Prince Salim As Jahangir
Prince Salim’s Rebellion
Prince Salim, the long-awaited heir to the Mughal throne, was born in 1569 to a Kachchwaha queen due to the blessings of Shaikh Salim Chisti, after whom the infant was named. When prince Salim rebelled in Allahabad in 1601, Akbar sent Abul Fazl to deal with the rebellion but Salim had him killed by the Bundela chief, Bir Singh, on his way to Agra. Akbar’s mother, Hamida Banu Begum, and his aunt, Gulbadan Begum, interceded for the prince and softened Akbar’s resentment. When Akbar died in 1605, Salim was put on the throne.
Jahangir (1605-27)
Prince Salim assumed the title of Jahangir (World Conqueror) on his coronation and declared his commitment to Akbar’s ideals of secularism. In 1611, Jahangir married Mehr-un-Nisa, the widow of Sher Afghan, who was killed fighting the governor of Bengal. After her marriage, Mehr-un-nisa was given the title Nur Mahal (Light of the Palace) and, later, Nur Jahan (Light of World). Nur Jahan’s father, Itimad-ud-daula was made wazir after his daughter’s marriage to the emperor. Nur Jahan’s elder brother, Mirza Abul Hasan, was given the title Asaf Khan and was appointed khan-i-saman. In 1612, Asaf Khan’s daughter, Arjumand Banu Begum (later entitled Mumtaz Mahal), married Jahangir’s third son, Prince Khurram.
Jahangir’s greatest achievement was to secure the surrender of Maharana Pratap’s successor, Amar Singh in 1615. After Mewar, the Deccan was Jahangir’s main concern. But Malik Ambar of Ahmadnagar pursued his guerrilla tactics with greater vigour and Mughal invasions were repeatedly beaten back. In 1606 Jahangir’s son, Khusrau, revolted but was defeated and imprisoned. One of Khusrau’s well-wishers, Guru Arjan Dev (5th guru of the Sikhs), was beheaded. Later Khusrau was blinded in order to disqualify him permanently from gaining the throne.
Khusrau died at Burhanpur in 1621 in the custody of Khurram. Their youngest brother, Shahryar, was incompetent, although his betrothal to Ladili Begum, Nur Jahan’s daughter made him the real contender to the throne.
When Iranians invaded Kandahar, Khurram was given the command to repel the Iranians, Khurram hesitated and Shahryar was commissioned to lead the campaign. Finding no way out, Khurram rebelled and marched towards Agra. Asaf Khan supported Khurram in the civil war (1622-24) but Khurram was unable to stand the harassment by the powerful general, Mahabat Khan and so ultimately surrendered and was pardoned. Jahangir’s health declined and in 1627, the emperor died at Bhimbar in Kashmir.
The emperor’s dead body was sent to Lahore for burial in the Dilkusha garden of Shahdara. Jahangir wrote his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, in which he frankly talks about his vices and reflects his deep appreciation of nature, as well as his passion for painting.