J a h a n g i r

Sultan Salem ascended the throne at Agra, in 1606; in the thirty-eighth year of his age. Of his assuming the title of Jahangir (conqueror of the world), he writes in his memoirs.

        “ The invisible inspirer put it into my mind that, since the business of kings is to conquer the world, I might call myself by the name of ‘Jahangir’ (conqueror of the world); and, inasmuch as my accession to the throne had taken place when the sun was in the ascendant and was imparting brilliancy to the world, I might assume the title of Nur-ud-din (the light of religion.)”

            The governorship of the Panjab was given to Said Khan, a chief of the Moghal tribe, and one of the distinguished grandees of Akbar’s court. Six months after his accession, his eldest son, Khusrow, broke into open rebellion. He fed from Agra to Lahore, to which he laid siege. Dilawar Khan, the imperial general, coming from Panipat, by rapid marches, to Lahore, put the fortress and the city in a state of defence, with the help of Mirza Husain and Abdul Rahim, Dewans, and Nur-ud-din Quli, Kotwal, or Chief Police officer, of Lahore, and Jahangir himself followed, at the head of a large army. Khusrow promised his followers that, after the capture of the town, they should be allowed to plunder it for seven days, and that the woman and children should be made captives of war. His followers set one of the gates on fire ; but Dilawar Khan and other officers of the imperial army within the city walls set up another barrier at the gate. Khusrow, being informed of approach of the imperial army, thought it advisable to risk an engagement, and the two forces met at Bhalronwal, half way between Jullundur and Amritsar. A severe action was fought, in which the Sayads of Bara under Sheikh Farid Bokhari, greatly distinguished themselves on the side of the Imperialists, who obtained a complete victory over the enemy, of whom nearly 400 fell. The enemy dispersed, and the siege of Lahore was raised. Khusrow was seized while attempting to cross the Chenab, and was led before his imperial father in fetters, in the garden of Mirza Kamran. Two of his principal advisers, Husain Beg and Mirza Aziz, were on his right and left. The Prince stood between them, trembling and weeping. He was taken into custody ; but his two counselors, just named, were enclosed in the raw skins of a cow and an ass and paraded round the city, seated on asses, with their faces to the tail. A double row of sharp stakes was set up from the garden of Mirza Kamran, called the Nowlakha to the city gates, and 700 of the conspirators were impaled alive. The Emperor witnessed the scene “seated in the royal pavilion built by his father on the principal tower in the citadel, from which to view the combats of elephants,” The culprits died in most excruciating pain. Khusrow himself, deeply dejected, with tears and groans, was slowly conducted on an elephant along the ghastly avenue, a mace-bearer, with mock dignity, calling out to him to receive the salutations of his followers. His life was spared, but he was kept in close confinement.

            Guru Arjan, the fourth Sikh Guru, and the compiler of the Adi-Granth, or the writings of his predecessors, was charged with assisting Khusrow in the prosecution of his designs against the Emperor, and was placed in confinement. The Emperor notices the event as follows in his autobiography:-

            “In Govind Wal, on the banks of the Biah (Beas), there lived a Hindu, named Arjan, who had assumed the garb of a spiritual guide, or Sheikh. He made numbers of stupid Hindus, nay, even foolish and ignorant Mussalmans, captives to his wiles and had the drum of his sanctity loudly beaten. They called him Guru. Disciples flocked around him from all sides and evinced the greatest respect for him. They had been practising this mendacity for three or four generations. The idea struck me several times to put a stop to this trickery, or to make the Guru a convert to Mahomedanism, till, at last, at this time, Khusrow crossed the river in that direction. The Guru wanted to see him, and he happened to encamp at the place where the Guru lived. He had an interview with the Prince and supplied him with much information. He applied to the Prince’s forehead the mark of saffron, called in the dialect of the Hindus Kashka ; they do it by way of good omen. No sooner did I hear this, than, convinced as I was of the absurdity of the notion, I ordered the Guru to be brought into my presence. I ordered his sons and his habitations and dwellings to be made over to Murtaza Khan. All his property was confiscated to the State, and he himself placed in rigorous confinement.” 

