Jahangir (part I)

Jahangir was born on 9 September 1569 at Fatehpur Sikri. His father, Akbar, really doted on him but the relationship got bitter as Jahangir came of age. Jahangir openly rebelled against his father at first, but was evenutally reconciled; and on Akbar's death in November 1605, he assumed the throne. Though his own son, Khusrau, then seventeen years old, led a military campaign against his father, Jahangir captured him and rendered him blind. In 1611, Jahangir met, wooed, and married Mehrunissa, the young widow of a Mughal officer. A beautiful and strong woman, she soon became Jahangir's favorite queen and assumed the title of Nur Jahan, 'Light of the World'. Her father, Itimad ñud-daulah, was elevated to the position of chief minister; her brother, Asaf Khan, became a nobleman at the court; and his daughter, Mumtaz Mahal, was married to Khurram (later Shah Jahan), Jahangir's other son, in 1612. Nur Jahan herself came to exercise considerable influence over her husband, and Jahangir is said to have relied heavily on her advice.

Babur

Babar was more of a soldier than a politician. It has been suggested by historians that the government he set up was saifi (by the sword ) and not qalami (by the pen). Considerable parts of his empire were ruled by his ministers with full sovereignity. He was an orthodox Sunni muslim and loved architecture and music; he was also a master of Turki, his mother tongue, as well as Persian. The chronicles of his life, the Babarnama, remains widely used and is a masterpiece of that genre of literature. Babar appears not to have been enamored of Delhi and India, and in recent years his name has been mired in controversy. A mosque by the name of Babri masjid, apparently built in 1526 at his command, was destroyed on 6 December 1992 by Hindu militants. They claim that a Hindu temple, marking the site of Lord Rama's birth, was destroyed at Babar's orders, and a mosque built at that very site. For Hindu militants and chauvinists, Babar's name has become synonymous with the history of Muslim tyranny and oppression, but almost nothing in the historical record warrants this reading.

Babar nominated his son Humayun as his successor and died on 30 December 1530 at the age of forty eight.