Jahangir

Nur ud-din Muhammad Salim, known by his royal name Jahangir, was the fourth emperor of the Mughal Empire. He ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627. Jahangir was the only surviving son of Emperor Akbar I and his consort Maryam uz-Zamani. He grew up learning many languages and subjects, including Chagatai, Persian, Hindustani, military tactics, and social sciences.

As a young leader, Jahangir showed his strength by leading an army to end a revolt by the Bundela people in Orchha. After this success, a grand building called the Jahangir Mahal was built in his honor. When his father Akbar passed away, Jahangir became the new emperor.

Jahangir’s time as ruler was rich with art and culture. He loved paintings and helped them grow during his years of leadership. His rule also saw the empire expand into new areas of the Indian subcontinent, like the Rajput Kingdoms and the Deccan. He worked with leaders from faraway lands, including the Safavids of Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and welcomed visitors from the English East India Company.

Even with many successes, Jahangir faced difficulties, such as disagreements among his sons. Sadly, his health suffered due to his use of certain substances, and he passed away in 1627. After his death, his son Shah Jahan took over. Today, Jahangir is remembered for his support of art and architecture, his written memories, and the rules he made that shaped the empire for years to come.

Early life

Prince Nur al-Din Muhammad Salim, later known as Jahangir, was the third son of Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani. He was born on 31 August 1569 in Fatehpur Sikri. His two older brothers, Hassan Mirza and Hussain Mirza, had sadly passed away when they were very young. To celebrate the birth of their son, Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani sought the blessings of a respected religious leader named Salim Chishti.

Jahangir started his education at the age of five. He learned many languages, including Persian and Hindustani, as well as subjects like history and geography. One of his important tutors was Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan. In 1594, at the age of 26, Jahangir led an army to capture the city of Orchha after a long struggle. He built the Jahangir Mahal there to remember his victory.

Family

Jahangir came from the House of Babur.

Jahangir had many wives. His first wife was Manbhawati Bai, daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber. They married in 1585 and she was loved very much. She had their first son named Khusrau and was called Shah Begam. Sadly, she passed away in 1605.

His second wife was Jagat Gosain, daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur. They married in 1586, and she became the mother of Emperor Shah Jahan. She passed away in 1619.

Jahangir had many other wives from different places, including Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Kashmir, and Little Tibet. One of his last wives was Nur Jahan, who became his favorite. She was clever and talented in many areas.

Reign

Jahangir became the emperor of the Mughal Empire in 1605, after his father Akbar passed away. He was the son of Akbar and his wife Maryam uz-Zamani.

Khusrau rebellion

After Jahangir became emperor, his son Khusrau tried to take the throne in 1606. Jahangir stopped him and kept him safe in Agra.

Rule

Jahangir trusted his wife Nur Jahan a lot, and she helped him with ruling. In some battles, Jahangir fought against leaders who did not agree with him.

In 1613, Jahangir sent soldiers to fight against rebels in Gujarat. Later, the Portuguese took a ship carrying people to Mecca, which upset Jahangir very much.

In 1614, a British ambassador named Thomas Roe came to Jahangir’s court. Roe stayed for three years and became a friend of Jahangir.

In 1615, Jahangir captured a fort in Kangra. In 1616, he sent his son Prince Khurram to fight against rebel kingdoms.

In 1623, Jahangir sent a group to negotiate peace with the Safavid Empire after a conflict. In 1625, his general Mahabat Khan stopped a rebellion by Khurram.

Death

Jahangir often used opium and wine, and he was frequently ill in the 1620s. He tried to get better by traveling to Kashmir and Kabul, but he turned back to Lahore because of a bad cold.

In 1627 on 29 October, while traveling from Kashmir to Lahore, Jahangir passed away near Bhimber. His body was taken to Lahore and buried in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb of the city. His son, Shah Jahan, built his tomb, which is now a popular place for visitors to see. The tomb was considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1993.

When Jahangir passed away, there was some disagreement about who should be the next ruler. His wife, Nur Jahan, wanted her son-in-law, Shahryar Mirza, to take the throne. But her brother Abu'l-Hassan Asaf Khan wanted his son-in-law, Prince Khurram, to become ruler instead. To oppose Nur Jahan, Abu'l Hassan put Dawar Bakhsh in charge temporarily and kept Nur Jahan in Shahdara. When Prince Khurram arrived in Agra in February 1628, he took control, removed Shahryar and Dawar, and became Shah Jahan.

