Malika Jahan

For other people with similar names, see {Noor-Jahan.

Malika Jahan (Persian: ملکہ جھان; meaning "Queen of the World") was a Jaisalmer princess, and wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir.^[1]

Malika Jahan
Rajkumari of Jaisalmer
Spouse	Jahangir ​ ​ (m. 1587; d. 1627)​
House	Bhati (by birth) Timurid (by marriage)
Father	Rawal Bhim Singh
Religion	Hinduism

Family

Malika Jahan, whose Rajput name is unknown,^[2] was born a Jaisalmer princess, the daughter of Rawal Bhim Singh, the ruler of Jaisalmer,^[3][4] and a contemporary of Emperor Akbar, and in imperial service to him.^[5] He had been a man of rank and influence.^[6] She was the granddaughter of Rawal Harraj. She had three paternal uncles named Kalyan Mal, Bhakar and Sultan.^[6] Her aunt was married to Emperor Akbar in 1570,^[7] and was a mother of a daughter named Mahi Begum.^[8]

Rawal Bhim succeeded his father Harraj in 1578.^[6] After Bhim's death in 1616, he left a son named Nathu Singh,^[9] two months old,^[10] who was killed by the Bhatis.^[6] His younger brother Kalyan Mal succeeded him as Rawal.^[10]

Marriage

Jahangir married her while he was a prince, and gave her the title 'Malika Jahan',^[11] 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.^[10]

In popular culture

Malika Jahan is a character in Phiroz H. Madon's historical novel The Third Prince: A Novel (2015).^[12]

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.