            Arjan died from the rigours of his confinement, though his followers attribute his death to a miracle.

            Jahangir was fond of Lahore, and, on his way to Cabul and Kashmir, held his court there. After settling the affairs of Lahore, the Emperor visited Cabul during the first year of his reign, leaving Kalij Khan as his governor. The Court was held at Lahore in the following year, when His Majesty was visited by the Amirs of Irak and Khorasan, the envoy of Persia, and the agent of the Sharif of Mecca, for whom gifts, valued at one lakh of rupees, were forwarded.

            In the fifth year of the reign Sheikh Farid Bokhari, who had defeated Khusrow on the banks of the Beas, and who had now been honored with the title of Murtaza Khan, was appointed governor of the Panjab. At Lahore, he built a mohalla after his name, a large bath and a chowk, or square.

            The Emperor, in his memoirs, takes occasion to speak in the warmest terms of his friendship with Shah Abbas of Persia, and calls him “brother Abbas.” Friendly letters from His Persian Majesty are quoted as proof of the esteem in which the Emperor was held by him. These letters are highly interesting, not only as specimens of imperial eloquence, but as showing the cordial relations then existing between two nations so remote from each other. The gorgeous entertainments given at Lahore by Asif Khan, the Prime Minister, to the Emperor and his Harem, are described in glowing terms, and presents and curiosities valued at lakhs of rupees were exchanged on these occasions. The garden of Dilawez, across the Ravi, and the garden of Mirza Kamran, in the suburbs of the town, were in high favor with the Emperor, who passed many festive days there in the company of his Harem and the omerahs. The Emperor was fond of sport and constantly visited Jahangirabad, or Hiran Minara, the modern Shekhupura. A royal antelope, called ans Raj”, to which the Emperor had taken a fancy, died here in the second year of the reign. The Emperor ordered a handsome monument to be raised over its remains, on which a life-size statue of the animal, in stone, was placed, the following Persian inscription being engraved on a slab of stone affixed to the grave:

            “At this beautiful spot an antelope was caught by the pious King, Nur-ud-din Jahangir, which, in the course of a month, abandoning its savage and wild habits, became the head of the royal antelopes.” 

            The inscription was in the hand-writing of Mulla Mohamed Husair, Kashmiri, famous for the art of caligraphy. Out of regard for the memory of the deceased animal, the Emperor ordered that no Hindu or Mahomedan should hunt deer within the limits of the place.

            The same year Sultan Shah, Afghan, who had assisted Khusrow in effecting his escape from confinement, was apprehended by Mir Moghal Karori, of Khizrabad, and shot with arrows on the parade ground of Lahore, by the order of the Emperor.

            On the first day of Shawal, the Emperor paid his respects to Maulana Mahomed Amin, a holy man of Lahore. He writes the following interesting particulars of this visit:-

            “On the first of Shawal I had an interview with Maulana Mahomed Amin, a disciple of Sheikh Mahmud Kamal. Sheikh Mahmud was a holy man of his time, and his late Majesty, Jannat Ashiani (Humayun), entertained great respect for him. Once His Majesty poured water on his hands himself. The above-named Maulana is a pious man. Notwithstanding his worldly connections, he is distinguished by independence of character and contentment, and has command over his spirit. I was much pleased with his society. I related to him some of the anxieties of my heart. He gave me wholesome advice, and his conversation was pleasing to my mind, and afforded me consolation. Having given him one thousand bighas of land, as an assistance towards his maintenance, and one thousand rupees cash, I took leave of him.” 

            The Emperor then left Lahore for Agra, after conferring a khillat of honor on Kalij Khan, the governor, Mir Kawam-ud-din, the Dewan, Sheikh Yusuf, Bakhshi, and Jamalullah, Kotwal.

