| Serai Nurmahal | |
|---|---|
 The Nurmahal Sarai | |
| Type | caravanserai |
| Location | Nurmahal, Punjab, India |
| Built | 1618 |
| Architectural style(s) | Mughal architecture |
Serai Nurmahal (Mughal Serai) is an inn of historical importance in Noor Mahal, in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, India.
The Mughal age was an age of development in almost every field including economy. The growing importance of trade and commerce and politics, led to the construction of a network of roads that connected places of commercial and political interests. Along the sides of these roads shady trees were planted, wells dug out and resting places for travellers called serais were constructed. [1]
The serai was constructed on the orders of Noor Jahan, wife of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir under the supervision of Zakariya Khan in 1618AD, then Governor of the Doab. [2] Nurmahal got its name from Noor Jahan, who is said to have been brought up here. [3]
Nurmahal is situated 16 miles south of Jalandhar, 25 miles east south-east of Sultanpur and 13 miles west of Pahlor. [4]
The serai was built on a site measuring 551 square feet. It had octagonal towers at the corners. The western gateway, called Lahore gate is double-storied and built in red sandstone. Its front is divided into panels ornamented in sculptured relief. There were figures of angels, lotuses, nymphs, lions, elephants, birds, peacocks, men on horseback, etc. The scenes represented by many of these had scenes of elephant fight or four horsemen playing Chaugan. [5] Over the entrance to the gateway is an inscription, flanked by scenes of fighting animals and sculpted lotus mounds. The inscription written in four rhyming verses, reads as follows:
There were plenty of rooms, Emperor's quarters, a well and a mosque inside the serai area. Jahangir mentions this serai in his memoirs when he says:
...I took up my quarters in Nur-Saray. At this spot the Vakils of Nur Jahan Begam had built a lofty house, and made a royal garden. It was now completed. On this account the Begam, having begged for an entertainment, prepared a grand feast, and by the way of offering, with great pains produced all kinds of delicate and rare things. In order to please her I took what I approved. I halted two days at this place. [7]
In his memoirs, Jahangir mentions this place at another time also. [8] Nur Jahan's Serai was quite famous during those times and "Serai Noor Mahal" in local usage came to mean some spacious and important edifice. [9]
The sarai is remarkable specimen of oriental architecture. Nurmahal Sarai is perhaps the only known monument in Jalandhar. [10] This historical monument is now looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India. [11]
Mirza Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, commonly called Shah Jahan I, also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the zenith of Mughal architectural and cultural achievements.
Sarai, Serai, or Saraj may refer to:
Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa was the twentieth wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
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The Tomb of Jahangir is a 17th-century mausoleum built for the Mughal emperor Jahangir. The mausoleum dates from 1637, and is located in Shahdara Bagh near city of Lahore, along the banks of River Ravi, in Punjab, Pakistan. The site is famous for its interiors that are extensively embellished with frescoes and marble, and its exterior that is richly decorated with pietra dura. The tomb, along with the adjacent Akbari Sarai and the Tomb of Asif Khan, are part of an ensemble currently on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status.
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NurMahal or Noor Mahal is a city and a municipal council in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is a small city located between Nakodar - Phillaur Road in Punjab. This town is also connected with the nearby towns of Phillaur and Nakodar by a road going along the railway lines. Nurmahal is situated 13 km from Nakodar, 16 km from Phillaur, 33 km from Jalandhar. And Many more villages are close by to Nurmahal.
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Ramewal is a village in Nurmahal. Nurmahal is a sub-tehsil in the Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India.
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Abu'l-Hasan entitled by the Mughal emperor Jahangir as Asaf Khan, was the Grand Vizier of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He previously served as the vakil of Jahangir. Asaf Khan is perhaps best known for being the father of Arjumand Banu Begum, the chief consort of Shah Jahan and the older brother of Empress Nur Jahan, and the maternal grandfather of mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Manavati Bai, also spelled Manvati Bai,, better known by her title, Jagat Gosain, was the second wife and the empress consort of the fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir and the mother of his successor, Shah Jahan.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was the first wife and one of the chief consorts of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.
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The Tomb of Nur Jahan is a 17th-century mausoleum in Lahore, Pakistan, that was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan. The tomb's marble was plundered during the Sikh era in 18th century for use at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The red sandstone mausoleum, along with the nearby tomb of Jahangir, tomb of Asif Khan, and Akbari Sarai, forms part of an ensemble of Mughal monuments in Lahore's Shahdara Bagh.
The Akbari Sarai is a large caravan inn ("sarai"), located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Dating from 1637, the sarai was originally built for travelers, as well as for caretakers of the Tomb of Jahangir. The sarai is most notable for being the best-preserved example in Pakistan, as well as for its large gateway that is richly embellished with pietra dura that serves as a portal to the tomb of Jahangir.
The Tomb of Asif Khan is a 17th-century mausoleum located in Shahdara Bagh, in the city of Lahore, Punjab. It was built for the Mughal statesman Mirza Abul Hassan Jah, who was titled Asif Khan. Asif Khan was brother of Nur Jahan, and brother-in-law to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Asif Khan's tomb is located adjacent to the Tomb of Jahangir, and near the Tomb of Nur Jahan. Asif Khan's tomb was built in a Central Asian architectural style, and stands in the centre of a Persian-style Charbagh garden.
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