His Highness, The Imperial Prince (Shahzada) Dara Shikoh ( March 20, 1615 ??August 30, 1659) was the eldest son and the heir apparent of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. His name in Persian means 'Darius the Magnificent'. He was favoured as a successor by his father and his sister Princess Jahanara Begum, but was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (later the Emperor Aurangzeb) in a bitter struggle for the Imperial throne. The course of the history of the Indian subcontinent, had Dara prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.