Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan

by Ruby Lal

Overview

A Finalist for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History

Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire.

When it came to hunting, she was a master shot. As a dress designer, few could compare. An ingenious architect, she innovated the use of marble in her parents’ mausoleum on the banks of the Yamuna River that inspired her stepson’s Taj Mahal. And she was both celebrated and reviled for her political acumen and diplomatic skill, which rivaled those of her female counterparts in Europe and beyond.

In 1611, thirty-four-year-old Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. While other wives were secluded behind walls, Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, and governed in his stead as his health failed and his attentions wandered from matters of state. An astute politician and devoted partner, Nur led troops into battle to free Jahangir when he was imprisoned by one of his own officers. She signed and issued imperial orders, and coins of the realm bore her name.

Acclaimed historian Ruby Lal uncovers the rich life and world of Nur Jahan, rescuing this dazzling figure from patriarchal and Orientalist clichés of romance and intrigue, and giving new insight into the lives of women and girls in the Mughal Empire, even where scholars claim there are no sources. Nur’s confident assertion of authority and talent is revelatory. In Empress, she finally receives her due in a deeply researched and evocative biography that awakens us to a fascinating history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393239348
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/03/2018
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Ruby Lal is an acclaimed historian of India and a professor of South Asian History at Emory University. She is the author of Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World, and Coming of Age in Nineteenth Century India: The Girl-Child and the Art of Playfulness. She divides her time between Atlanta and Delhi.

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae xi

1 Queen of Queens, an Introduction 1

2 Miracle Girl 11

3 Al-Hind 29

4 The Cupolas of Chastity and the Perfect Man 38

5 The Wak-Wak Tree 46

6 The Mirror of Happiness 60

7 Grave Matters 76

8 A Key for Closed Doors 94

9 Ascent 104

10 Wonder of the Age 131

11 Veils of Light 150

12 The Light-Scattering Garden 166

13 Fitna, 177

14 The Rescue 192

15 Angel of Death 208

16 Beyond 1627, an Epilogue 222

Acknowledgments 227

Note on Transliteration and Terminology 233

Key Biographical Details 235

Notes on Sources 247

Notes 251

Illustration Credits 291

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

Despite the spare record she has to work with, Lal paints richly detailed scenes from Nur's life…Lal has done a service to readers interested in the Mughal period and the many forgotten or poorly remembered women of Indian history. She has helped shine a little light on an enigmatic character many think they know but few actually understand.

The New York Times Book Review - Vikas Bajaj

04/16/2018
In this feminist biography of a strong and independent Muslim woman who, over the intervening centuries, has been reduced to a caricature of wifely devotion in the popular imagination, Lal makes clear her subject’s relevance. Lal, a history professor at Emory, goes far beyond the fables to demonstrate that Nur Jahan was a force to be reckoned with: she ruled jointly as co-sovereign of the Mughal Empire with her husband, the emperor Jahangir, from their marriage in 1611 and was recognized by foreign and domestic observers as the true power in the realm. The women of the royal household, including Jahangir’s 19 other wives, spent most of their lives sequestered, but “the harem offered women surprising opportunities—wide horizons behind high walls.” Jahangir was an aesthete who concerned himself primarily with “the grand ritual acts of ideal Mughal kingship,” such as “offering his subjects glimpses of his semi-divine person from the imperial balcony.” Meanwhile, it was Nur Jahan who commissioned palaces and gardens, issued royal edicts and minted currency, and even defended the realm from usurpers, “sitting atop a war elephant and armed with a musket.” Closely researched and vividly written, this telling finds that the truth is as fantastic and fascinating as myth. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A luminous biography…It is a captivating account, its depth of detail recreating a world whose constraints of lineage would seem to preclude the advance of an unknown, self-made, widowed queen…Lal’s book is an act of feminist historiography."

Guardian - Rafia Zakaria

"What an extraordinary and detailed account of a remarkable woman—amazing! A very impressive, thorough, poetic, humane work."

Deepa Mehta

"An enchanting evocation of the brilliant Mughal Empire and a tender tribute to India’s first female leader. Lush and sensuous, a jewel box of a book."

Rosalind Miles

"There's much more to the story [of Nur Jahan], as historian Ruby Lal reveals in her fascinating new book "

Christian Science Monitor - Randy Dotinga

"Ms. Lal has not only written a revisionist feminist biography; she has also provided a vivid picture of the Mughal court, with its luxuries, beauties, intrigues and horrors. Moreover, at a time when India’s Hindu-nationalist government chooses to emphasise one strain in the country’s history, she offers a reminder of the diversity of Indian tradition. "

