Mirza Sulaiman Shikoh was a Mughal prince and the eldest son of Crown prince Dara Shikoh. He was executed in May 1662 at Gwalior Fort on the orders of his paternal uncle, Emperor Aurangzeb.
An unfinished portrait of Sulaiman Shikoh
Dara Shikoh (left) and Sulaiman Shikoh
An incomplete draft showing Dara Shikoh (left) with his son Sulaiman Shikoh (right)
A drawing of Sulaiman Shikoh
Dara Shikoh, also known as Dara Shukoh, was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba and was favoured as a successor by his father and his elder sister, Princess Jahanara Begum. He had been given the title of 'Shah-e-Buland Iqbal' by Shah Jahan. In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan's illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin. He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb's orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.
Dara's brothers (left to right) Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh in their younger years, ca 1637
Young Dara Shikoh (Left) and Mian Mir (Right)
The marriage of Dara Shikoh and Nadira Begum, 1875–90
Wedding procession of Dara Shikoh, with Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb behind him. Royal Collection Trust, London.