“A subject has no voice,” replied the enchantress; “and a woman especially can have no will but that of her sovereign: it is his privilege to command—her heritage is to obey.”
Jehangire again took her hand, declared his resolution to make her his Empress, and immediately a proclamation was issued for the celebration of the royal nuptials with the lovely relict of the late Shere Afkun.
A general festival was observed throughout the empire. Those rich embroideries which had lately been the admiration of the ladies of Delhi no longer issued from the harem. The humble embroidress cast aside the distaff for the crown, and in the issue proved to be one of the most extraordinary women which the pen of history has celebrated. She became the principal director of the complex machine of government. The name of Mher-ul-Nissa was exchanged for that of Noor Mahil, “The Light of the Harem.”
From this moment she was acknowledged as the favourite wife of the Emperor of the Moguls. In the climax of her exaltation her name was again changed to Noor Jehan, or, “The Light of the World.” As a distinguishing mark of her pre-eminence in the sovereign’s affections, she was allowed to assume the title of Shahe, or Empress. Her family was held next in rank to the princes of the blood, and advanced to places of the highest trust. Its members were admitted to privileges which had never before been enjoyed by subjects under the Mogul domination. The current coin of the realm was stamped with her name, as well as with that of the sovereign! She converted the harem into a court, where the mysteries of state policy were discussed with a freedom and a power seldom known under despotic governments.
It was from the harem that those celebrated decrees were fulminated—for though they passed in the Emperor’s name, it is credibly attested that they emanated from his Sultana—which rendered the reign of Jehangire one of the most politically prosperous in the annals of Mahomedan history. Her influence exceeded that of any other person in the empire, not even excepting the sovereign; and perhaps, under the rigid scrupulosity of Mogul policy with regard to women sharing in the administration of the state, there never has been an instance of one of the sex attaining an ascendency so paramount, and such perfect political control over the destinies of so many subject principalities as the renowned Noor Jehan.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] Hafiz was a lyric poet, called, by way of pre-eminent distinction, the Anacreon of Persia.
CHAPTER VI.
A few years after the elevation of this extraordinary woman, Churrum, the third son of Jehangire, who afterwards ascended the imperial throne under the assumed designation of Shah Jehan, began to interrupt the harmony of the state. He had been sent with a powerful army into the Deccan to quell a formidable confederacy against the reigning authority, and having succeeded in reducing the insurgents to obedience, began to show his ambitious designs upon the crown. Under the most plausible pretences, and while in command of the army with which he had just quelled a dangerous insurrection, he persuaded the Emperor to put into his hands Chusero, Jehangire’s eldest son, and consequently heir to the throne, who had been imprisoned for rebellion. It soon became evident why he had been so urgent to obtain the person of his rebellious brother. Chusero was the grand obstacle between him and the crown. The traitor Churrum now shortly threw off the mask, and publicly declared his designs. His success in the Deccan had endeared him to the troops; his courage had gained their confidence, and his liberality secured their affections. Confiding in his imagined power, he disregarded the mandates of his father, continued in arms, and commanding his unhappy brother to be murdered under the walls of Azere, immediately assumed the imperial titles.
The Sultana had long suspected the intentions of Churrum. In spite of the veil which he had thrown over his base designs, they did not escape her penetration. Ambition was the dominant feeling in the bosom of this crafty prince. The Empress, seeing the evils likely to accrue from this fierce passion if suffered to operate unchecked, determined to take precautions to contravene his measures. Before the death of Chusero she saw that the unnatural brother, into whose power he had fallen, had a design upon the throne. Every action of his public life had shown a secret but undeviating perseverance in the pursuit of dominion, not to be mistaken. His cunning she felt might be overreached, but his talents were formidable. He was not only a crafty intriguer, but a brave and successful general. He had become the idol of the army; and with such a mighty engine to power, she dreaded the final success of his schemes. She declared her suspicions to the Emperor, who was at first unwilling to entertain them; but the wife had such an influence over the mind of her royal husband, that he always listened with great confidence to her suggestions. She assured him that Churrum must be watched, advised his recall, and that the army should be placed under a less dangerous command. She insisted upon speedy and decisive measures, in order to obviate danger to the state. To the Emperor’s doubts of Churrum’s ambitious intentions she answered: