Aurangabadi Mahal ( fa, اورنگ آبادی محل; meaning "Prosperity of the Throne"; died 1688) was a wife of the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

Origins

Aurangabadi Mahal either belonged to

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

, or had entered Aurangzeb's harem in the city of Aurangabad. She was either

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

or Circassian by origin. Ever since from the reign of Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

, it had been ordained that the names of the women of the imperial harem should not be mentioned in public, they should be designated by some epithet, derived either from the place of their birth or the city or country where they had entered the imperial harem. According to some sources it is also said that

married to Arzani Begum Daughter of Prince Shahreyar Mirza, Granddaughter of

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

and

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627. Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Ghi ...

. It is said that after the death of Noor Jahan and Ladli Begum as Arzani Begum became alone Aurangzeb brought her from Lahore to Aurangabad and got married for her support. After the marriage her name is to be named as Aurangabadi Mahal.

Marriage

On 28 September 1661, she gave birth to Aurangzeb's youngest daughter,

Mihr-un-nissa Begum Mihr-un-Nissa Begum (Persian: مهرالنسا بیگم; 28 September 1661 – 2 April 1706), meaning "Sun among women", was a Mughal princess, the fifth daughter of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his consort Aurangabadi Mahal. Birth Mihr-un-Niss ...

. She was the ninth child of her father, and the only child of her mother. In March 1680, Yalangtosh Khan Bahadur was sent to bring Aurangabadi, and Princess Zeb-un-nissa Begum from Delhi to Ajmer. Both of them reached there in May, and were welcomed by Prince Muhammad

Azam Shah Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam (28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known as Azam Shah, was briefly the Mughal emperor who reigned from 14 March 1707 to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his chief cons ...

Mirza, who conducted them to the imperial harem. However, in February 1681, when Prince Muhammad Akbar Mirza had initiated a rebellion against his father, Aurangzeb, Aurangabadi was sent back to Delhi. She was accompanied by Salima Banu Begum, wife of Prince Muhammad Akbar Mirza and daughter of Prince

Sulaiman Shikoh Sulaiman Shikoh ( ur, ) was a Mughal prince and the eldest son of Crown prince Dara Shikoh. He was executed in May 1662 at Gwalior Fort on the orders of his paternal uncle, Emperor Aurangzeb. Early life Shazada Muhammad Sulaiman Shikoh Bahadu ...

Mirza. In March 1686, before Aurangzeb's march to capture the fort of Bijapur, Khan Jahan Bahadur was sent to Burhanpur to bring Aurangabadi. An emerald smarani was made over to him for her. She reached Aurangzeb's camp at Sholapur from Delhi in May 1686, and was welcomed at the door of the fort near the deorhi by Prince

Muhammad Kam Bakhsh Muhammad Kam Bakhsh ( fa, محمد کامبخش; 7 March 1667 – 14 January 1709) was the youngest son of Emperor Aurangzeb, born to his wife Udaipuri Mahal. Early life Kam Bakhsh was born on 7 March 1667 at Delhi. He was the fifth son of six ...

Mirza. She followed Aurangzeb to Bijapur, and remained there after its conquest in September 1686.

Death

In November 1688, Aurangabadi was still living in Bijapur, when plague spread out in the city. The plague was the cause of death of a number of people, and one of its victims was Aurangabadi Mahal. After her death, Saqi Must'ad Khan, the author of the "Ma'asir-i-Alamgiri" described her as 'the Emperor's parastar, the old and devoted hand-maid.' When Zeb-un-nissa Begum heard of her illness, she was deeply grieved, for she had always been nice to everybody. Her death removed the last rival of Aurangzeb's youngest and most beloved concubine,

Udaipuri Mahal Udaipuri Mahal (died July 1707) was a concubine of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Life Described as 'the darling of Aurangzeb's old age', Udaipuri Mahal had been a slave girl in the harem of Prince Dara Shikoh, and before entering his harem, she ...

, the mother of Prince Kam Bakhsh.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurangabadi Maal Year of birth unknown 1688 deaths Mughal nobility Wives of Aurangzeb 17th-century Indian women 17th-century Indian people Indian people of Georgian descent Indian slaves 17th-century slaves Slave concubines People from Aurangabad, Maharashtra