One of Shah Jahan's major innovations was moving the capital from Agra to Dehli, the traditional seat of Muslim power. Dehli was one of the largest cities in India and its status as capital increased its wealth and power. Shah Jahan began a series of incredible, resplendent, and monumental architectural projects in Dehli. The city itself was surrounded by sixty foot walls. He built for himself an extravagant throne, the Peacock Throne, all in gold and covered in rare jewels.
Western historians estimate that the throne was built at an expense of over five million dollars.
Shah Jahan's most famous building project, however, was the Taj Mahal in Agra. The Taj Mahal took over twenty years to build and demanded the labor of over twenty thousand men. Like all other Muslim tombs, the primary architectural design is based on building an equivalent of the Muslim paradise that the dead are certain to be in. All these lavish building projects, however, broke the bank. While this did not create famine, it did bring about hardship on the poorest members of Hindu society and raised hostility against the Mughals.