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Malika Jahan (Persian: ملکہ جھان; meaning "Queen of the World") was a Jaisalmer princess, and wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Family

Malika Jahan, whose Rajput name is unknown, was born a Jaisalmer princess, the daughter of Rawal Bhim Singh, the ruler of Jaisalmer, and a contemporary of Emperor Akbar, and in imperial service to him. He had been a man of rank and influence. She was the granddaughter of Rawal Harraj. She had three paternal uncles named Kalyan Mal, Bhakar and Sultan. Her aunt, Nathi Bai, was married to Emperor Akbar in 1570, and was a mother of a daughter named Mahi Begum.

Rawal Bhim succeeded his father Harraj in 1578. After Bhim's death in 1616, he left a son named Nathu Singh, two months old, who was killed by the Bhatis. His younger brother Kalyan Mal succeeded him as Rawal.

Marriage

Jahangir married her while he was a prince, and gave her the title 'Malika Jahan', which literally means ("Queen of the world"). Jahangir notes in his memoirs that this alliance was made because her family had always been faithful to the Mughals.

In popular culture

Malika Jahan is a character in Phiroz H. Madon's historical novel The Third Prince: A Novel (2015).

References

1. Lal, Kishori Saran (1 January 1988). The Mughal Harem. Aditya Prakashan. p. 28. ISBN 978-8-185-17903-2.
2. Shujauddin, Muhammad; Shujauddin, Razia (1967). The Life and Times of Noor Jahan. Caravan Book House. p. 96.
3. The Moslem World - Volumes 1-2. Nile Mission Press. 1985. p. 72.
4. Soma Mukherjee (2001). Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions. Gyan Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-8-121-20760-7.
5. Naravane, M. S. (1999). The Rajputs of Rajputana: A Glimpse of Medieval Rajasthan. APH Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 978-8-176-48118-2.
6. ^ Somānī, Rāmavallabha (1990). History of Jaisalmer. Panchsheel Prakashan. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-8-170-56070-8.
7. Ruby Lal (2005). Domesticity and power in the early Mughal world. Cambridge University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-521-85022-3.
8. Beveridge, Henry (1907). Akbarnama of Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak - Volume III. Asiatic Society, Calcuta. p. 283.
9. Rajasthan, (India), K. K Sehgal (1962). Rajasthan District Gazetteers, Volume 18. Directorate, District Gazetteers. p. 37.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. ^ Jahangir, Emperor; Thackston, Wheeler McIntosh (1999). The Jahangirnama : memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Washington, D. C.: Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 376. ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
11. Singh, Rajvi Amar (1992). Medieval History of Rajasthan: Western Rajasthan. Rajvi Amar Singh. p. 1456.
12. Madon, Phiroz H. (8 April 2015). The Third Prince: A Novel. Jaico Publishing House. ISBN 978-8-184-95140-0.

• 16th-century Indian women
• 16th-century Mughal Empire people
• People from Jaisalmer
• Wives of Jahangir
• Rajput princesses