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| Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim |
Jahangir (Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim, born (30 August 1569), reigned (1605 - 1627)), was the Fourth Mughal Emperor and the first surviving son of Akbar and his wife Mariam-uz-zamani an Indian Rajput princess. Salim was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti and was rased by the daughter of Chishti. Two of Akbar's twin son Hassan Mirza and Hussain Mirza had died in infancy, so Akbar decided to establish a royal palace near the lodging of Shaikh Salim Chishti, where the Empress could enjoy the repose being in the vicinity of revered saint during her pregnancy.
He Succeeded the throne on Thursday, 3 November 1605, eight days after his father's death. Salim ascended to the throne with the title of Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Jahangir Badshah Ghazi. Jahangir, soon after, had to fend off his own son, Prince Khusrau Mirza, when he later attempted to claim the throne based on Akbar's will to become the next heir. Khusrau Mirza was defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. Jahagir considered his third son, prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) as his favourite son. Khusrau Mirza was partially blinded as a punishment by his younger brother Shahryar Mirza.
Jahangir sent prince Khurram to fight against the combined forces of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda. However when Nur Jahan Married her daughter, Ladli Begum, to Jahangir's youngest son, Shahryar Mirza in february 1621, Khurram suspected that his stepmother was trying manevour shahryar as the successor to Jahangir. Using rugged terrain of the Deccan to this advantage, Khurram launched a rebellion against Jahangir in 1622. Khurram murdered his blind older brother, Khusrau Mirza, in order to smoothen his own path to the throne.
In March 1623, Jahangir ordered Mahabat Khan, one of Jahangir's most loyal general to crush Khurram's rebellion. The war finally ended after a series of victories by Mahabat Khan over Khurram in 1625.
The East India Company persuaded King James to send Sir Thomas Roe as a royal envoy to the Agra court of Jahangir. Roe resided at Agra for three years, untill 1619. At the Mughal court, Roe allegedly became a favourite of Jahangir and may have been his drinking partner, certainly he arrived with gifts of "many crates of red wine" and explained to him "what beer was?how was it made?". Jahangir was addicted to opium and wine.
As a life long user of opium and wine, Jahangir was gone into state of frequent illness in the 1620s. Jahangir was trying to restore his health by visiting Kashmir and Kabul but decided to return to Lahore because of severe cold. On the journey from Kasmir to Lahore, Jahangir died near Bhimber, on October 29, 1627.
The body was conveyed by palanquin to Lahore and was buried in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb of that city. His tomb was commissioned by his son, Shah Jahan and is today a popular tourist attaraction site.
Marraiges
Jahangir's marraige to his first and chief wife Man Bai, daughter of his maternal uncle Raja Bhagwant Das, took place on 24 February 1585 in her native town Amer which was also the native town of his mother Mariam-uz-Zamani. Jahangir honored her with the title Shah Begum after she gave birth to Khusrao Mirza, the eldest son of Jahangir.
A Rajput princes, Manvati Bai, daughter of Raja Udai Singh Rathore of Marwar, the marraige was solemnised on 11 January 1586 at brides residence. Jahangir named her Jagat Gosain and she gave birth to Prince Khurram, who was the Jahangir's successor to the throne.
On 26 June 1586, He married the daughter of Raja Rai Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner.
In July 1586, He married Malika Shikar Begum, Daughter of Abu Sa'id Khan Chagatai. Also in 1586, He married to Sahib-i-Jamal Begum, daugher of Khwaja Hassan of Herat, a cousin of Zain Khan Koka. In 1587, He married Malika Jahan Begum, daughter of Bhim Singh, Maharaja of Jaisalmer. He also married the daughter of Raja Darya Malibhas.
In October 1590, he married Zohra Begum, daughter of Mirza Sanjar Hazara. He married Karamsi, daughter of Raja Kesho Das Rathore of Merta. On 11 January 1592, he married Kanwal Rani, daughter of Ali Sher Khan, by his wife, Gul Khatun.
In October 1592, he married a daughter of Ibrahim Hussain Chak of Kashmir. In January/March 1593, he married Nur-un-Nisa Begum, daughter of Ibrahim Husain Mirza , by his wife, Gulruk Begum, daughter of Kamran Mirza.
In September 1593, he married the daughter of Alik Khan Faruqi, Raja of Khandesh. He also married a daughter of Abdullah Khan Baluch.
On 28 June 1596, he married Khas Mahal Begum, daughter of Zain Khan Koka, Subadar of Kabul, and Lahore. This marraige was initially opposed by Akbar as he did not approve of the marraige of cousins to the same man however seeing the melancholy of salim being refused to marry her, Akbar approved of this union.
In 1608, he married Saliha Banu Begum, daughter of Quasim Khan, a senior member of the Imperial Household. She became one of his chief consorts and was designated the title of Padshah Begum and for most of the reign of Jahangir retained this title. After her death, this title was passed to Nur Jahan.
On 17 June 1608, he married Koka Kumari Begum, eldest daughter of Jagat Singh, Yuvraj of Amber.
On 11 January 1610, he married the daughter of Ram Chand Bundela. At some point, he had also married a daughter of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Son of Emperor Humayun. She was also one of the chief consorts of Jahangir.
Jahangir married Mehr-un-Nissa (also known as Nur Jahan) on 25 May 1611. She was the widow of Sher Afgan. She was witty, inteligent, and beautiful, which was what attaracted Jahangir to her. Before being awarded the title of Nur Jahan ("Light of the world"), she was called Nur Mahal("Light of the Palace"). After the death of Saliha Bano Begum in 1620, she was designated the title of Padshah Begum and held it till the death of Jahangir in 1627.