Nūr Jahān, wielder of the imperial seal
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why Nūr Jahān became so powerful.
Key learning points
- Jahāngīr was quite a sick man and described how Nūr Jahān was better than any doctor at making him feel better.
- Jahāngīr also wrote about how Nūr Jahān was a skilful hunter, managing to shoot a lion whilst sitting on an elephant.
- Jahāngīr was not a strong ruler, and gave Nūr Jahān his imperial seal, making her the true ruler of Mughal India.
- This made her very powerful and she even minted her own coins and issued royal orders that everyone had to follow.
- 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.
Teacher tip
We are not sure what Emperor Jahāngīr's seal looked like. Design an imperial seal for Nūr Jahān with your pupils.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of nudity
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Mehr al-Nesā's husband was killed and she became a widow.
Q2.Mehr al-Nesā was welcomed to the emperor's
Q3.Emperor Jahāngīr had wives before he met Mehr al-Nesā.
Q4.Nūr Jahān means ‘Light of the World’.
Q5.Match these keywords to their definitions.
Q6.After they were married, Jahāngīr rewarded Nūr Jahān's family.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Emperor Jahāngīr had many ...
Q2.Nūr Jahān helped the emperor with his responsibilities because he was often...
Q3.Historians know a lot about how Nūr Jahān helped Emperor Jahāngīr from his ...
Q4.Nūr Jahān proved she could be a strong ruler.
Q5.Emperor Jahāngīr gave Nūr Jahān his imperial...
Q6.What was the last thing Nūr Jahān did with her power?
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Nūr Jahān, wielder of the imperial seal, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Nūr Jahān, wielder of the imperial seal, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Ruling and religion unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.