The Peacock Throne was a famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the Mughal emperors in India. Peacock throne was made for Shah Jahan. It was commissioned in the early 17th century by emperor Shah Jahan and was located in the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences, or Ministers' Room) in the Red Fort of Delhi. During the invasion of 1739, Nader Shah, the emperor of Iran, looted the precious jewels attached to it. It was named after a peacock as two peacocks are shown dancing at its rear.

Shah Jahan ruled in what is considered the Golden Age of the vast Mughal Empire, which covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent. He ruled from the newly constructed capital of Shahjahanabad. The emperor was the focus around which everything else revolved, giving audiences and receiving petitioners. The ruler's court was to be a mirror image of paradise on earth, in the very centre of the empire; and such a ruler would be worthy of a Throne of Solomon (تخت سليمان, Takht-e-Sulaiman) to underscore his position as a just king. Just like Solomon's throne, the Peacock Throne of Shah jahan was to be covered in gold and jewels, with steps leading up to it, with the ruler floating above ground and closer to heaven. Said Gilani and his workmen from the imperial goldsmiths' department were commissioned with the construction of this new throne. It took seven years to complete. Large amounts of solid gold, precious stones and pearls were used, creating a masterful piece of Mughal workmanship that was unsurpassed before or after its creation. It was an opulent indulgence that could only be seen by a small number of courtiers, aristocrats, and visiting dignitaries. The throne was, even by Golden Age Mughal standards, supremely extravagant, costing twice as much as the construction of the Taj Mahal.

The appearance of this mughal peacock throne was in stark contrast to the older throne of Jahangir, a large rectangular slab of engraved black basalt constructed in the early 1600s, used by the father of Shah Jahan.