            The following Lahore incident is recorded in the ninth year of the reign:-

    “In these days the news-writer of Lahore submitted the intelligence that, towards the close of the month of Tir, ten persons left Lahore for the town of Emanabad, twelve kos from the capital. A hot wind having begun to blow, they took shelter under the shade of a tree, when they were immediately overtaken by a whirlwind so burning and violent that they were seized with trembling, and nine of them died instantaneously on the spot. One, who survived, remained ill for a long time, and it was only after going through great troubles that he recovered. All the birds that were on the tree fell dead. The weather became pestilential to such a degree in those parts that wild beasts threw themselves down in the filed, and rolling on the grass, breathed their last. Numerous animals died in this way.” 

            In the tenth year of the reign, the Panjab was visited by a severe pestilence, of which Lahore had its share. The whole of Sirhand and the Doab, up to Delhi, was devastated by the disease, and thousands of villages were destroyed. Jahangir ascribes it to two years’ drought with which the country had been visited, and to some kind of poison with which the air became infected.

       Already shady trees on both sides of roads had been planted from Agra to Lahore, under orders of Jahangir. His Majesty, in the fourteenth year of his reign, ordered a minaret to be built from Agra to Lahore at every kos, to be called Kos Minar, and a pacca well to be constructed at every three kos on the grand trunk road, for the benefit of travelers.

         The Emperor, being desirons of an interview with Sheikh Mahomed Mir, the saint of Lahore, commonly called Mian Mir, on account of his learning and holiness, and being unable himself to visit Lahore at the time, invited him to Agra in the fourteenth year of the reign. The Darucsh accepted the invitation. The Emperor was much pleased with the result of the interview and speaks highly in his memoirs of the spiritual power and vast learning of the saint. He writes, “Truly, he is the beloved of God. In sanctity and purity of soul, he has no equal in this age. This humble servant (namely the Emperor) used to go to the Darvesh, who explained to him many minute points of theology. It was my desire to make him an offer of money ; but as he was above worldly things, I dared not make the offer, and contented myself with the presentation of a skin of an antelope, to serve as a mat for reading prayers. He then left immediately for Lahore.” 

            After visiting Kashmir, the Emperor fixed his Court at Lahore, in the fifteenth year of the reign. From Jahangirabad he visited Lahore. The Emperor writes the following interesting account of these places in the Tazuk:-

    “On the 25th of month of ‘Ilahi,’ the royal camp was pitched at Jahangirabad. This was my hunting place when I was a Prince. I founded here a village after my name, and, having constructed here a small edifice, gave the management of it to Sikandar Mobin, my Kerawal. After my accession, I converted it into a pargana, and bestowed it, as a jagir, on Sikandar. I then ordered a palace to be constructed there, with a tank and a tower. On Sikandar’s death, the estate was given in jagir to Iradat Khan, who had also the management of the buildings. About this time the construction of these edifices was completed. The tank laid out is large and delightful. In the midst of it is an edifice highly pleasing and attractive. The buildings have cost a total sum of one lakh and fifty thousand rupees. The hunting ground is truly worthy of kings. We staid here on Friday and Saturday and amused ourselves with hunting of different kinds. Qasam Khan, the governor of Lahore, paid his respects here and offered a present of fifty gold mohars. One stage from this place is the garden of Momin, the Ishqbaz, on the banks of the Lahore river. The royal camp was pitched at this spot. There are in this garden fine plants and tall and graceful cypress trees with a beautiful mango plantation. On the 5th of Moharram, being the 9th of the Ilahi month, 1031 A.H., having taken our royal seat on the elephant called Indar, we left the garden of Momin, and, scattering money by way of nissar (sacrifice), we marched to the city. Three watches and two hours after sunrise, at a propitious moment, we entered the palace, and, amidst the congratulations and warm greetings of the people, put up in the edifices which had been newly built under the management of Mamur Khan.”  Of the beauty and elegance of these palaces the Emperor writes:-

 “Without exaggeration these are mansions delightful and charming and habitations lovely and attractive, exquisitely fine and elegant, adorned throughout with paintings and engravings, the work of the artists of the age. The sight was charmed with a view of verdant gardens, laid out with a profusion of flowers and odoriferous plants of great variety and description:-

            From head to feet wherever I behold thee.

