Jahāngīr

Mughal Ruler

Son of Akbar and fourth Mughal emperor of India in the line of Bābur, Jahāngīr (his birth name was Salīm) was born in 977/1569. In 1088/1599 he revolted and proclaimed his independence, after about a decade of estranged relations with his father. Unable to gain control of the empire, Jahāngīr set up a rival court at Allāhābād, from which he 0rdered the murder of Abū al-Fażl (see Abū al-Fażl ʿAllāmī) in 1011/1602. He successfully ascended to the throne upon the death of Akbar in 1013/1605 and “ordered a chain of gold, adorned with bells, to be hung from the imperial palace in Āgra which an aggrieved person could shake at any moment of the day or night and get justice”. Well read, patron of art and literature, and lover of nature, Jahāngīr ruled for twenty-two years characterized by peace, prosperity, stability and the flourishing of commerce and industry. However, the final years of Jahāngīr’s reign were beset by a modicum of conspiracy and rebellion. He died in 1037/1627.