Not much is known about her life, except for the fact that she was a highly educated and cultured royal.Īs the new year begins, let us also start anew. She was married to the future emperor in 1589, and died in 1599, which could tie into Finch’s account. After she married Jehangir, she was given the title of Sahib-i-Jamal (the Paragon of Beauty), by Akbar himself. Sahib-i-Jamal was the daughter of Khawaja Hassan of Herat, and the cousin of two-time Kabul governor, Zain Kahan Koka. According to him, the tomb was the final resting place of Jehangir’s wife Sahib-i-Jamal, and was only named Anarkali’s Tomb because it was surrounded by a lush pomegranate garden at the time. But Abdullah Chughtai, the renowned 18th century historian, begged to differ. That being said, who could be buried at Anarkali’s Tomb? The building currently located in the Punjab Secretariat, has always been attributed to be the tomb of the ill-fated concubine. But the lack of historical evidence supporting the entombment story, seems to suggest that perhaps Lahore’s greatest love story is not rooted in historical fact. According to popular retellings of Finch’s version, she was buried alive in the Lahore Fort in 1599, and the heartbroken prince built her the empty tomb after his father’s death. Firstly, there is the above-mentioned story of Anarkali sealed between the two walls of her tomb.

But the popularized myth of her death is very different, and many variations of it can be found in oral histories of Lahore. Most believe that Anarkali died due to natural causes, while Akbar was away on a campaign to Deccan.

The story of her life and demise is also one of great confusion among historians.

Anarkali pakistani song