Bakht-un-Nissa Begum ( 1547 – 2 June 1608) was a Mughal princess, the daughter of the Mughal emperor

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...

Birth

Bakht-un-Nissa Begum was born in 1547 in

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

. Her mother was

Mah Chuchak Begum Mah Chuchak Begum (meaning ''moon flower''; died 28 March 1564) was a wife of the second Mughal emperor Humayun. She was an ambitious lady who threw out the Naib Subadar and ruled Kabul on her own, once leading her army in person and defeating Mu ...

. On the night of her birth Humayun had a dream, and it occurred to him that she be named ''Bakht-un-Nissa'' ( fa, , lit=fortunate among women). Her siblings included,

Mirza Muhammad Hakim Shahzada Mirza Muhammad Hakim (29 April 1553 – 10 October 1585), sometimes known simply as Mirza Hakim, was the third son of the Mughal emperor Humayun. He ruled Kabul in Afghanistan, and often conflicted with his elder brother, Emperor Akbar. ...

, Farrukh Fal Mirza,

Sakina Banu Begum Sakina Banu Begum (died 25 August 1604) was a Mughal princess, the daughter of Mughal emperor Humayun. Life Sakina Banu Begum was the daughter of Emperor Humayun, and his wife Mah Chuchak Begum. Her siblings included, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Farru ...

, and Amina Banu Begum.

Marriages

Shah Abdul Ma'ali

During Mah Chuchak Begum's rule at Kabul, Shah Abdul Ma'ali, who belonged to the family of the great

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

s of

Termez Termez ( uz, Termiz/Термиз; fa, ترمذ ''Termez, Tirmiz''; ar, ترمذ ''Tirmidh''; russian: Термез; Ancient Greek: ''Tàrmita'', ''Thàrmis'', ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is ...

, who had escaped from the prison at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, arrived at Kabul and approached her for refuge. The Begum welcomed him, was generous to him and gave her daughter Bakht-un-Nissa Begum in marriage with him. However, soon Abdul Ma'ali grew tired of the dominating and interfering ways of Mah Chuchak Begum. He wanted Kabul for himself. So he killed the Begum 1564. Hakim Mirza was luckily rescued by Sulaiman Mirza of Badakshan, who defeated and killed Abdul Ma'ali and helped Mirza Hakim to keep his hold over Kabul.

Khawaja Hasan

After Abdul Ma'ali's death, Hakim Mirza married her to Khawaja Hasan Naqshbandi of Badakshan. With Hasan, she had two sons, Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman and Mirza Wali. After Hakim Mirza's death, Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman fled to

Transoxania Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

, where he died in exile. The begum, and her son Mirza Wali joined the court, and Akbar did much to please her. In 1619,

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 ...

married Mirza Wali to Bulaqi Begum, the daughter of Prince

Daniyal Mirza Shahzada Daniyal Mirza (11 September 1572 – 19 March 1605) was an Imperial Prince of the Mughal Empire who served as the Viceroy of the Deccan. He was the third son of Emperor Akbar and the brother of Emperor Jahangir. Daniyal was Akbar's ...

, the son of Akbar.

Governorship of Kabul

Her brother, Hakim Mirza was the governor of Kabul. In 1581, he rebelled in Kabul, and advanced to

invading

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

on the way. Here he was checked by Man Singh, who was the governor of Punjab at that time. Akbar declared war on him and himself went to Kabul. Mirza Hakim went to the hills. Akbar pardoned him, but the governorship of Kabul was now given to Bakht-un-Nissa Begum. Akbar also promised not to show any kindness to Hakim if he misbehaved in future. After Akbar's return from Kabul, Hakim got his old position, but all the official orders were issued in Bakht-un-Nissa's name.

Death

Bakht-un-Nissa Begum died of consumption and hectic fever on 1 June 1608.

Annotations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakht-un-Nissa Begum Mughal princesses 1547 births 1608 deaths Mughal nobility Timurid dynasty Indian female royalty 16th-century Indian women 16th-century Indian people 17th-century Indian women 17th-century Indian people Daughters of emperors