Jahangir or Jehangir, means "Conqueror of the World". Name adopted by the tyrannical Salim, son of Akbar the Great, and third Mughal emperor of Delhi, India, from 1605.

In 1611, Jahangir married a Persian widow, Nur Jahan. He continued his father's policy of expansion. The Rajput principality of Mewar (Udaipur) capitulated in 1614. In the Deccan, Ahmadnagar was taken in 1616 and half of its kingdom annexed.

In the northwest, however, the Persian ruler, Shah Abbas, retook (1622) Kandahar. This defeat and his addiction to alcohol and opium gave power to his wife Nur Jahan. She and her relatives soon dominated politics, while Jahangir devoted himself to cultivation of the arts, especially miniature painting. He welcomed foreign visitors to his court, granting trading privileges first to the Portuguese and then to the British East India Company.

He designed the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir and buildings and gardens in Lahore. He also encouraged portraiture and painting of Darbar scenes. He has special interest in natural history.

Civil strife and court intrigues marked the last years of Jahangir's reign. Shah Jahan, his son, succeeded him.