Nur Jahan Tomb



Location      Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Nur Jahan Tomb (built 1640s) The Tomb of Nur Jahan is a inflamed stonework mausoleum in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb of Lahore, Pakistan located north of the Ravi river. It was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan as her final latent place. It is very near to the catacomb of her husband Mughal Sovereign Jahangir and the catacomb of her brother, Asif Khan. Currently, the two parts are detached by a railway.

History

Nur Jahan was the daughter of I’timad-ud-Duala, Jahangir's prime minister. Meaning of Nur jahan is "Light of the World", she was born in 1577 to Persian parents and was given the name Mehar-un-Nissa. At the age of 17 she married Sher Afghan, a Mughal sycophant. The wedding continued thirteen years and stemmed in the birth of one daughter, the only child Mehar-un-Nissa was to forever have. After her husband’s death in 1607, Mehar-un-Nissa arrived Emperor Jahangir's harem as a lady-in-ready and waiting to one of his stepmothers. She continued in the harem for four years until Jahangir ensued to notice her throughout the Nowruz spring centenary in March 1611. Obsessed by her beauty, he directly proposed to her. She married in May of that year, fetching Jahangir's twentieth wife.

Jahangir's attention to constituents of state was extremely negotiated by his compulsion to opium and alcohol. As he aged, he trusted more and extra on his nearby advisers to manage the empire's management. Mehar-un-Nysa--now known as Nur Jahan--used this as an chance to take influence for herself and for many years became the de-facto sovereign behindhand the authority. In an uncommon step, Jahangir even permissible her to have currency issued in her name--conventionally a prerogative of the sovereign unaccompanied.

In 1626 the ruler was seized by rebels while on his way to Kashmir. Though Nur Jahan was bright to safe his release, he died on October 28, 1627. In the skirmish for succession that shadowed, Nur Jahan's own brother Asaf Khan sided in contradiction of her and accompanying with his son-in-law Khurram who was fishing for the throne. Khurram thrived and became the next Mughal Sovereign with the supremacy name Shah Jahan. Nur Jahan gone courtesy and was limited to house seizure, but was not exposed of her finances. Through the rest of her life she engaged in artistic doings, counting composing Persian verses under the pen name Makhfi. Her highest bequest, though, was the creation of the I'timad-ud-Daulah Tomb in integrity of her father, which ranks second only to the Taj Mahal as the hand-picked example of Mughal building in the subcontinent. She also supervised the creation of her own tomb and was buried there when she died in 1645 at age 68.

Nur Jahan's tomb is stylistically alike to Jahangir's tomb, but is about half the size and absences of corner minarets. The tomb agonized substantial grievance in the 19th century when its sandstone beautification was stolen for use in other shrines. The obliteration protracted even to the tomb, which is no longer existing. The present monument at the center of the tomb is a modern restoration. More newly, over-enthusiastic reintegration of the tomb has resulted in the loss of some of the outstanding fragments of original decoration.

Tomb in Lahore

Just over the railway line from Jehangir's Tomb but not as well conserved is the Catacomb of Nur Jahan. After the death of her first husband, an Afghan prince, Nur Jahan was lugged off to Delhi, intended for detention. Though, Emperor Jehangir demolish in love with her and they married in 1611. He gave her the name Nur Jahan, denotation 'Light of the World', and permitted her to rule together with him. She died aged 72 in 1645, 18 years after Jehangir, and her catacomb was completed in the same year.

One story is that, infatuation for her dead husband, she deliberate the tomb herself and inscribed its sorrowful inscription.

Consuming endured Jahangir by 18 years, Queen Noor Jahan died at the age of 68 years and much of the tomb was most perhaps built throughout her period. The catacomb took four years to comprehensive at the cost of Rupees three lakhs. Subsequent the rise of Shah Jahan to the Mughal throne, she was providing a yearly payment of 200,000 rupees. Given the poor state of relationships between her and Shah Jahan, it is probable that she subsidized the building of her tomb from her annual grant.

