The Lady Emperor

Consider this:

a Shia Muslim, but “married a Sunni king who had a Hindu mother and both Hindu and Muslim wives and concubines.”

Who was this?

She was named Mihr un-Nisa at birth and was later named Nur Jahan (light of the world) by her husband, the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. She was born only a few decades after Queen Elizabeth I, yet she ruled a territory far more diverse than that of her British counterpart.

There is a new biography of Nur Jahan, which gives people like me who never really knew her a bunch of new information that impresses the hell out of me.  There is a lot more to her than the romance story with Salim (later the emperor Jahangir.)

She was a fascinating woman who came to rule an empire against extraordinary odds.
She was a poet, an expert hunter and an innovative architect. Her design for her parents' tomb in Agra later inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal.
A remarkable leader in a male-dominated world, Nur didn't come from royalty. Yet she ascended from the emperor's harem to great heights as an astute politician and the favourite wife of Jahangir, ruling the vast Mughal empire as a co-sovereign.

How awesome!

Soon after their marriage, she issued her first royal order to protect the land rights of an employee. Her signature in the order read, Nur Jahan Padshah Begum, which translates as Nur Jahan, the Lady Emperor.
It was a sign of sovereignty and an indication that her power was growing.

I had no idea!

Be it hunting, issuing imperial orders and coins, designing public buildings, taking measures to support poor women or champion the disadvantaged, Nur lived a life that was unusual among women at the time.
She also led an army to save the emperor when he was taken captive - a daring act which ensured that her name was etched indelibly in public imagination, and in history.

So, why did we never learn about Nur Jahan?  Of course, people and the education system in India don't care a shit about history--they were only too keen on shoving math and science down our throats!

In addition, ahem, she was a woman:

Nur Jahan’s accomplishments have been belittled for two reasons. One is that history is written by its victors, and she lost a power struggle on Jahangir’s death—to Shah Jahan. To erase her from history, he may even have tried to withdraw the coins that bore her name. Certainly, his official chronicles overlooked her achievements and blamed her for the turmoil that marked the last years of Jahangir’s reign.
The second reason is that she was a woman, and as such, according to a guide to conduct popular among the Mughal aristocracy, “it were best…not to come into existence, but, being born, she had better be married or be buried.”

BTW, the author of this biography is not based in India. "Historian Ruby Lal teaches at Emory University."
 
Oh well ... :(

(the clip embedded below is about the fictionalized love story between Salim and Anarkali)