Throne of Jahangir


The Throne of Jahangir was built by Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1602 and is located at the Diwan-i-Khas at the Red Fort in Agra.

History

The throne was built in 1605 in Prayagraj and kept at the Allahabad Fort. Even after Jahangir became king when his father, emperor Akbar died in 1605, the throne remained there. It was only in 1610, that it was brought from Allahabad to Agra by Jahangir.
When the Army of the British East India Company first attacked the Agra Fort in 1803 under General Gerard Lake, a cannonball fired by the artillery struck the Takht, but did not manage to destroy it. It caused a superficial crack on one side and bounced on to make a hole through the wall opposite the throne.

Structure

The throne was made of black onyx, imported by Jahangir from Belgium. It is 10 feet 7 inches long, 9 feet 10 inches broad and 6 inches thick. Its octagonal pedestals are each 1 foot 4 inches in height. At the top, it gently slopes from the centre to the sides like the shell of a tortoise. Persian inscriptions, dated 1602 are carved, in ornamental cartouches on its sides, in praise of Jahangir, whom they state as Shah and Sultan. This amounted to defiance of Akbar, who was at that time alive and on the throne. When the throne was finally brought to Agra, Jahangir had two inscriptions carved on top of the two western pedestals, stating that he had been only the heir to the throne, and that he had assumed the title of Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir Badshah, only after his righteous accession.

''Nyaya ke Zanjeer''

Behind the Takht-i-Jahangir were Jahangir's Nyaya ke Zanjeer, which consisted of 60 metal bells. If anybody, regardless of their position, desired justice, they could pull the chains to make the bells ring, and they were sure to be granted justice.