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Salim Nuruddin Jahangir (20 September 1569 – 8 November 1627) was the fourth of the "great Mughals", ruling the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death in 1627. At this time, the Mughal Empire was one of the world's three great powers, the other two being the Persian (Safavid) Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Of the three, the Mughal Empire had the smallest land area, sprawling across present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern and central India, Nepal and Bangladesh. But it was, by far the richest and the most populous. The wealth of the Empire was said to exceed that of the Persian and Ottoman Empires combined. Due in part to circumstance, and in part to Jahangir's brilliant insights into administration, his reign proved to be an era of extraordinary stability, prosperity, and civilization. By some estimates, he was the richest man in history.

It did not start out so well. Jahangir was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and was declared successor to his father from an early age. However, impatient for power, he revolted in 1599 while Akbar was engaged in the Deccan. The rebellion was half-hearted and was easily put down by Akbar. In addition to this, Jahangir had begun to acquire a reputation for capricious cruelty. At age 30, he was already an alcoholic, drinking twenty cups of wine a day.

In 1605, Akbar dispatched his court "Writer", Abu'l Fazal, to take control of the Mughal Army in the Deccan facing the kingdom of Ahmednagar to the south. The Writer was spectacularly successful, taking the strategic fort at Malighar for the Mughals by scaling the fort walls with ladders. Shortly thereafter, Akbar fell seriously ill and summoned the Writer back to Agra to be by his side. Fearing that the Emperor might bequeath the throne to the Writer, Jahangir had him ambushed and killed on the road back from the front.

With Akbar on his death-bed, Akbar's general, Man Singh and other nobles sought to prevent Jahangir's succession by promoting Jahangir's eldest son, Prince Kusraw.The Emperor was persuaded to call a special meeting, in which nobles from across the Empire would be asked to choose between Jahangir and Kushraw. Much to the organizers' disappointment, the nobles at the meeting stayed with the conservative choice and picked Jahangir.

On Akbar's death, Jahangir finally succeeded his father to the throne in 1605. The first year of Jahangir's reign saw a rebellion organized by Khusraw with the assistance of the Sikh Guru Arjun Dev and others. The rebellion was soon put down; Khusraw was brought before his father in chains. After subduing and executing nearly 2000 members of the rebellion, and blinding his renegade son Khusraw, Jahangir had Arjun Dev executed, causing a permanent deterioration of relations between the imperium and the Sikhs.