Jahangir and Shah Jahan

The two Mughal rulers

 2
JAHANGIR
 JAHANGIR [August 31, 1569 – November 7, 1627]

 Mirza Nur-ud-din Beig Mohammad Khan Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir

(Persian name) which means "conqueror of the world" , was the fourth Mughal Emperor

who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.

 Jahangir was the eldest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Impatient for power, he

revolted in 1599 while Akbar was engaged in the Deccan.

 Prince Salim forcefully succeeded to the throne, eight days after his father's death

emerging victorious in the struggle for succession between the five prominent and

legitimate sons. Salim ascended to the throne with the title of Nur-ud-din Muhammad

Jahangir Badshah Ghazi and thus began his 22-year reign at the age of 36.
3
JAHANGIR [August 31, 1569 – November 7, 1627]
The first year of Jahangir's reign saw a rebellion organised by his eldest son Khusrau. The

rebellion was soon put down; Khusrau was brought before his father in chains. When

Jahangir was informed that the Sikh guru Arjan Dev had aided Khusrau in his rebellion, he

was enraged , and imposed a fine on the guru. Arjan Dev refused to pay the fine. Furious at

the disobedience, Jahangir had Arjan Dev executed. This sparked off a long and bitter

struggle between the Sikhs and Mughals.

4
FOREIGN INFLUENCES AND
INTERACTIONS
 During the reign of Jahangir, a number of Europeans like the Portuguese, the British and

the Dutch had begun to make their presence felt in India. In order to put a check on the .

Portuguese, who had started attacking Mughal ships, Jahangir began to support the British

and Dutch.

5
FOREIGN INFLUENCES AND
INTERACTIONS
 In 1608CE, William Hawkins commanded the ship “Hector” for East India Company and

arrived at Surat loaded with letters & presents from King James 1of England .
.
 Captain Hawkins was received by this new emperor Jahangir with all Indian hospitality and

warmth. His letter was read in the court with the help of a Portuguese Jesuit.

 Hawkins was well versed in Turkish and Jahangir and some of his ministers also knew

Turkish, the native tongue of Babur. So the discussions took place in Turkish.

 Hawkins was able to acquire a footing in the court of Jahangir and in due course of time he

got so intimacy with the emperor. Jahangir called him “English Khan“.

 He was able to persuade the emperor to grant a commission for an English factory at6 Surat

but under the Pressure of the Portuguese Viceroy, the grant was withdrawn.
 FOREIGN INFLUENCES AND
INTERACTIONS
 In 1614CE, Sir Thomas Roe was sent by King James 1 to the court of Jahangir. The

objective of Thomas Roe was to finish what was left unfinished by Captain Hawkins.

 The English factory at Surat was set on a permanent basis , officially recognized by the

Emperor as well as the Prince-Governor Khurram. Some subordinate factories were

started. This laid the foundation for the British East India Company’s trade.

 “Journal of the mission to the Mughal Empire’’, written by Sir Thomas Roe is a valuable

contribution to the history of India in the early 17th century.

7
NUR JAHAN
 Mehr-Un-Nisa or Nur Jahan, occupies an important

place in the history of Jahangir. She was the widow of a

rebel officer, Sher Afgan, of Mughals, whose actual

name was Ali Quli Beg Ist'ajlu.

 Jahangir married her in 1611 and gave her the title of

Nur Jahan or "Light of the World“.

8
NUR JAHAN
 Nur Jahan was the most powerful and influential women at court during a period

when the Mughal Empire was at the peak of its power and glory.

 She is considered by historians to have been the real power behind the throne for

more than fifteen years.

 Nur Jahan was granted certain honours and privileges which were never enjoyed by

any Mughal Empress before or afterwards in history.

