New
New
Year 2

Nūr Jahān, wielder of the imperial seal

I can explain why Nūr Jahān became so powerful.

New
New
Year 2

Nūr Jahān, wielder of the imperial seal

I can explain why Nūr Jahān became so powerful.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Jahāngīr was quite a sick man and described how Nūr Jahān was better than any doctor at making him feel better.
  2. Jahāngīr also wrote about how Nūr Jahān was a skilful hunter, managing to shoot a lion whilst sitting on an elephant.
  3. Jahāngīr was not a strong ruler, and gave Nūr Jahān his imperial seal, making her the true ruler of Mughal India.
  4. This made her very powerful and she even minted her own coins and issued royal orders that everyone had to follow.
  5. During the last years of Jahāngīr's life she used her power to build a huge white marble tomb for her father.

Keywords

  • Responsibility - responsibility is when someone has a duty to deal with something

  • Seal - a seal is a piece of wax that is stamped onto papers

  • Minting - minting is the process of making coins

  • Tomb - a tomb is a large stone structure built to bury the dead.

Common misconception

Pupils may think Emperor Jahāngīr was angry with Nūr Jahān for becoming powerful.

Explain to pupils that Emperor Jahāngīr admired Nūr Jahān and was grateful to her for looking after him and taking care of his responsibilities while he was ill.

We are not sure what Emperor Jahāngīr's seal looked like. Design an imperial seal for Nūr Jahān with your pupils.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of nudity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Mehr al-Nesā's husband was killed and she became a widow.
Correct answer: true
false
Q2.
Mehr al-Nesā was welcomed to the emperor's
party
Correct answer: court
dinner
Q3.
Emperor Jahāngīr had wives before he met Mehr al-Nesā.
Correct Answer: 19, nineteen
Q4.
Nūr Jahān means ‘Light of the World’.
Correct answer: true
false
Q5.
Match these keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:official,someone who works for someone important like the Mughal Emperor

someone who works for someone important like the Mughal Emperor

Correct Answer:widow,when someone becomes this, it means their husband or wife has died

when someone becomes this, it means their husband or wife has died

Correct Answer:court,a place where the emperor would make decisions about the empire

a place where the emperor would make decisions about the empire

Q6.
After they were married, Jahāngīr rewarded Nūr Jahān's family.
Correct answer: true
false

6 Questions

Q1.
Emperor Jahāngīr had many ...
pets.
Correct answer: responsibilities.
worries.
Q2.
Nūr Jahān helped the emperor with his responsibilities because he was often...
Correct Answer: ill, unwell
Q3.
Historians know a lot about how Nūr Jahān helped Emperor Jahāngīr from his ...
Correct answer: diaries.
newspapers.
photographs.
Q4.
Nūr Jahān proved she could be a strong ruler.
Correct answer: true
false
Q5.
Emperor Jahāngīr gave Nūr Jahān his imperial...
Correct Answer: seal
Q6.
What was the last thing Nūr Jahān did with her power?
issued orders
minted coins
Correct answer: built her father a tomb

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