Nur Jahan Rises

1617

The Persian-born widow Mehr-un-Nissa, whom Jahangir had married in 1611, quietly became the real ruler of the Mughal empire. Coins were struck in her name, her seal was required on imperial documents, and foreign ambassadors learned to address her first. She was the most powerful woman in Mughal history, governing an empire of over a hundred million subjects from behind a jeweled screen.