Ok while I was scrolling through tumblr today on womenâs history, one thing struck me odd - there wasnât a single post regarding the women of one of the richest, most powerful empires in the history of the world. So hereâs to you ladies - icons, role models and most of all - badass queens.
1. Isaan Daulat (lit. Good fortune) : Grandmother of Zahiruddin Khan or as he is famous, Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Isaan Daulat regularly advised her son on statecraft and warfare, and carried out most of his diplomatic missions. According to a source, Isaan Daulatâs husband was once killed in a war against the Shah of Persia. The Shah thereafter proceeded to âgiftâ Isaan Daulat to one of his generals. However, the same night, Isaan Daulat had her retinue murder him in the courtyard, âwhile she sipped wine reclining in the moonlight courtyardâ as a witness claimed. When the Shah arrived, he questioned her about this action, to which she replied, âIslam gives me a right as a widow to marry by my convenience. You just handed me to him like cattle, and therefore his killing is perfectly justified by Islamic Sharia. You should consider yourself lucky.â The Shah of Persia then sent back Isaan Daulat with the wealth and assets he gained from that war, and declared her and her lineage as his sister and nephews. This later helped to back the Mughalsâ legitimacy. Sadly, Isaan Daulat could never enjoy the land her descendants called home.
2. Gulbadan (lit. she with a rose like body) : Gulbadan was Baburâs eldest daughter, and was quite adventurous. She had famously chronicled the lives of her father and her brother Humayun, the second Mughal emperor. She looked after administration while her brother fled from place to place. She had also embarked on a seven-year voyage to Mecca and Medina for The Hajj, encountering the malicious Portuguese (she had to bribe them with a fricking town for guarantee of safe passage), pirates, kings, sufis and many more, and was thus also called Hajji Begum. She held a special place in Akbarâs zenana as his aunt.
3. Hamida Banu : Princess of Sindh, she was married off at the age of 15 to a much older Humayun at the age of 15. She had accompanied Humayun in all his wars and also on his journey to Persia, for asking the Safavid Shahs to help them recapture Hindustan. She was Akbarâs mother.
4. Maham Anagah and Jiji Anagah : Akbarâs wet nurses, they had raised up Akbar while his parents tried to win their empire back. Maham Anagah was Akbarâs chief advisor and head of his zenana, before a failed coup by his son, after which he was killed and later on she was relieved of her post, despite still holding Akbarâs favour. Jiji Anagahâs children extensively married into the Mughal family, and her husband Mirza Aziz Koka was Akbarâs head of finance. Her family, wealth and power grew so much, as the Emperorâs favourites, that they were collectively known as the Atka Khail.
5. Ruqaiyya Begum : Akbarâs first cousin, and also his first wife, Ruqaiyya Begum was Akbarâs chief queen and Padshah Begum of the zenana. Though she remained childless, she reigned supreme in the zenana and commanded her husbandâs respect in a society where a womanâs existence was through her children. She was the main force behind Noor Jahan and Jahangirâs wedding, and was also the person who raised Shah Jahan.
6. Salima Sultana Begum : Wife of Akbarâs general Bairam Khan, she was later married to Akbar after Bairam Khanâs assassination. Her son Abdur Rahim was later made Khan-i-Khanan or Commander of the Mughal Army. She was the one who had brought up Jahangir, and thus he was also called Salim. An erudite scholar, she managed Akbarâs library along with her own private collection, commissioning new works and translations of others. She later protected Jahangir from Akbarâs wrath after Jahangir had him poisoned in a bid for the throne.
7. Harkha Bai : Bollywood knows her as Jodhaa, while history knows her as Maryam-uz-Zamani, Harkha Bai was the Rajput Princess of Amer and the daughter of Raja Bharmal. She was married to Akbar as part of a political alliance, and later became Jahangirâs mother. She was the richest woman of her time, her wealth being more than Akbarâs, and she also had one of the most valuable lands (jagirs). There are 2 famous anecdotes on her -Â
Once, an English merchant had bought her indigo farms at Bayana, Rajasthan. When she got to know of this, she practically destroyed that merchant, bought back that farm, and later had it burnt.
Another time, the Portuguese had captured and set fire to her ship the Rahimi, one of the largest and finest ships in that time, in a last bid to maintain their hold in India and the Arabian Sea against the increasingly powerful English. In retaliation, Jodhaa had all of their ships burnt, snatched their powers and wealth, and basically made paupers out of them. She died as the richest woman in Mughal history, before Noor Jahan.
8. Anarkali : A courtesan, with whom Jahangir (then Prince Salim) fell madly in love, many historians now consider the very real possibility that she never existed and was instead âinventedâ by the Mughal family as someone to blame for the tension between Akbar and Jahangir. According to the folklore, Akbar didnât approve of Salim and Anarkaliâs relation, and after she and Salim refused to end things, he had her entombed alive in a wall.
9. Maan Bai :Â Harkha Baiâs niece, she was Jahangirâs first wife. She later committed suicide by an overdose of opium when Jahangir had her son Khusrau blinded and imprisoned in a bitter war of succession. Her brother Man Singh was one of the Nine Gems (navaratna) of Akbarâs court, and had defeated Rana Pratap in the famous Battle of Haldighati.