As through the Tomb of Asif Khan, Noor Jahan's tomb was uncovered of its decorative stones and marble during the profession of Lahore by the army of Ranjit Singh. Much of the supplies were used to ornamented the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and it has been said that half the Golden Temple's splendor derives from marble stolen from Noor Jahan's shrine.

The Shahdara collaborative of memorials, comprising the Noor Jahan tomb, ached under British rule when a railway line was built between the catacombs of Asif Khan and Noor Jahan.

The red stonework tomb is ornamented with pietra dura, and may have been demonstrated on the nearby Catacomb of Jahangir.

The Tomb of Nur Jahan (Urdu: (مقبرہ نورجہاں‎) is a 17th-century tomb in Lahore, Pakistan, that was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan. The catacomb's marble was stolen during the Sikh era in 18th century for use at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The red stonework tomb, along with the nearby tomb of Jahangir, tomb of Asif Khan, and Akbari Sarai, forms part of an collaborative of Mughal memorials in Lahore's Shahdara Bagh.

The mausoleum is located in Shahdara Bagh, across the River Ravi from Lahore. The tomb is part of an ensemble of nearby monuments, including the Tomb of Jahangir, Akbari Sarai, as well as the tomb of Asif Khan. Nur Jahan's tomb was separated from the other monuments by open fields, which were later interrupted by construction of the Lahore-Peshawar Railway Line during the British era.

History

Partaking endured Jahangir by 18 years, she died at the age of 68 years and much of the tomb was most perhaps built during her lifetime. The tomb took four years to comprehensive at the cost of Rupees three lakhs. Subsequent the ascent of Shah Jahan to the Mughal authority, she was provided a yearly allowance of 200,000 rupees. Given the poor state of relatives between her and Shah Jahan, it is likely that she subsidized the construction of her catacomb from her annual allowance.

As with the Tomb of Asif Khan, Nur Jahan's tomb was unprotected of its ornamental stones and marble during the profession of Lahore by the army of Ranjit Singh. Much of the materials were used to decorated the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and it has been said that half the Golden Temple's splendor derives from sandstone plundered from Nur Jahan's shrine.

The Shahdara collaborative of memorials, including the Nur Jahan tomb, agonized under British rule when a railway line was built between the tombs of Asif Khan and Nur Jahan. The tomb experienced minor repairs but is slated for major refurbishment.

Construction

The tomb was built on a plinth,[5] in the takhtgah style in which the stage serves as the takht, or "throne." With a phase measuring 158 square feet, the tomb is in the shape of a square and measures 124 feet on each side, and is 19.6 feet high. Minarets may previously have risen from the corners of the tomb, similar to the nearby Tomb of Jahangir.

Distinct her father's catacomb (vault of I’timad-ud-Daulah), which was built in white sandstone, Nur Jahan's tomb is primarily clad in red stonework, with a flat roofline alike to that of her husband's tomb. The exterior features 7 curved arcs, which were covered with mineral and shaped with flower varieties in semi-valuable stones. The central playful on each side juts out from the 3 flanking curved arches. Tiny paneling was performed in complicated designs and cornices are honeycomb formed in numerous rooms. The internal floor is enclosed with stonework and the external platform with sandstone. The exterior, covered in red stonework, was inlaid with flowery motifs in adding to white, black and yellow marble.

Marble monuments of Nur Jahan and her daughter Ladli Begum

The central curved chamber of the catacomb covers a marble podium with two monuments, one that remembers Nur Jahan and the other to honor her daughter, Ladli Begum. Constructed by Hakim Ajmal, Khan of Delhi in 1912, the unique mineral tomb bears ornate workmanship and the name of Allah, in the same elegance and size as seen in the catacombs of Jahangir and Asif Khan. On her tomb is adorned an epitaph: "On the grave of this poor stranger, let there be neither lamp nor rose.

Gardens

The catacomb stands in the center of a Persian-style Charbagh. The creative garden no longer survives, but formerly comprised tulips, roses, and jasmine.

Disclaimer: Please note that the information cited in this blog has been obtained from the official website and Facebook page  Nur Jahan.

Note: All the images have been traced from the official face book page of Nur Jahan.