Mehr-un-Nissa was the fourth child of Persian immigrants Mirza Ghiyas Beg and Asmat Begam who became the most powerful woman in the history of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Jahangir bestowed upon her the title Nur Jahan, meaning Light of the World, which declared her new status as the de facto ruler of the empire.
Nur Jahan died at the age of 68 after surviving Emperor Jahangir by 18 years. Her longevity and political acumen allowed her to shape the empire's trajectory for decades, making her a figure of unparalleled significance in Mughal history.
The Tomb of Nur Jahan is primarily clad in red sandstone and measures 124 feet on each side while rising 19.6 feet high. The exterior originally featured seven vaulted arches covered with marble and adorned with flower mosaics in semi-precious stones before these were stripped away.
The tomb suffered a devastating fate during the occupation of Lahore by the army of Ranjit Singh in the 18th century. Much of the ornamental stones and marble were stripped from the structure and transported to Amritsar to decorate the Golden Temple.
The Tomb of Nur Jahan stands in the Shahdara Bagh ensemble in Lahore, Pakistan, originally designed to stand in the center of a Persian-style Charbagh garden. Historical accounts suggest the original garden included tulips, roses, and jasmine before the area was interrupted by the Lahore-Peshawar Railway Line.
Inside the central vaulted chamber lies a marble platform with two cenotaphs, one commemorating Nur Jahan and the other her daughter Ladli Begum. The original marble sarcophagus was built by Hakim Ajmal Khan of Delhi in 1912 and bears the name of Allah.