Jahangir died in 1627 and his son Shah Jahan took the throne. He ensured the murder of all of his male relatives just to make sure the throne would remain in his blood, extremely paranoid if you ask me. The author notes that other rulers followed this example and it was ultimately detrimental to the arts in the Mughal empire in later years. Shah Jahans period of rule is treated as the last great aesthete of the arts of the Mughal empire. The arts were ultimately undermined by more important political issues. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra for his favorite wife and was later buried there as well. Lots of craftsmen worked on it for 13 years, calligraphers and sculptors. This building emulates more of the tradition of the Middle East. Shah Jahan was obsessed with precious stone and the Taj Mahal is completely white embellished by the colors of these precious stones inlaid in the marble. He also loved flowers. The author talks about the painting Plate 31 The Miserable Ali and says the flowers contrast with the persian woven pattern around the calligraphy. She says the flowers are depicted in several different stages of life. This tradition is very European. The flowers are all outlined in gold. The cloud hughes around the flowers are a persian tradition with origins in China. The subjects in paintings changed during Shah Jahans rule. The author then describes Plate 32 Zenma Scene the subject is escapist, it depicts men of the court partaking in wine, other women and song. The author talks about how women of the court never showed themselves to people outside of the immediate family so artists never could capture their actual likeness, just what they thought they looked like through word of mouth. The author then talks about plate 33 Women with a Flower and ponders who exactly is the woman portrayed here? Perhaps she is a prostitute? She talks about the blue green sky and grassy ground how this is typical of shah jahans reign. The author then brings our attention to plate 34, two paintings side by side that are very similar to each other and to plate 33. The men depicted in plate 34 are wearing very similar robes, almost transparent white fabric. Painters payed particular attention to the textiles, shoes and jewelry of the courtier. The border was probably added later by different artists. Records of Shah Jahans reign makes far less reference to painters and the paintings that can be attributed to his reign are far less than his father and grandfather. The author referenced plate 35 Women Worshiping a Shiva Lingam it is definitely a Hindu painting. Shah Jahan died in 1666 but he had already lost power to his son Alamgir or Aurangzeb. He is known as a tyrant and ruthless but it is possibly justified because the empire faced serious threats during his rule. He supported art that was in pursuit of Islam and that only for political reasons. However one of the most famous paintings done in his reign is plate 36 Portrait drawing of Darab Khan. The detail is focused mainly in the face. By the time of Aurangzebs death in 1707 the imperial workshop ceased to exist. However, the artist developed many of their own workshops. Muhammad Shah was Aurangzebs great grandson. He commissioned few paintings but two important images he did commission are shown in plate 37 Attributed to Chitarman Muhammad Shah in Palanquin and plate 38 Attributed to Nidha Mal Muhammad Shah Rides in a Garden. These paintings are very different from the court paintings that came before them. They are extremely surreal and flat. The paintings are horizontally oriented. During Muhammad Shahs reign the empire was invaded and alot of the art was lost.