Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about significant rulers from the past.

And we're going to explore the question, what can those rulers, what can their stories tell us? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe some of the features of Mehr al-Nesa's early life.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some key words.

We'll be using these key words during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The key words we'll be using today are Mughal Empire, legend.

I'm gonna say those again, and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Mughal Empire.

Legend.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's take a look at each of their definitions.

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim empire that ruled most of India.

A legend is a traditional story that might not always be true.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords.

And when you are ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson.

What was the Mughal Empire? Who was Nur Jahan? In the first learning cycle, we'll Explore what the Mughal Empire was.

Around 450 years ago, a girl named Mehr al-Nesa was born in a place called Kandahar.

Can you see where Kandahar is on the map there? And that map shows the Mughal Empire.

So Kandahar was part of the mighty Mughal empire in what is now Afghanistan.

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim empire that ruled most of India and also Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the Empire ruled for over 200 years.

You can see the map of the Mughal Empire there.

You can see the yellow and the orange, those areas that became part of the Mughal Empire.

Let's pause the video here and take a moment to check our understanding.

Which modern countries did the Mughal Empire cover? India, Pakistan, Afghanistan? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that it covers India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

The Mughal Empire began 50 years before Mehr al-Nesa was born,in 1526.

The first emperor to rule this empire was called Babur.

You can see an image of him there.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding here.

When did the Mughal Empire begin? 1526, 1800, 1600? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you are ready to hear the answer.

If you said it began in 1526, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, I'd like you to take a look at this sentence.

Can you fill in the gaps to complete this sentence? The Mughal Empire ended after more than, years of rule.

How many years of rule? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said the Mughal Empire ended after more than 200 years of rule, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, this brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to put these events into the correct order, starting with the earliest.

So we have The Mughal Empire began in 1526.

Mehr al-Nesa was born four 50 years ago in Kandahar.

Babur was the first emperor of the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal Empire ended after more than 200 years of rule.

So put these events into order, one, two, three, and four.

Pause the video here.

Make sure you give yourself enough time to do that and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at the order? So your answers should look like this.

Firstly, the Mughal Empire began in 1526.

Secondly, Babur was the first emperor of the Mughal Empire.

Thirdly, Mehr al-Nesa was born 450 years ago in Kandahar.

And Finally, the Mughal Empire ended after more than 200 years of rule.

Well done, if you were able to order those correctly and well done for completing that learning task.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to explore who Nur Jahan was.

Mehr al-Nesa was born in 1577 when someone called Akbar ruled the Mughal Empire.

Now, her name meant "sun among women," and she was given this name because her family believed she changed their fortunes.

She would later be given the new name of Nur Jahan.

Let's pause and take a moment to check our understanding.

What did Mehr al-Nesa's name mean? Moon among women, sun among women, stars among women? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said her name meant sun among women, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, not much is known about Mehr al-Nesa's early life, but there are legends.

Mehr al-Nesa became a very important woman, and so these legends exist to try to explain how she became powerful.

You can see a portrait of her there.

I wonder how she became powerful and in what way.

"What is a legend?" Hmm.

That's a very good question.

It's one of our key words.

Can you remember? Well, "A legend is a well-known story that might not always be true." So if there are some legends about Mehr al-Nesa, I wonder how true they are.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Can you match the keyword legend to the correct definition? So we have legend.

A legend is a true story based on fact.

A legend is a well-known story that might not always be true.

Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that a legend is a well-known story that might not always be true, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, Mehr al-Nesa came from a wealthy Persian family, and it is believed that her family had some bad luck and they were treated badly in their homeland.

So hoping to improve their situation, the family decided to travel to India where they could find work from the Emperor Akbar.

Let's take a look there at the map of the Mughal Empire.

So her family travelled to the Mughal Empire, to India, to try and seek out some work and improve their situation.

However, halfway along their journey to India, the family were robbed of what little possessions that they had.

So the journey was not going well.

They had more bad luck.

Let's take a moment here to pause and check our understanding.

Can you fill in the missing gap to complete this sentence? Mehr al-Nesa's family were, halfway along their journey.

Tired, robbed, upset? So which word should go in there to complete the sentence? Pause the video here and take a moment to think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

If you said that they were robbed, you are absolutely right.

They were robbed halfway along their journey.

Now, one legend suggests that her parents were desperate for food and water and were so worried they would not be able to look after their newborn child, that they left her alone in the desert.

So they left Mehr al-Nesa in the desert.

However, they felt guilty about what they had done and returned to her.

And it's said that they found Mehr al-Nesa sitting calmly and safely next to a dangerous snake.

Goodness.

Let's take a moment to pause here.

Can you fill in the gaps to complete this sentence? Legend says, Mehr al-Nesa's parents found her sitting next to a what? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that legend says Mehr al-Nesa's parents found her sitting next to a snake, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, we cannot know for sure if the legend is true.

However, it is thought that the family reached Kandahar and their luck changed.

So I wonder, what do you think? Is that legend true? Did they leave their baby girl in the desert and find her sitting next to a snake? It sure makes for an interesting story.

Mehr al-Nesa's father was able to begin work for the emperor, and he was well rewarded.

And because of this reward, Mehr al-Nesa was given the best education.

She became fluent in the Arabic and Persian languages, and was skilled in art, literature, music, and dance.

So already she was on her way to becoming a very important person.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Mehr al-Nesa was well educated.

Is that true or false? Hmm, what do you think? That was true.

Now, looking at these two statements, which of these would help to justify your answer? Because of her father's work, Mehr al-Nesa was given the best education.

Because her family were poor, Mehr al-Nesa had an average education.

Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner to decide which of these two statements would help to justify your answer, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said because of her father's work, Mehr al-Nesa was given the best education, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to describe what you know about Mehr al-Nesa's early life.

Use these words to help you.

Nur Jahan, legend, robbed, desert.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at describing what you know about Mehr al-Nesa's early life, and press play when you are ready to continue.

How do that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer might include "Mehr al-Nesa was born in 1577.

Her name meant 'sun among women.

' She would later be named Nur Jahan.

Her parents travelled to India for a better life, but, halfway there they were robbed! Legends say her parents left Mehr al-Nesa in the desert.

Feeling guilty for what they had done, they returned for her.

The legend says they found her sitting next to a snake!" Well done, if you were able to describe what you know about Mehr al-Nesa's early life.

And well done, for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about the birth of Nur Jahan, "sun among women." Mehr al-Nesa was born 450 years ago during the Mughal Empire.

Her name meant "sun among women," but she would later have a new name, Nur Jahan.

Not much is known about Mehr al-Nesa's early life.

Legends say that on their journey, her parents abandoned her in the desert, but when they returned, they found her sitting calmly next to a dangerous snake.

Mehr al-Nesa's family reached Kandahar and their fate changed.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.