Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim

Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim, better known by his imperial name, Jahangir (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, reigning from 1605 to 1627. His imperial name means 'world-conqueror,' 'world-seizer,' or 'world-seizer.' The mythical story of his love affair with Mughal courtesan Anarkali has been frequently adapted in Indian literature, art, and cinema.

Titular Name: Jahangir

Birth Name: Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim

Birth: 20 September, 1569

Reign: 15 October, 1605 - 8 October, 1627 (21 years 11 months 23 days)

Death: 28 October, 1627 (aged 60)

On 31 August 1569, in Fatehpur Sikri, Prince Salim, afterwards Jahangir, was born to Akbar and one of his spouses, Mariam-uz-Zamani, daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. After all of Akbar's previous children perished in infancy, he sought the help of holy men to conceive a son. Shaikh Salim Chisti was one among these men, and Salim was named after him.

On 3 November 1605, eight days after his father's death, Prince Salim ascended to the throne. At the age of 36, Salim ascended to the throne as Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir Badshah Ghazi and began his 22-year reign. Soon after, Jahangir had to defend his son, Prince Khusrau Mirza, from claiming the throne based on Akbar's wish to become the next successor. In 1606 Khusrau Mirza was defeated and imprisoned in Agra's fort.  Khusrau Mirza was offered over to his younger brother as a punishment, and he was partially blinded and died. Prince Khurram (future Shah Jahan), Jahangir's third son, was his favourite. To clear his road to the throne, Khurram assassinated his blind older brother, Khusrau Mirza, in 1622. Jahangir dispatched his son, Prince Khurram, to battle the combined troops of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda in 1622. Khurram went against his father after his triumph and made a push for control. Like his eldest son Khusrau Mirza, Jahangir was able to defeat and preserve power despite a threat from within his family.

Overseas Relations

After a brief struggle in the province around Kandahar, Emperor Jahangir despatched his Tahwildar, Khan Alam, to Safavid Persia, escorted by 800 sepoys, scribes, and scholars well as ten Howdahs richly decked in gold and silver, to negotiate peace with Abbas I of Persia. With costly presents and parties of Mir Shikar (Hunt Masters) from both Safavid Persia and the Central Asian Khanates, Khan Alam returned soon after. In 1626, Jahangir considered allying with the Ottomans, Mughals, and Uzbeks to combat the Safavids, who had destroyed the Mughals at Kandahar. He even wrote a letter to Murad IV, the Ottoman Sultan. Jahangir's ambitions, however, were dashed when he died in 1627.

Salim was promoted to the rank of Mansabdar ten thousand (Das-Hazari), the empire's highest military rank (after the emperor). When he was only twelve years old, led a regiment in the Kabul campaign of 1581. In 1585, when he was betrothed to his cousin Rajkumari Man Bai, daughter of Bhagwant Das of Amer, his Mansab was elevated to Twelve Thousand. Bhagwant Das was the child of Raja Bharmal.  He was also brother of Mariam-uz-Zamani, Akbar's Hindu bride and Salim's mother. Artist Manohar weighs Emperor Jahangir's son Prince Khurram (the future Shah Jahan) on a weighing scale (1615). On 13 February 1585, he married Man Bai. She was given the name Shah Begum by Jahangir and gave birth to Khusrau Mirza. Salim then married a series of talented girls from aristocratic Mughal and Rajput households in short succession. Jagat Gosain Begum, the daughter of Raja Udai Singh Rathore of Marwar, was one of his early favourite brides. On 11 January 1586, the bride and groom were married at the bride's home. Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani was Jahangir's wife, and she gave birth to Prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, Jahangir's heir to the throne. He wedded a daughter of Raja Rai Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner, on 26 June 1586. He married Malika Shikar Begum, the daughter of Sultan Abu Said Khan Jagatai, the Sultan of Kashghar, in July 1586. He married Sahib-i-Jamal Begum, the daughter of Khwaja Hassan of Herat, Zain Khan Koka's cousin, in 1586. In 1587, he married Malika Jahan Begum, the daughter of Maharaja of Jaisalmer Bhim Singh. He also married Raja Darya Malbhas' daughter. He married Zohra Begum, the daughter of Mirza Sanjar Hazara, in October 1590. He married Raja Kesho Das Rathore of Merta's daughter, Karamnasi Begum. On 11 January 1592, he wedded Kanwal Rani, Ali Sher Khan's daughter, through Gul Khatun. He married the daughter of Husain Chak of Kashmir in October 1592. He wedded Nur un-nisa Begum, daughter of Ibrahim Husain Mirza, by his wife, Gulrukh Begum, daughter of Kamran Mirza, in January/March 1593. He married the daughter of Ali Khan Faruqi, Raja of Khandesh, in September 1593. He also married Abdullah Khan Baluch's daughter. He wedded Khas Mahal Begum, daughter of Zain Khan Koka, Subadar of Kabul and Lahore, on 28 June 1596. In 1608, he married Saliha Banu Begum, the daughter of Qasim Khan, the Imperial Household's senior member. He married Koka Kumari Begum, the eldest daughter of Jagat Singh, Yuvraj of Amber, on 17 June 1608. On 25 May 1611, Jahangir married Mehr-un-Nisaa (better known by her later title of Nur Jahan), a stunningly beautiful and brilliant woman. Sher Afgan's widow, she was. After their marriage, Mehr-un-Nisaa became his undeniable principal consort and favourite wife. Jahangir was drawn to her because she was smart, intelligent, and gorgeous.

In 1594, Jahangir was dispatched by his father, Emperor Akbar, along with Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, also recognized as Mirza Jafar Beg, child of Mirza Ghiyas Beg Isfahani and brother of Nur Jahan, and Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, to conquest the renegade Vir Singh Deo of Bundela and capture the town of Orchha, which was considered the centre of the revolt. After several bloody battles, Jahangir arrived with a force of 12,000 men and subjugated the Bundela, ordering Vir Singh Deo to submit. Vir Singh Deo gave over 5000 Bundela infantry and 1000 cavalry after massive casualties and negotiations between the two. Still, he feared Mughal reprisal and remained a fugitive until his death. At the age of 26, the triumphant Jahangir ordered the construction of the Jahangir Mahal, a well-known Mughal castle at Orchha, to commemorate and honour his victory. Jahangir then assembled his men under the command of Ali Kuli Khan and went to war with Koch Bihar's Lakshmi Narayan. Lakshmi Narayan was given the title Nazir after accepting the Mughals as his suzerains and constructing a fortress at Atharokotha. Mariam-uz-Zamani, Jahangir's mother and Akbar's Rajput wife, owned the Rahimi. During his reign, she was regarded as the Queen Mother of Hindustan. The great pilgrimage ship Rahimi, the largest Indian ship sailing in the Red Sea, was known to Europeans as the great pilgrimage ship. The outrage at the Mughal court was exceptionally strong when the Portuguese officially refused to return the ship and its occupants. The uproar was heightened because the ship's owner and patron were none other than the current emperor's respected mother. Outraged, Jahangir ordered the seizure of the Portuguese town of Daman. He ordered the arrest of every Portuguese within the Mughal Empire and the confiscation of the Jesuits' churches. This episode is seen as a precursor to the struggle for wealth that would later erupt and lead to the conquest of the Indian subcontinent.

Jahangir was the one who put an end to a century-long feud with the state of Mewar. The Rajputs were forced to succumb after suffering tremendous losses in life and property due to the campaign against them. In 1608, Jahangir dispatched Islam Khan I to Bengal to defeat Musa Khan, an Afghan rebel. Jahangir also considered taking Kangra Fort, which Akbar had unsuccessfully attempted in 1615. As a result, in 1620, a siege was laid, and the fort was seized, forcing the Raja of Chamba, who was the utmost of all the rajas in the region, to submit. In the state of Kashmir, the district of Kistwar was also seized.

By visiting Kashmir and Kabul, Jahangir was attempting to reclaim his health. He travelled from Kabul to Kashmir but returned to Lahore due to a terrible cold. In 1627, Jahangir died near Sarai Saadabad in Bhimber while travelling from Kashmir to Lahore. The entrails were removed from his body to embalm and preserve them, and they were interred inside Baghsar Fort near Bhimber in Kashmir. The body was subsequently transported to Lahore by palanquin and buried in Shahdara Bagh, a city's neighbourhood. The magnificent mausoleum is now a popular tourist destination. Jahangir was replaced by Prince Khurram, who assumed the regnal name Shah Jahan.

• Sons
  • Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber
  • Parviz Mirza
  • Muhammad Khurram
  • With a concubine, Jahandar Mirza (born c. 1605).
  • Shahryar Mirza
• Daughters
  • Sultan-un-nissa Begum
  • Iffat Banu Begum
  • Bahar Banu Begum
  • Begum Sultan Begum
  • Nur-un-Nissa Begum
  • Izzat-un-Nissa Begum

Art and architecture were two of Jahangir's greatest passions. Jahangir recounted events from his reign, descriptions of flora and fauna he observed, and other aspects of daily life in his autobiography, the Jahangirnama, and commissioned court painters like Ustad Mansur to paint comprehensive paintings to accompany his colourful prose. Many of the works of art that Jahangir commissioned were bound and presented in ornate volumes with hundreds of photos, often organized around a theme such as a zoology. In his memoirs, Jahangir boasted of his ability to identify the artist of any portrait merely by glancing at it. Jahangir was a connoisseur of art who took his job very seriously. He also saved masterpieces from the reign of Emperor Akbar. The painting of musician Naubat Khan, son-in-law of renowned Tansen, by Ustad Mansur is a superb example. In addition to their artistic characteristics, paintings created during his reign were meticulously classified, dated, and even signed, providing academics with fairly specific dates and contexts for many of the works. He used his wealth and spare time to meticulously document the magnificent natural world that the Mughal Empire embraced. He would sometimes bring artists with him for this reason; for example, while Jahangir was in Rahimabad, he had painters on hand to record the appearance of a particular tiger that he shot and killed because he thought it was exceptionally beautiful.