Nur Jahan, her original name was Mehr-un-Nissa
born on the 31st May 1577 was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 25 May
1611 to 28 October 1627 as the eighteenth and last wife of the fourth Mughal
emperor Jahangir.
EARLY LIFE
She
was the daughter of Mirza Giyaz Beg and Asmat Begam. She was the second
daughter among the four children. Mirza Giyaz Beg was a businessman in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, he had a huge loss in business due to which the family decided
to shift to India. Mirza Giyaz Beg and Asmat Begam(pregnant) and two children
left for India and when they were half way, they were attacked by robbers. The family
was left with no food. They arrived at Khandhar, during this hardship Mehr-un-Nissa
was born.
The
family was so impoverished that the parents decided to abundant the newly born
girl child in the middle of the Thar Desert. There was a group of rich merchant
noble Malik Mahmud, who saw the child in the desert. And the strange thing was
that she was protected by a cobra snake. This rich merchant decided to rescue
the child and carried her with himself. May be due to the good fortune of the
child, the noble and parents camped at the same place. There was hue and cry
about the girl child. The parents immediately claimed her to be their daughter
and named her as Mehr-un-Nissa, which means Sun among women.
The
noble assisted Mirza Giyaz Beg to find job at Akbar court at Fatehpur Sikri. He
was appointed as the tax collector. Her parents provided her with best of education.
Being intelligent she was well versed in Arabic and Persian languages, horse
riding, dance, art, literature and took keen interest in administration. Akbar’s
son Salim later Jahangir and Mirza Giyaz Beg’s daughter Mehr-un-Nissa fell in
love with each other. Akbar was against this relationship.
MARRIAGE WITH SHER AFGHAN
In
1594, when Mehr-un-Nissa was seventeen years old she was married to Ali Quli
Istajlu or Sher Afgan. He was an adventurous Persian who had been forced to
flee his home in Persia after the demise of his first master Shah Ismail II. He
later joined the Mughal army and served under the Emperors Akbar and Jahangir.
As a reward for his loyal service, Akbar arranged his marriage with Mehr-un-Nissa.
They were blessed with a daughter Ladli Begam in 1605.
UNITED AGAIN WITH JAHANGIR
In
1605, Akbar passed away and next to the succession was his eldest son Salim. He
became the forth Mughal emperor and took the title of Jahangir. In 1607, Sher
Afgan was killed or some historian says that he was murdered by Jahangir, due
to his fondness for Mehr-un-Nissa. Mehr-un-Nissa was summoned by Jahangir as
lady in waiting for his mother Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (widow of Akbar). Ruqaiya
Sultan Begum was so fond of Mehr-un-Nissa that she paved way for her to unite
with Jahangir.
MARRIAGE WITH JAHANGIR
In
1611, while shopping with her patroness, Empress Ruqaiya, Nur Jahan met again
with the Emperor Jahangir at the palace meena bazaar during the spring festival
of Navroz which celebrated the coming of the New Year. Jahangir proposed
immediately and they were married on 25 May of the same year. She was thirty
four years old at the time of her second marriage and she would be Jahangir’s
eighteenth and last legal wife.
A POWERFUL EMPRESS
At
the time of her marriage she was conferred the title of Nur Jahan it means
Light of the World and new gold coins were issued in her name. After this
wedding her father was promoted to the post of Treasurer of the Mughals with
the title of Itimad ud Daulah. Her brother who was too in the Mughal services
was appointed as the commander of the Army. Nur Jahan became the chief queen as
she assisted Jahangir in all the legal matters. Jahangir was so fond of opium
and liquor that he left all the administration in the hands of Nur Jahan. His royal insignia rested with her and she
became one of the most powerful lady in the Mughal court. She appointed her
relative and trustworthy people on high post.
Due
to her power and position, she was able to construct Itimad-Ud_Daulah, a tomb
in the memory of her parents at Agra. It is the first monument in India made up
of pure white marble and adorned with precious and semi precious stones. Later,
she also constructed the tomb of Jahangir at Lahore. She is also credited to
have started the fashion of embroidery on clothes, lace work and invented rose
perfume by distillation process. She also started embroidery schools for girls,
so that they can support their families.
Nur
Jahan, set up an excellent example for the society for nor just being a Good Daughter,
intelligent wife, a capable administrator, and a social worker. https://www.thetajtours.com/nur-jahan-powerful-mughal-empress/
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