Nur Jahan

Nur Jahan was the wife of Jahangir. According to a popular story Jahangir fell in love with Nur Jahan at an earlhy age and wanted to marry her. Akbar did not approve of the proposal and the lady was marrried to a Persian noble Ali Kuli. It is alleged that when Jahangir became the emperor he had Ali Kuli Killed in order to marty Nur Jahan.

  Historical research has established that there is no substance in this story. The truth of the matter is that Jahangir saw Nur Jahan for the first time accidentally at a fancy fair held in 1611 and was attracted. He married her immediately thereafter.

  Nur Jahan was thrity years old at that time of her marriage with Jahangir. She was an embodiment of beauty, charm and grace. About her Jahangir said that before he married her, he never knew what marriage really meant. Very soon she became the Queen regent, and came to enjoy the privileges of royalty. Her name was associated with the name of the emperor on the coins. She gave tone to fashion; invented new varieties of dress; discovered perfumery; and designed new patterns of jewellry.

  After her marriage Nur Jahan came to dominate the political scene. Her father became the Prime Minister and after his death her brother held the office. She staked her entire influence in securting the succession of Shahr Yar a son of Jahangir who was married to her daughter from Ali Kuli. She was opposed by her brother Asaf Khan who espoused the cause of his son-in-law Shah Jahan. After the death of Jahangir, Nur Jahan lost the battle, and she led a retired life at Lahore.

  Nur Jahan died in 1645, and was buried in the mausoleum which she had crected herself during her lifetime. The mausoleum is at Shahdara. The railway line separates her mausoleum from the mausoleum of Jahangir.

  Standing on a platform the mausoleum measures 134 feet square and is 19 ½ high. The chamber of the tomb is surrounded by arched rooms on all sides. In the inner chamber there are two tombs. One is that of Nur Jahan hereseolf, and the other is that of her daughter Ladli Begum, the wife of Shahr Yar.

  Originally the tomb was decorated in the same way as the mausoleum of Jahangir. All these embellishments including the marble flooring were removed by the Sikhs.

  The present building is a shattered brickwork core deprived of all decorative veneer. The marble platform in the inner chamber was provided by Hakim Ajmal Khan in 1912