Nur Jahan was born Mehr un Nissa on 31 May 1577 to Persian nobility. Shortly before her birth in Afghanistan, her father suffered a reversal of fortunes and the family was forced to migrate to India, where the court of Emperor Akbar was growing as the center of the trade industry and cultural scene in the region. They were robbed among the route and arrived in Kandahar impoverished and destitute until they were taken under the wing of Malik Masud, a wealthy merchant who led a caravan. He found Mehr-un-Nissa’s father a position serving Emperor Akbar and the family, recognizing the birth of the child as a change in their fate, name her Sun Among Women (Mehr-un-Nissa). With her father’s successful career, Mehr-un-Nissa was able to pursue the best possible education, learning Arabic, Persian, literature, music and dance. When she was 17, she married Ali Quli Istajlu, who was killed after a decade of marriage. Upon the death of her first husband in 1607, she was summoned to court along with her daughter Ladli Begum to serve the Dowager Empress in the court of Jahangir, the son of Emperor Akbar. It was here that the affection between Jahangir and Mehr-un-Nissa began, culminating in a proposal in the bazaar in 1611. They were married that same year and she was given the titles of Nur Mahal (light of the palace), later changed to Nur Jahan (light of the world). Although she was the Emperor’s twentieth wife, his affection for her gave her a significant amount of power and she effectively ran the empire and was considered the real force behind the Mughal throne during this time period. A poem dedicated to her tells of this strength - “Though Nur Jahan be in form of a woman, in the ranks of men she’s a tiger slayer”. After Jahangirs death, a crisis broke out as the Emperor had not yet named an heir. The war between Shah Jahan and Shahryar, the two remaining (and competent) sons of Jahangir broke out. Nur Jahan, believing she could manipulate Shahryar easier than Shah Jahan, sided with Prince Shahryar but in 1628, the battle was lost and Shah Jahan became the new Mughal emperor. She spent the remainder of her days in a mansion in Lahore with her daughter, building a mausoleum for her father and designing her own tomb, where she would rest after her death on 16 December 1675.