Nūr Jahān's journey to becoming Emperor Jahāngīr's wife
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Mehr al-Nesā came to be known as Nūr Jahān.
Key learning points
- Growing up in India, Mehr al-Nesā married a Mughal official and together they had a baby daughter.
- However, her husband was killed after an argument with the local governor, and Mehr al-Nesā became a widow.
- At this time, widows were welcomed to the Mughal Emperor's court to keep his wives company.
- The emperor, Jahāngīr, had nineteen wives; when he saw Mehr al-Nesā he fell in love with her straight away.
- They married and she was given a new title, Nūr Jahān (Light of the World), and became his favourite wife.
Keywords
Official - an official is someone who works for someone important like the Mughal Emperor
Widow - when someone becomes a widow, it means their husband or wife has died
Court - a court is a place where the emperor would gather and make decisions about the empire
Title - a person's title is a word such as ' Sir', ' Lord', or ' Lady' that is used in front of their name, or a phrase that is used instead of their name
Common misconception
Pupils may be confused by the emperor having 20 wives.
Explain to pupils that in some countries and some religions you can marry multiple people. However today in the UK, it is illegal to marry more than one person.
Teacher tip
Allow pupils to create a portrait of Nūr Jahān based on her title meaning 'Light of the World'.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Depiction or discussion of nudity
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Mehr al-Nesā was born 1000 years ago.
Q2.Mehr al-Nesā's name meant 'sun among women' because...
Q3.What tells us about Mehr al-Nesā's early life?
Q4.Mehr al-Nesā’s family travelled to India because ....
Q5.Legend says Mehr al-Nesā was found in the desert next to a...
Q6.Mehr al-Nesā was given the best education.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Mehr al-Nesā's husband was ...
Q2.Mehr al-Nesā became a widow.
Q3.Emperor Jahāngīr offered Mehr al-Nesā and her daughter...
Q4.When Emperor Jahāngīr and Mehr al-Nesā married, he had __________ wives.
Q5.What does Nūr Jahān mean?
Q6.Jahāngīr gave Nūr Jahān's brother and father important jobs in the court.
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Nūr Jahān's journey to becoming Emperor Jahāngīr's wife, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Nūr Jahān's journey to becoming Emperor Jahāngīr's wife, 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.