Jahangir

Jahangir or Jehangir (both: jəhän'gēr`), 1569–1627, Mughal emperor of India (1605–27), son of Akbar. He continued his father's policy of expansion. The Rajput principality of Mewar (Udaipur) capitulated in 1614. In the Deccan, Ahmadnagar was taken in 1616 and half of its kingdom annexed. In the northwest, however, the Persian ruler, Shah Abbas, retook (1622) Kandahar. In 1611, Jahangir married a Persian widow, Nur Jahan, and she and her relatives soon dominated politics, while Jahangir devoted himself to cultivation of the arts, especially miniature painting. He welcomed foreign visitors to his court, granting trading privileges first to the Portuguese and then to the British East India Company. Civil strife and court intrigues marked the last years of Jahangir's reign. Shah Jahan, his son, succeeded him.

Bibliography

See B. Prasad, History of Jahangir (1922).

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Jahangir

 or Jehangir

(born Aug. 31, 1569, Fatehpur, Sikri, India—died Oct. 28, 1627, en route to Lahore) Mughal emperor of India (1605–27). Though designated heir apparent, the impatient Jahangir revolted in 1599; his father, Akbar, nevertheless confirmed him as his successor. Like Akbar, Jahangir managed diplomatic relations on the Indian subcontinent adroitly, was tolerant of non-Muslims, and was a great patron of the arts. He encouraged Persian culture in Mughal India. During the middle portion of his reign, politics were dominated by his Persian wife (Nur Jahan), her father, and Jahangir's son Prince Khurram (the future Shah Jahan).