Empress cover art

Empress

The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan

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Empress

By: Ruby Lal
Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
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About this listen

In 1611, 34-year-old Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the 20th and favorite wife of Emperor Jahangir, who ruled the vast Mughal Empire. An astute politician as well as a devoted partner, she issued imperial orders; coins of the realm bore her name. When Jahangir was imprisoned by a rebellious nobleman, the empress led troops into battle and ultimately rescued him.

The only woman to acquire the stature of empress in her male-dominated world, Nur was also a talented dress designer and innovative architect whose work inspired her stepson's Taj Mahal.

Nur's confident assertion of talent and power is revelatory; it far exceeded the authority of her female contemporaries in Renaissance Europe, including Elizabeth I. Here, she finally receives her due in a deeply researched and evocative biography that awakens us to a fascinating history.

©2018 Ruby Lal (P)2018 HighBridge Company
Asia India Politicians Politics & Activism Royalty South Asia Women World Middle East Ancient History

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All stars
Most relevant
A biography of Nur Jahan, Mughal empress. A very interesting book, I enjoyed it.

Interesting

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Learnt a lot , fascinating! narrator was good too .. highlights have to be her rise to power & her achievements during that time .

Fascinating!

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The details of the places, people and situations paints a vivid picture in mind. it was a wonderful listen.

Highly enjoyable

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The great Queen and the great Mughals! The best history book in a long time I came across!

The history to stand still to this day

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