Economist

★ 2018-04-16
Lal (South Asian History/Emory Univ.; Coming of Age in Nineteenth-Century India: The Girl-Child and the Art of Playfulness, 2013, etc.) shines a light on Nur Jahan (1577-1645), who ruled as co-sovereign in the Mughal court, taking her husband's place without actually usurping him.Before she ascended, her husband, Jahangir, had fallen victim to overindulgence in drink and opium, and she slowly assumed duties with his full support. Jahangir was mercurial, ill-tempered, but he loved the signs of royal power. His traveling procession consisted of hundreds of tents draped in velvet and brocade, an audience hall of more than 70 rooms with 1,000 carpets, a harem, and stables. He inherited none of his father's empire-building drive, but he was a patron of the arts, hunter, naturalist, mystic, and book lover. He loved statistics and traveled mainly to make measurements of flora and fauna and catalog the characteristics of his country. He saw his wife as highly intelligent, talented, and politically savvy, which was due in large part to an aristocratic upbringing in her Persian parents' household. Rather than serving as a quiet counselor and smoothing relations between the emperor and his sons, Nur took direct action. She was an accomplished adviser, hunter, diplomat, and aesthete. She designed her parents' tomb in Agra, anticipating the Taj Mahal, which was built by her stepson, Shah Jahan. Agra was also home to her designs for her and Jahangir's tombs and her famous Light Scattering Garden. The author's descriptions of Agra are superb, and her detailed explanations of Nur's upbringing reflect her long study, deep understanding, and modern take on a little-explored subject. When the emperor was kidnapped by his son's ally, it was Nur who led an army to attempt his rescue. She must be held as one of history's great independent, powerful women.A page-turning, eye-opening biography that shatters our impressions of India as established by the British Raj.

Kirkus Reviews

"Nur Jahan emerges from this biography as a spirited, brilliant, and gifted leader. Nur’s story weaves into Lal’s gorgeous, nuanced portrait of the glittering splendour of the Mughal Empire and how its political, military, and cultural destinies were shaped by this remarkable refugee-turned-empress"

Gareth Russell

"Lal… paints rich multisensory tapestries… providing context and evidence to show that due to Nur’s surroundings, history, and contemporaries, she was probably a progressive, worldly, multitalented, forward-thinking woman warrior from the outset.… Lal releases Nur from the condescending ways in which previous commentators have trivialized, belittled, and diminished her accomplishments."

Los Angeles Review of Books - Gary Singh

"Ruby Lal, professor of South Asian studies at Emory University, challenges the well-worn fictions of Nur Jahan’s life and legacy.… A cross between Princess Diana, Mother Teresa and Annie Oakley, her Empress is scarcely human."

Wall Street Journal - Maxwell Carter

"Lal shows that [Nur’s] reign had a lasting effect on female empowerment, enabling royal wives to issue an array of orders beyond the harem."

The New Yorker

"An absorbing portrait of a remarkable woman, but also offers a stylish reconstruction of a fascinating slice of Mughal life."

Telegraph - Sameer Rahim

"Intriguing, inspiring, and relevant to us today in twenty-first-century America."

Azar Nafisi

"This is an outstanding book, not only incredibly important but also a fabulous piece of writing. Here, India’s greatest empress is reborn in all her fascinating glory in a luminescent account of her life and times. Ruby Lal has written a classic—one of the best biographies to come out this year and certainly the best ever of Nur Jahan."

Amanda Foreman

"In filling in the details of Nur Jahan’s life, Ms. Lal has not only written a revisionist feminist biography; she has also provided a vivid picture of the Mughal court, with its luxuries, beauties, intrigues and horrors."

Economist

"Lal’s intriguing biography, with its chronology of her relatively swift rise to power and even swifter descent, restores Nur Jahan to her full splendour."

BBC - Jane Ciabattari

"Despite the spare record she has to work with, Lal paints richly detailed scenes from Nur’s life.… Lal ably guides the reader through the rich drama and intrigue of Nur’s later life with Jahangir, whom she married after Quli was killed.… Lal has done a service to readers interested in the Mughal period and the many forgotten or poorly remembered women of Indian history. She has helped shine a little light on an enigmatic character many think they know but few actually understand."

Vikas Bajaj

Historian Ruby Lal extracts the real life of seventeenth-century Mughal (Mongul) Empress Nur Jahan from legend, romanticized tales, and political erasure in this engaging audiobook. Suzanne Toren ably narrates Lal’s well-researched account of the Indian cosovereign’s life—from her birth to aristocratic Persian parents to her short-lived first marriage and life as the twentieth wife of Emperor Jahangir. Toren’s sure tone reflects Nur Jahan’s roles as a leader, woman, and first-generation immigrant. As Nur Jahan’s story unfolds, Lal contextualizes her impressive achievements within the cultural norms and political environment of the period. Toren differentiates quoted passages from the author’s insights with vocal modulation and light characterization. Nur Jahan was once relegated to a romantic heroine. Here, Lal’s scholarship and Toren’s narration illuminate the full expanse and lasting impact of the Empress’s brief reign. J.R.T. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile