Role of Nur Jahan in Mughal Polity

Born as Mehr-un-nisaa in Kandahar, present-day Afghanistan, into a family of Persian nobility and was
the second daughter and fourth child of the Persian aristocrat Mirza Ghiyas Beg and his wife Asmat
Begum. They fled Safavid Iran in hopes of finding prosperity and refuge under the Mughal emperor
Akbar. The future empress’s childhood is clouded by legend, with conflicting folktales jostling to explain
her rise to power. One oft-repeated legend claims that her parents, lacking food and water on their
pilgrimage to India, attempted to abandon her in the desert. Overcome with grief for their lost child, they
returned for her—only to find her sitting calmly and safely next to a dangerous snake. Also
unsubstantiated is the claim that Mehr al-Nesāʾ was frequently seen with Jahāngīr at court in her youth,
perhaps beginning their romantic relationship, though there is no documentation of the two meeting until
1611.
In 1594, when Nur Jahan was seventeen years old, she married her first husband Ali Quli Istajlu (also
known as Sher Afgan Khan).Sher Afgan 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.After her husband Sher Afgan was killed in 1607, Nur
Jahan and her daughter, Ladli Begum, were summoned to Agra by Jahangir for their protection and acted
as lady-in-waiting to the Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, who had been one of the chief wives of the late Emperor
Akbar. After Sher Afghan's death, Nur Jahan's family was again found in a less than honourable or
desired position. Her father was at that time, a diwan to an Amir-ul-Umra, decidedly not a very high post.
In addition, both her father and one of her brothers were surrounded by scandal as the former was accused
of embezzlement and the latter of treason.Her fortunes took a turn for the better when she married
Jahangir.
The twentieth wife of the fourth Mughal emperor , who went on to become a co-sovereign with
him.Though she was one of the most influential leaders in 17th century Asia, for centuries her legacy has
been reduced to a love story that ends where her real adventure began.1( Dr. Ruby Lal, Empress: The
Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, penguin classic, 2018).
The Mughal state gave absolute power to the emperor, and those who exercised influence over the
emperor gained immense influence and prestige. Nur Jahan was able to convince her husband to pardon
her father and appoint him Prime Minister. To consolidate her position and power within the Empire, Nur
Jahan placed various members of her family in high positions throughout the court and administrative
offices. Her brother Asaf Khan was appointed grand Wazir (minister) to Jahangir.
Beni Prasad had argued that as the years went by Jahangir became an opium addict and left the charge of
administration in the hands of Nur Jahan.2(Prasad, Beni (1922), History of Jahangir. Allahabad: The
Indian Press Pvt. Ltd.) In the task of administration she was assisted by her family, especially her father
(Itimad-udDaulah) and her brother (Asaf Khan).When Prince Khurram was recognized as Jahangir‘s heir
apparent, Asaf Khan‘s daughter, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal was married to
him. This marriage, held in 1612, was primarily a political one which symbolised the alliance of Nur
Jahan with the heir apparent Prince Khurram. All these people formed a kind of a family clique‘ or junta‘
that rallied around Nur Jahan (Prasad 1922: 179). The junta‘ theory is contested by Nurul Hasan (1958:
324–35), who argues that Nur Jahan‘s family members had attained exalted administrative posts due to
their loyalty and dedication to service at the Mughal court much before Nur Jahan‘s marriage to
Jahangir.While the existence of a junta is certainly doubtful, the immense influence of Nur Jahan‘s family
members is attested by the tazkiras.

Mughal women were physically confined behind the walls of a harem, lived behind a veil, and were
thought of as being inconsequential in the country's politics or even in their own social circles. The ladies
of the harem did not generally participate in outdoor games both because of parda (veil) and the physical
exertion involved. As a queen, Nur Jahan did not observe parda, her portraits too are probably after her
own model. 'Nur Jahan is probably the lone example among harem women who shot tigers and lions'. She
challenged the social and cultural conventions of her day and pushed them to the greatest limits without
breaking them.She sat alongside Emperor Jahangir while discussing and settling state politics and military
affairs at court (both Diwan-i-Khas and Diwan-i-aam) and even royal window (Jharokha Darshan),
although she hidden behind a curtain. She also had her own court where she held audiences with generals,
politicians and officials in her chambers, mixing with men and discussing state affairs. She even held
court independently when the emperor was unwell, consulted with the ministers and made decisions,
sending written orders to the leading administrators and asking for an account when necessary. She was
given charge of his imperial seal, implying that her perusal and consent were necessary before any
document, record or order received legal validity. She played a crucial role whenever Jahangir issued new
orders as he would always consult her before making any major decisions.

In the last five years of Jahangir reign(1622-1627) he became so incapacitated by alcohol and opium that
Nur Jahan took many administration into her hands.Nur Jahan exercised a good influence on her husband
and got mammoth power in the court. She gained dominance at the court and soon became a powerful,
resourceful and honoured woman over a relatively short period of time. Her success raised her ambitions
and, in course of time, her influence and active participation in state affairs increased.The royal seal also
contained her signature.This was the first time in Indian history that a woman had ever been allowed to do
this.
Her signature in the order read, NurJahanPadshahBegum , which translates as Nur Jahan, the Lady
Emperor. In 1617, gold and silver coins, which bore her name opposite that of Jahangir, started
circulating. Court chroniclers, foreign diplomats, tradesmen and visitors soon started to
note her unique status.

