New
New
Year 2

Nūr Jahān's journey to becoming Emperor Jahāngīr's wife

I can explain how Mehr al-Nesā came to be known as Nūr Jahān.

New
New
Year 2

Nūr Jahān's journey to becoming Emperor Jahāngīr's wife

I can explain how Mehr al-Nesā came to be known as Nūr Jahān.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Growing up in India, Mehr al-Nesā married a Mughal official and together they had a baby daughter.
  2. However, her husband was killed after an argument with the local governor, and Mehr al-Nesā became a widow.
  3. At this time, widows were welcomed to the Mughal Emperor's court to keep his wives company.
  4. The emperor, Jahāngīr, had nineteen wives; when he saw Mehr al-Nesā he fell in love with her straight away.
  5. They married and she was given a new title, Nūr Jahān (Light of the World), and became his favourite wife.

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.

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

Allow pupils to create a portrait of Nūr Jahān based on her title meaning 'Light of the World'.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • 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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Mehr al-Nesā was born 1000 years ago.
true
Correct answer: false
Q2.
Mehr al-Nesā's name meant 'sun among women' because...
her family thought she was pretty
Correct answer: her family thought she changed their fortunes
she came from a sunny place
Q3.
What tells us about Mehr al-Nesā's early life?
newspapers
diaries
Correct answer: legends
Q4.
Mehr al-Nesā’s family travelled to India because ....
Correct answer: they were treated badly
they were wealthy
they wanted a new home
Q5.
Legend says Mehr al-Nesā was found in the desert next to a...
Correct Answer: snake
Q6.
Mehr al-Nesā was given the best education.
Correct answer: true
false

6 Questions

Q1.
Mehr al-Nesā's husband was ...
Correct Answer: killed
Q2.
Mehr al-Nesā became a widow.
Correct answer: true
false
Q3.
Emperor Jahāngīr offered Mehr al-Nesā and her daughter...
money.
Correct answer: protection.
food.
Q4.
When Emperor Jahāngīr and Mehr al-Nesā married, he had __________ wives.
Correct answer: 20
four
18
Q5.
What does Nūr Jahān mean?
light of the sea
Correct answer: light of the world
light of the universe
Q6.
Jahāngīr gave Nūr Jahān's brother and father important jobs in the court.
Correct answer: true
false

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