10. Jagat Gosini : Princess of Jodhpur, she was the Padshah Begum of Jahangirâs zenana before Noor Jahan, and also the mother of Shah Jahan. She was the biggest obstruction in Noor Jahanâs historic rise to power. She was not on good terms with then Dowager Empress Ruqaiyya Begum (see above) and hence, Ruqaiyya Begum demanded that Shah Jahan be handed over to her so that she could raise him up, and also helped Noor Jahan against her. A local folklore also suggests that she had been the one behind the miscarriage of Noor Jahan after she had come into the zenana. She faded after Noor Jahanâs rise, but still held respect and power.
11. Noor Jahan (lit. Light of the World): The most famous and powerful woman in the history of the Mughals, Noor Jahan was born as Mehr-un-Nisa (lit. Sun amongst Women) to Persian immigrant parents. Brought up in Agra alongside Akbarâs court, Noor Jahan was an intelligent woman full of talent and potential. She was married off at 19 to Sher Afghan, a commander in Akbarâs army. The marriage was a failure, and moreover Noor Jahan suffered through 8 miscarriages with him, before the birth of her daughter, Ladli (lit. Darling or Beloved). After her husband was murdered in a coup, Ruqaiyya brought her to the Imperial Palace as part of her retinue, and later helped her and Jahangir get married, with she being Jahangirâs twentieth and final wife. Her rise to power was quick, owing to her own ambition and intellect, and some help from her father Itimad-ad-Daulah (Royal Treasurer of the Mughals), brother Asaf Khan (a prominent minister in Jahangirâs court) and Ruqaiyya Begum. Her seal as the Padshah Begum became second only to that of Jahangir, and later even surpassed his own. She brought great innovations to fashion, cosmetics, administration, architecture and gardening, city planning, and many more. She was the one who had arranged the marriage between her niece Arjumand Banu and Shah Jahan. Her marriage with Jahangir was a success â both of them were tempestuous and cared and loved each other deeply. Later, as Jahangirâs health started failing due to asthma and alcoholism, she took over the reigns and took the Mughal empire to great heights. The first British ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, arrived in her time. However, she gave the British no rights or privileges till the Rahimi incident, and extracted a great many gifts from him, including a carriage made entirely of silver. She had designed her parentsâ tomb near the Yamuna river in Agra (it was later copied by Shah Jahan), and she also designed Jahangirâs tomb in Lahore (modern day Punjab, Pakistan). She had tried to get Shah Jahan to marry her own daughter, but he refused and so she completely withdrew her support from making him the emperor, and instead opposed him. Shah Jahan thus had to flee to Burhanpur, with his eldest children Dara Shukoh, Jahanara, Aurangzeb and Roshanara in Noor Jahanâs custody. Later, he waged war against Noor Jahan with help from her brother Asaf Khan. Noor Jahan was ultimately defeated in Kashmir. She was deprived of her wealth, status and power and exiled to Lahore with her daughter and granddaughter. Her influence still remained, with Shah Jahan keeping her legacy alive by copying the Taj Mahal from the tomb she designed for her parents.
12. Mumtaz Mahal : Born as Arjumand Banu, she was Noor Jahanâs niece and Shah Jahanâs most beloved. She died in childbirth while giving birth to her fourteenth child â a girl called Gauhar.
13. Jahanara : Eldest daughter of Shah Jahan, she was the one who headed the empire after Shah Jahan was left heartbroken following Mumtazâs death, and became active in the construction of the Taj Mahal. Noor Jahan is often described as being fond of her, taking care of her education personally. She was known as Padshah Mallika, and her flower-shaped seal was the most powerful. She was an accomplished dancer, poet and a patron of the arts. She conducted the most expensive wedding ever, between her brother Dara Shukoh and Nadira Banu Begum, valued at 2 lakh rupees then, approximately 2 billion USD in todayâs time. Â She supported Dara Shukoh in his bid to become emperor. Later, she was imprisoned by Aurangzeb after he imprisoned Shah Jahan and killed all his remaining brothers.
14. Roshanara : Shah Jahanâs younger daughter, she was also an accomplished poet, but always at loggerheads with Jahanara. She later supported Aurangzeb as emperor.
15. Dilras Banu Begum : Aurangzebâs first wife and Padshah Begum of his zenana, Dilras Banu belonged to the Safavid dynasty of Persia. She was mother of all of Aurangzebâs children. However, she died an year before Aurangzebâs succession. The Bibi ka Maqbara (Tomb of the Lady) in Aurangabad, which bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, was constructed by Aurangzeb in her honour.
16. Zeenat-un-Nisa : Aurangzebâs eldest daughter, she was the Padshah Mallika after her motherâs death. She survived Aurangzeb by a great many years, and was respected by his successors as a remnant of a magnificent past. She was known for her charity, and was buried in the Zeenat-ul-Masjid built by her in Dlehi.
17. Zeb-un-Nisa : Aurangzebâs favourite daughter, Zeb-un-Nisa was the most accomplished poet in Mughal history, with her works still surviving and enjoyed. She was an atheist, but later converted to Sufism. She led a secret society, and lead a rebellion against the oppressive and harsh rule of her father. She was subsequently imprisoned by Aurangzeb, where she died. She was buried in the Tees Hazari Bagh (Garden of 30,000 Trees) near the Kashmiri Darwaza (Kashmir Gate) in North Delhi. Her tomb was later shifted at Akbarâs Mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra when Delhi was expanded following Independence.
Well people, this has been an informative post. Youâre welcome.
Sources : Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty, Empress : the Astonishing reign of Noor Jahan by Ruby Lal.