After the birth of Jahanara, came the beloved first boy, Dara, born on March 30, 1615. Next came Shuja, another son, born on July 3, 1616, then another girl, Raushanara, born Spetember 3, 1617, then a boy, Aurangzeb, born November 3, 1618. Afterwards there followed numerous miscarriages by Arjumand.
In 1620, when Emperor Jahangir fell seriously ill. Nur Jahan usurped power to ensure favorable succession,married her daughter to one of Jahangir's sons by another queen, Shahryar. She wished for the couple to produce an heir to the throne if Jahangir died, which seemed very likely. Jahangir had despised the Persians of the court. With the present disputes in the Moghul courts, the Persians decided to take advantage and captured Qandahar, a Moghul possession. When the dying Jahangir and Shahryar raised a rebellion against the Persians, Khurram denied them his assistance. A family rebellion exploded and he led his armies against his powerful father and Shahryar. However, he was defeated. Instead of being executed, Nur Jahan dictated her orders that Khurram should relocate his family. And that his sons Dara and Aurangzeb should be handed over as hostages.
The family had relocated to the Nizamshahi territory in the Deccan, a wasteland and breeding ground for rebels, traitors, and criminals. She and her family lived in huge tents, though they had riches of the world ate in gold and slept on ivory Jahanara grew up among splendor in the middle of nowhere. However, on October 28, 1627, hearing th death of Emperor Jahangir Khurram proclaimed himself Emperor. He ordered all other competitors to the throne, including Shahryar, executed, had Nur Jahan the powerful queen erstwhile defacto ruler placed in his captivity for ever. He became Shah Jahan, "king of the world", Arjumand became Mumtaz Mahal, "crown beauty of the palace", and Jahanara inherited the prestigous title of Begum Sahib, Princess of Princesses. At the age of 14.
At Fatehpur Sikri Jahanara's rooms can still be seen today, one could only imagine the splendor of its time. floral design of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds were scattered across the walls her apartments, along with perfumed cool pool waters and vast marble and jeweled floors.
'Janni'.as called by the closest spent her nights with her father and mother, painting, writing poems, and helping her father plan reconstructions of other palaces and monuments.Jahanara truly was a gifted young woman. She spent her days with all the women of the court, from the lowest concubines to her step-mothers.She had a very good relationship with her brother Dara, who shared her love of the arts, but was hostile towards Roshanara and Aurangzeb,who were devious and disrespectful towards their mother and father,and even other minorities in the harem, such as the Hindu wife and Christian wife of shahjahan. All the royals Jahanara included were taught by many tutors,including Mumtaz's secretary,Sati-un Nissa,nicknamed sati.
Jahanara spent her teenage years travelling all over the empire, visiting her father's many splendors with the court. The family visited the beautiful palace at Srinagar in Kashmir, where the harem often went for picnics on Silver Island on Lake Dal. And they also toured shahjahan's masterpiece, the Red Fort, that rivaled any palace they had ever seen. Meena Bazaar, which had simply died in Jahangir's later reign, even made a come back in Shahjahan's reign, which Jahanara took a part in.
However, tragedy struck the family in 1631. While giving birth to her 14th child, Mumtaz died on June 17. With the death of the empress, Jahanara became the uncrowned woman figure head next to her father. She took on many responsibilities, including all the responsibilities of operating the harem, from food to clothes to tutoring.Jahanara planned Dara's Nikah to Begum Nadira Banu, While attending a garden party in 1644, Jahanara's heavily perfumed kameez, trousers, and pairhan, robes, caught fire. She became seriously sick and shahjahan himself nursed his beloved daughter back to health, which took many weeks. |