Nur Jahan's administrative skills proved invaluable during her regency as she defended the Empire's
borders in her husband's absence. According to Dr Ruby lal In 1626, Emperor Jahangir was captured by
rebels while on his way to Kashmir3(Lal, Ruby (2005), Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal
World. New York: Cambridge University Press.). The rebel leader Mahabat Khan had hoped to stage a
coup against Jahangir. Riding into battle atop a war elephant, Nur Jahan intervened herself to get her
husband released. She ordered the ministers to organise an attack on the enemy in order to rescue the
Emperor; she would lead one of the units by administering commands from on top of a war elephant(Pant,
Chandra (1978). Nur Jahan and Her Family. Dandewal Publishing House).during the battle Nur Jahan's
mount was hit and the soldiers of the imperial army fell at her feet. Realising her plan had failed, Nur
Jahan surrendered to Mahabat Khan and was placed in captivity with her husband. Unfortunately for the
rebels, Mahabat Khan failed to recognize the creativity and intellect of Nur Jahan as she soon was able to
organise an escape and raise an army right under his very nose.
In Mughal India marriages played an important role in maintaining political alliances. In fact if one
recognizes the significance of marriages in the organisation of the Mughal ruling class, the implication of
influential alliances like those between Jahangir and Nur Jahan become evident,and help us understand
Nur Jahan‘s dominance at the court and the dynamics of administration during Jahangir‘s reign. Afzal
Husain views marriages among Mughal nobles as an index of status and aristocratic integration that
helped them gain mansabs, assignments of jagirs and special status at the court.4(The Nobility Under
Akbar and Jahāngīr , 1972: 304–12) Husain, Afzal (1972), Marriages Among Mughal Nobles as an
Index of Status and Aristocratic Integration‘, in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, pp.
304–12.
The marital alliances between Ladli Begam (Nur Jahan‘s daughter that she had from Sher Afgan) and
Shahryar in 1620 became a cause for Shah Jahan‘s rebellion against Jahangir that halted and eventually
ended Nur Jahan‘s political dominance at the Mughal court. It was after Ladli Begum‘s marriage that Nur
Jahan started supporting Shahryar‘s claims to the Mughal throne. As against the independent minded and
assertive Shah Jahan, Shahryar was docile and had a feeble mind and so was a perfect puppet who would
easily become a pawn in Nur Jahan‘s hands. In pushing the interests of her son-in-law Shahryar Nur
Jahan from depriving Shah Jahan of his fiefs in Hindustan to alienating him from his supporters, used all
kinds of tactics to push him to the path of rebellion and impudence.

Nur Jahan was put under house arrest by her brother on the orders of new Emperor Shah Jahan and spent
the remainder of her life confined in Lahore with her young widowed daughter, Ladli Begum, and her
granddaughter. The three of them lived a simple and austere life.
She was granted an annual amount of 2 lakhs rupees by Shah Jahan. During this period she oversaw the
completion of her father's mausoleum in Agra, which she started in 1622 and is now known as Itmad- ud-
daulah's tomb. The tomb served as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, unarguably the zenith of Mughal
architecture, the construction of which began in 1632 and which Nur Jahan must have heard about before
she died. Nur Jahan died on 17 December 1645 at age 68. She is buried at her tomb in Shahdara Bagh in
Lahore, which she had built herself.
No woman had wielded more power and for such a long time in Indian history as Nur Jahan. She played a
hefty role in influencing and shaping the Mughal empire, which encompassed almost the entire
modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and a massive chunk of northern and central India. She
was patron of one of the most unique and beautiful architecture of the time.Her father tomb was the
inspiration of Taj Mahal and it is also famously known as Baby Taj Mahal A very witty and intelligent
woman. She even had her own perfume and textiles line . She was the founder of many textile and dress
material like e Nurmahali dress and fine clothes like Panchtoliya badla (silver-threaded brocade), kinari
(silver-threaded lace), etc.Nur Jahan is also credited with popularising farsh-i-chandani, a style of
sandalwood coloured carpeting.(Das, Nandini (16 March 2023). Courting India: England, Mughal India
and the Origins of Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 297).
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. ( Dr. Ruby Lal, Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, penguin classic, 2018).
2. (Prasad, Beni (1922), History of Jahangir. Allahabad: The Indian Press Pvt. Ltd.)
3. (Lal, Ruby (2005), Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World. New York:
Cambridge University Press.)
4. (The Nobility Under Akbar and Jahāngīr , 1972: 304–12) Husain, Afzal (1972), Marriages
Among Mughal Nobles as an Index of Status and Aristocratic Integration‘, in Proceedings
of the Indian History Congress, pp. 304–12.

Online
➔ Hasan, Nurul (1958), The Theory of the Nur Jahan Junta‘,in Proceedings of the Indian History
Congress, Trivandrum Session, pp 324–35 .
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145220?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
➔ Habib, Irfan (1969), The Family of Nur Jahan during Jahangir‘s Reign‘,Medieval India, A
Miscellany . Aligarh: Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim
University
➔ Nur Jahan | Empress, Accomplishments, & History | Britannica,update- 10 feb
2023,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nur-Jahan
➔ S.TANDON,Negotiating Political Spaces and Contested Identities: Representation of Nur
Jahan and her Family in Mughal Tazkiras1,DELHI
UNIVERSITY.https://journals.du.ac.in/humsoc/pdf/TANDON%20Nur%20Jahan.pdf

BOOK
1. Richard M. Eaton, India in the Persianate Age, 1000-1765, Penguin Classics,2019
2. Satish Chandra, Medieval India from sultanate to the mughal, part-2, HAR-ANAND
publication,revised Edition, 2022, original edition, 1999.
3. M.Arthar Ali, Mughal India, Oxford University press,2006