Personal life

Jahangir was well-known for creating a "Chain of Justice." This was a special golden chain with bells that he could use to listen to people who needed help and fairness. In his writings, he talked about making this chain so that anyone who felt they weren’t being treated right could ask the emperor for help.

Jahangir cared about health and medicine. He made rules to improve these areas, like stopping the sale of certain harmful drinks and drugs. He also helped set up free places where doctors could care for people in all the cities of his empire.

Jahangir enjoyed hunting and liked to find Nilgai, a type of antelope.

Religious view

Jahangir mostly followed the same religious ideas as his father, Akbar. But later in life, he started to pay more attention to traditional Muslim beliefs. Some important Muslim leaders in his court helped change his views.

At first, some strict Muslims thought he might be more open to other religions than his father was. But over time, Jahangir made changes to some of Akbar’s more open policies. For example, he brought back some old Muslim traditions that Akbar had changed. He also made sure that mosques were used for worship and celebrated important Muslim holidays.

Jahangir made some rules about eating cows and animals on certain days. He also let Hindu leaders have their own judges. He gave money to Hindu temples, but sometimes said things about them that were not kind. He did not like certain Hindu practices and removed some images from temples.

One of the most talked-about events was when Jahangir ordered the death of a leader of the Sikh community. This happened because the leader was thought to support someone who was against Jahangir. Jahangir seemed to not fully understand Sikh beliefs and talked about the leader as if he were a Hindu.

Jahangir also made a short rule against certain Jain monks, but he changed his mind about it quickly. Even though he wrote about it in his memoirs, many people thought he still had good relationships with Jains.

Jahangir made special coins with his picture on them and also coins with pictures of the zodiac signs. Some Muslim leaders thought this was not right, and after he died, his son ordered all these coins to be melted down.

Jahangir was practical and liked to question things that didn’t make sense. He believed strongly in the power of prayers from holy people and also trusted astrology. He gave money to offset bad luck from the stars.

According to one historian, Jahangir told his leaders not to force people to change their religions, though there were still some cases where this happened during his time. He mostly wanted his empire to be stable, with loyalty and money as his main goals, rather than changing people’s religions.

Art

Jahangir loved art and buildings. He wrote about his life and the world around him, and he asked artists to paint pictures to go with his writings. For example, when he saw a beautiful falcon from Iran, he asked an artist to paint it after it died.

Jahangir was very proud of his artists and could often tell who painted a picture just by looking at it. He kept many paintings from his father Akbar’s time and added his own. His artists even traveled with him to paint things he saw, like a tiger he thought was very beautiful.

Jahangir’s artists also painted people in new ways, showing more of their bodies than before. He was very interested in European art that Jesuit missionaries brought to India and had his artists copy and adapt these styles.

Politics

Jahangir is often thought to have been a weaker ruler than his father. Some people said he was too lazy or liked to drink too much, which kept him from focusing on ruling. He lost some land to the Persians and is sometimes said to have been too influenced by his wife, Nur-Jahan. This caused problems with his son, Shah Jahan, who was much more capable.

Science

Jahangir was very curious about the world and did his own experiments. He tested old beliefs, like whether mountain sheep were really aggressive, and tried using bitumen to heal a broken bone on a chicken — but it didn’t work. He compared air quality in two cities by watching how quickly dead sheep decayed. He also studied animals, like figuring out how long elephants carry their babies and looking at the livers of lions and wolves to see where their gall bladders were located.

Popular culture

Films and television

Jahangir has been shown in many movies and TV shows. In 1939, he appeared in the film Pukar, played by Chandra Mohan. Many other films from the 1950s to the 2020s also featured him, such as Mughal-e-Azam in 1960, where Dilip Kumar played the role. TV series like Bharat Ek Khoj and Jodha Akbar have also portrayed Jahangir.

Literature

Jahangir is also a main character in several books. He appears in The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan and in novels from the Empire of the Moghul series by Alex Rutherford. Other books that include him are Nur Jahan's Daughter by Tanushree Poddar and Beloved Empress Mumtaz Mahal by Nina Consuelo Epton.