empire. After it Shah Jahan sent expeditions to conquer Balkh and Badakhshan under the leadership of Aurangzeb. They defeated the Balkh ruler Nazar Mohammad but could not conquer these territories permanently.  So they signed an agreement with Nazar Mohammad and returned. In the way they were attacked by the Hazara Tribe and many Mughal soldiers were killed.  Thousands of them died in mountains because of cold and hunger. Thus Mughals lost thousands of their soldiers. In 1642, Shah Abbas II became the ruler of Iran. He had all the qualities of Shah Abbas. He lade seize to Kandhar in early months of 1649. Mughal emperor could not send reinforcement in time and after some time it became impossible to send reinforcement because of snowfall. Three expeditions were sent to conquer Kandhar in 1649, 1652 and 1653 but they failed to bear any fruit. An amount of four crores was wasted on these expeditions and many brave and able nobles were killed. In 1657, Shah Jahan fell ill and war of succession started among his sons. In this war, three of his sons were killed by Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan was imprisoned in a building in the Agra fort.  He spent his next eight years in the house arrest. He died on January after a prolonged illness and remaining confined to bed for some months.