Nur Jahan

More -un -Nisa ( Persian for sun among women ) (* 1577 in Kandahar, † December 18, 1645 in Lahore ) was known as the 20th (and last) wife of the 4th Great Mughals, Jahangir, to which they exercised great influence. He awarded her the honorary title of Nur Jahan ( ' Light of the World "). Under the guidance of her - originating from Persia - parents, they also developed a strong sense of the arts, erected buildings, plant gardens and designed fabric patterns, carpets and perfumes; next she reached also in religious matters and regulated the Hoffinanzen.

Biography

Childhood

The father More -un- Nisas was Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who was descended from a respectable family, the mother was Asmat Begum; both came from Persia, were highly educated, but the country had - together with their children ( two sons and a daughter) - leave. On the flight to India was the caravan, which they joined, assaulted and the family lost all their assets with the exception of two mules on which they rode on. Her mother gave birth to more -un -Nisa in 1577 in a caravanserai in Kandahar. Parents Only Jahan were thus (formed) Persian refugees in India; her father served since 1577 at the court of Akbar, quickly rose to high office and was given the honorary title of Itmad -ud- Daula ( " support of the state" ).

First marriage

1594 More -un -Nisa - first marriage with Ali Quli Khan Istajlu, a Persian soldier, the title of Sher Afghan was wearing since 1599 - at the age of 17 years; two was born in 1605 a daughter - this was their only child. After the death of Akbar ascended on October 24, 1605 Jahangir the throne. In the winter of 1607 her niece Arjumand Banu (later Mumtaz Mahal ) with the third son of Jahangir Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan ) engaged. In 1607 her first husband Sher Afghan died in unexplained circumstances on an expedition. This year, her family fell out of favor because they had become entangled in the uprising against his father Jahangir Prince Khusrau. Her brother Abul Hasan Asaf Khan, the father of Mumtaz Mahal, but was a good friend of Jahangir and for years his faithful adviser.

Second Marriage

On Nowruz Festival in March 1611 saw the eight years older Mughal Emperor Jahangir, the 34 -year-old multi -un -Nisa probably for the first time and fell in love with it. The wedding took place shortly afterwards on 25 May 1611. After 19 other wives, this was the last marriage, which went down Jahangir. More -un- Nisa Nur Jahan (' Light of the World ') was awarded the title. However, the marriage remained childless.

Jahangir was an alcoholic and opium addict. Nur Jahan knew this cleverly exploit - since her marriage, she was the actual power behind the throne and the kingdom was firmly in control. Along with her father, her brother and Prince Khurram they drew all government business. It even coins were issued under their name. They held court, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, received petitioners, said law and many decrees were only valid if even that was next to the seal Jahangir her. She was also a passionate hunter and took part in - of course, hidden behind veils - many hunts of the court.

With their marriage also a great climb her family ( brother, uncle, in-laws, etc.) began - until the death of Jahangir ( 1627 ) received this 27 gubernatorial and other high positions and were given a huge income. A major success was the marriage ( 1621) of her daughter from her first marriage Ladli ( " that which is loved " ) Begam with Shahryar, a younger son Jahangir. The two get on September 4, 1623 a daughter. Nur Jahan Shahryar support from then on as a pretender to the throne against Shah Jahan; her brother Asaf Khan, however, supported his son Shah Jahan against his own sister and made sure that those on the death of Jahangir on 28 October 1627 - was placed in Lahore house arrest - financially well-supplied. Here they devoted much of their time and income to build the Jahangir mausoleum, and later that of her own tomb. Nur Jahan died in 1645 at the age of 68 years.

Buildings

Apart from their familial and political activities was Nur Jahan involved planning and leading role in several buildings of Mughal architecture: Already in 1618 it was the construction of a - later named after her - Caravanserai ( ' Sarai Nurmahal ') in Jalandhar ( Punjab ) in order, whose architecture and building materials are still strongly tied to tradition.

In the years 1622-1628 she was dedicated to the planning and construction of the tomb of her parents in Agra ( Itmad -ud- Daula 's Tomb ), and later ( 1627-1637 ) then that of her second husband in Lahore ( Jahangir 's Mausoleum ). Both mausoleums differ in their external form, the variety of uses of white marble and stone inlays significantly from earlier buildings of this type and let one - close largely independent and autonomous character of the client - now developed. In this context, one can certainly make the assertion that - without the predecessors Only Jahan - the Taj Mahal would be incurred without its marble exterior skin and framing without Eckminarette.

Your own - even planned by her and perhaps finished in her lifetime - tomb where her her daughter Ladli was buried to the side, is in close proximity to the - twice as large - Mausoleum of her second husband at Lahore ( Pakistan). Supposedly, both buildings were connected by an underground tunnel. The two restored facades show for buildings of the Mughal period unusually strict and completely uniform decor of square and rectangular fields, which are separated with a border of white marble inlay; floral motifs are completely missing - only the white spandrel loosen the geometric rigor of the facade design a little. Inside, there are still traces of flower paintings.

Whether the building originally had roof structures in the form of pavilions, Chhatris, turrets, battlements, or the like, is unclear. When looting by Sikh troops, the - allegedly - in the 18th and 19th centuries all managed somehow tangible white marble from Lahore in just about 50 km from Amritsar and there inserting the construction of the Golden Temple, were any existing roof structures as well as the two Marmorkenotaphe destroyed; the latter were replaced by two new in the 20th century.

Only two facades of the building have been restored, the other two are located - as well as the interior of the tomb - in a pretty sorry state.

Importance

Even more than her niece Mumtaz Mahal - or as their distant forerunner of Roxelane in the Ottoman Empire - applies Nur Jahan as a rare example that under special circumstances in which - dominated otherwise by men - Muslim world a woman leading positions at court and related options unable to obtain the participation and self-realization. On the other hand, she was - probably because she was the mother of a possible heir to the throne was not - actively and passively involved in various court intrigues, which ultimately had their distance from the Mughal court result.