     Beauty attracts the heart at each step urging, ‘that is the place for thee!’ 

            In all seven lakhs of rupees, equal to twenty three Tomans of the current coin of Iran, were spent on this building.” 

            The Emperor writes proudly of the capture of the fort of Kangra, hitherto not reached by the Mahomedan arms. Sultan Feroz Shah attempted it at the head of a large army, but failed. The army of Akbar attacked it, under Khan Jahan ; but the siege was raised. Abdul Aziz Khan Nakhshbandi was appointed Qiladar of Kangra, and subsequently the Emperor himself visited it.

  His Majesty paid a visit to the new palace of Prince Khurram, and was pleased to accept the invitation of Qasam Khan, to whom he paid a visit in his gardens in the envirous of Lahore, scattering ten thousand rupees as nissar on the way. The Lahore governor presented His Majesty with a ruby and a diamond, of great beauty and excellence, besides other curiosities.

        The same year (15th year of the reign) was marked by great rejoicings which took place at Lahore on the betrothal of the son of Shahr Yar, the fifth son of the Emperor, with the daughter of Nur Jahan by Ali Quli Beg Turkman, the grand-daughter of I’timad-ud-daula Madar-ul-Mulk, His Majesty’s Prime Minister. The Emperor sent gifts and valuables valued at a lakh of rupees as Sanchak, or betrothal present. The Prime Minister gave a grand feast to the Imperial Omerahs in his new palace at Lahore. The Emperor writes in high terms of this palace, which was furnished with elegant suites of rooms and stately halls. His Majesty and the royal Haren graced it with a visit, and were sumptuously entertained by the old Minister. After these events the Emperor marched to Agra.

       On the way, His Majesty was entertained near Jullundur by Nur Jahan, in her new Serae, called the “Nur Serae Mahal.” “At this spot,” writes the Emperor, “the agents of Nur Jahan had built a spacious Serae and laid out a garden worthy of royalty. The buildings were complete. The Begam solicited the acceptance of an entertainment to which I gave my assent. She arranged a grant banquet, which, in its elegance and gaiety, surpassed all of its kind. She presented a variety of curiosities and valuable gifts. I selected some of these out of regard for her, and halted there for two days. Mir Quam-ud-din, Dewan of the Saba of the Panjab, was permitted to return to Lahore.”

            In the nineteenth year of the reign, Yamin-ud-daula Asif Khan was appointed viceroy of Lahore, in succession to Sadiq Khan. Lahore continued to prosper under his munificent, administration, and his taste for architecture tended much to embellish the town and the citadel ; but the Emperor’s own end was near. His last days were embittered by the treason of Nur Mahal, his beloved consort, who, no longer guided by the wholesome counsel of her good father and mother (who had both died by this time), began to concoct plans for usurping the empire, and advancing the interests of her own son-in-law, Shahr Yar, to the deprivation of Shah Jahan, the rightful heir. Shah Jahan’s jagirs in Hissar and the Doab were confiscated and made over to Shahr Yar, and the Prince was told to select equivalent, estates in the Deccan and Gujrat. This drove the Prince into revolt. The Emperor fell ill in Kashmir and was on his way to Lahore when he died at Rajouri, in 1628 A.D., in the twenty-second year of his reign. His body was sent to Lahore, under charge of Maqsud Khan, and, according to the will of the deceased was interred in the garden of Nur Jahan, on the banks of the Ravi, on the morning of Friday