| Serai Nurmahal | |
|---|---|
 The Nurmahal Sarai | |
| Type | caravanserai |
| Location | Nurmahal, Punjab |
| Built | 1618 |
| Architectural style(s) | Mughal architecture |
Serai Nurmahal (Mughal Serai) is an inn of historical importance located at Nurmahal, near Jalandhar.
| Serai Nurmahal | |
|---|---|
| The Nurmahal Sarai | |
| Type | caravanserai |
| Location | Nurmahal, Punjab |
| Built | 1618 |
| Architectural style(s) | Mughal architecture |
Serai Nurmahal (Mughal Serai) is an inn of historical importance located at Nurmahal, near Jalandhar.
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, also known as Shah Jahan I, was the fifth Mughal emperor, reigning from 1628 until 1658. During his reign, the Mughals reached the peak of their architectural and cultural achievements.
Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa was the twentieth wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
The Lahore Fort is a citadel in the city of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City of Lahore and spreads over an area greater than 20 hectares. It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which date to the era of Emperor Akbar. The Lahore Fort is notable for having been almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century, when the Mughal Empire was at the height of its splendor and opulence.
Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. The district headquarters is the city of Jalandhar.
Doaba, also known as Bist Doab or the Jalandhar Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba is called "Doabi". The term "Doaba" or "Doab" is derived from Persian دو آب meaning "land of two rivers". The river Sutlej separates Doaba from the Malwa region to its south and the river Beas separates Doaba from the Majha region to its north.
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, Pakistan, along the banks of the Ravi River. 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.
Shahdara Bagh is a historic precinct located across the Ravi River from the Walled City of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. Shahdara Bagh is the site of several Mughal era monuments, including the Tomb of Jahangir, the Akbari Sarai, Tomb of Asif Khan,Tomb of Nur Jahan and Baradari of Kamran Mirza.
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.
Pakistani architecture is intertwined with the architecture of the broader Indian subcontinent. The major architectural styles popular in the past were Temple, Indo-Islamic, Mughal and Indo-Saracenic architecture, all of which have many regional varieties. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, for the first time in the area which encompasses today's Pakistan an advanced urban culture developed with large structural facilities, some of which survive to this day. This was followed by the Gandhara style of Buddhist architecture that borrowed elements from Ancient Greece. These remnants are visible in the Gandhara capital of Taxila.
Ramewal is a village in Nurmahal. Nurmahal is a sub-tehsil in the Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India.
Mughal Serai, Doraha or Doraha Sarai is located at Doraha in Ludhiana District. Its popularly known as 'Mughal Caravan Serai'. This is often confused with this place as RDB fort. RDB fort, the fort shown in movie Rang De Basanti, is situated at 8-9 km distance from this.
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.
Parviz Mirza was the second son of Mughal emperor Jahangir from his wife, Sahib Jamal. His daughter, Nadira Banu Begum, later became the wife of Dara Shikoh.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was the first wife and one of the chief consorts of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.
Lal Bangla are two imperial late-Mughal mausoleums located in Delhi, India, that are that protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
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.
Mehram ki Serai is a 17th-century caravanserai listed as a protected monument by the ASI, located on the land owned by the Ministry of Defence in the north-east corner of IGI airport. It was built by Mehram Khan, a eunuch and keeper of Jahangir's harem.
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