 She was the only Mughal Empress to have coinage struck in her name. She was given

charge of his imperial seal. The Emperor sought her views on most matters before

issuing orders.
9
ISSUE OF COINS
Jahangir was fond of issuing coins and he designed many himself. Indeed he minted coins

during his rebellion in Allahabad and sent a few samples to his father Akbar too. He was the

first emperor in India who allowed his wife Nur Jahan to have coins in her name.

10
CONTRIBUTIONS

 Jahangir was fascinated with art, science and architecture.

 The art of Mughal painting reached great heights under Jahangir's reign. He constructed

a mausoleum for Akbar.

 Jahangir maintained a huge aviary and a large zoo, kept a record of every specimen

and organised experiments.

 He promoted Persian culture throughout his empire.

11
LAST DAYS OF JAHANGIR
 He wrote his autobiography called ‘Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.

 Jahangir died on the way back from Kashmir near Sarai Saadabad in 1627.

 He was succeeded by his third son, Prince Khurram who took the title of Shah Jahan.

 Jahangir's elegant mausoleum is located in the Shahdara locale of Lahore and is a

popular tourist attraction in Lahore.

12
Shah Jahan
SHAH JAHAN 14
SHAH JAHAN [January 5,1592-January22,1666]

 Mirza Shahabuddin Baig Muhammad Khan Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal Emperor of

India from 1628 to 1658.

 Born Prince Khurram, he was the son of Emperor Jahangir and his Hindu Rajput wife,

Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani [Manwati of Marwar].

 In 1612CE, married Nur Jahan’s niece Mumtaz Mahal

15
CAMPAIGNS
 Shah Jahan’s reign has been called the Golden Age of Mughals. Like Akbar, he eagerly

expanded his empire.

 He led successful military campaigns against Mewar, Kangra and the Deccan kingdoms.

 Shah Jahan then went to Bengal to put down the growing power of the Portuguese. The

Portuguese were carrying out illegal trading activities and were forcibly converting

people to Christianity. More than 10,000 Portuguese were killed and many were

imprisoned.

 Shah Jahan’s attempts to capture Kandahar and Balkh in central Asia was not

successful. 16
CAMPAIGNS

Famine of 1630

 A famine broke out in 1630–32 in Deccan, Gujarat and Khandesh as a result of three

main crop failures.Two million died of starvation,villages were completely destroyed,

their streets filled with human corpses.Shah Jahan made arrangements to help reduce

the sufferings of the people.

17
ARCHITECTURE
Shah Jahan was one of the greatest patrons of Mughal architecture.His most famous

building was the Taj Mahal, which he built out of love for his wife, the empress

Mumtaz Mahal.

Among his other constructions are the Red Fort also called the Delhi Fort or Lal Qila

in Urdu, large sections of Agra Fort, the Jama Masjid, the Wazir Khan Mosque, the

Moti Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, sections of the Lahore Fort, the Mahabat Khan

Mosque in Peshawar, the Jahangir mausoleum—his father's tomb

18
ARCHITECTURE

Taj Mahal Red Fort, Delhi

19

Juma Masjid, Delhi Jahangir Mausoleum, Lahore

ADMINISTRATION

 Shah Jahan restored the ‘mansabdari’ system started by Akbar, which had fallen into disuse in

Jahangir’s time. He managed to cut the rates of pay of the mansabdars and insisted on a

definite number of troops from them.

 Due to his measures in the financial and commercial fields, it was a period of general

stability—the administration was centralised and court affairs systematised.

20
EUROPEAN VISITORS

 French travellers Barnier and Travernier, Italian traveller Nicolas Menucci and English

visitors visited the court of Shah Jahan,and have left vivid descriptions about his rule.

21
END OF SHAH JAHAN’S RULE
 His son Aurangzeb led a rebellion when Shah Jahan became ill in 1657 C.E. and publicly

executed his brother Dara Shikoh. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness,

Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and put him under house arrest in Agra

Fort.

 In January of 1666 C.E. (1076 AH), Shah Jahan fell seriously ill. Confined to bed, he

became progressively weaker and died at the age of 74.

22