Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
This is a list of Mughal empresses. Most of these empresses were either from branches of the Timurid dynasty or from the royal houses of the Rajputs. Alongside Mughal emperors, these empresses played a role in the building up and rule of the Mugha ...
from 26 December 1530 to 17 May 1540 and 22 February 1555 to 27 January 1556 as the first wife and chief consort of the second 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, Northe ...
. She was known as Zan-i-Kalan being the first wife of Humayun and was also known as Haji Begum after she performed the '' Hajj'' pilgrimage.
Bega Begum began the tradition of commissioning monuments in the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
when she had her husband's mausoleum commissioned in the late 16th century,
Humayun's Tomb
Humayun's tomb ( Persian: ''Maqbara-i Humayun'') is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum under her patronage in 1558, and designed by Mir ...
at
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that decisively influence the design of the later
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
from Khurasan and was the daughter of Humayun's maternal uncle (''taghai''), Yadgar Beg, who was the brother of Sultan Ali Mirza, father of
Kamran Mirza
Kamran Mirza ( fa, ) (1512 – 5 October 1557) was the second son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal Emperor. Kamran Mirza was born in Kabul to Babur's wife Gulrukh Begum. He was half-brother to Babur's eldest ...
's wife Gulrukh Begum. She was a wise, well educated woman and had profound knowledge of medicine and treatment also.
Bega married her
first cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
, Prince Nasir ud-din (later known as 'Humayun' upon his accession) in 1527. The marriage took place while Humayun was in
Badakshan
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 ...
during his second term as
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
of the province (1527-1529). In November of 1528, she gave birth to Humayun's first child and son, ShahzadaAl-aman Mirza. The imperial couple were tremendously congratulated by the Emperor Babur on the birth of an heir, although the connotation of his name, 'Al-aman', he thought ominous. The prince died in his infancy.
Empress
Upon Emperor Babur's death in December 1530, Humayun ascended the throne at twenty three-years of age, while Bega was just nineteen when she became empress. She subsequently came to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for the first time, while accompanying her husband. Bega was held in high regard by Humayun throughout his life and remained his favourite as well as his chief consort until his death.
In 1531, Bega announced her second pregnancy to the imperial family after arriving in
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
from
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
. Here, she gave birth to her last known child, a daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum. In 1539, Bega accompanied her husband to Chausa,
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, where she was taken as a prisoner by
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
, after a well developed surprise attack on the Mughal territory by Sher Shah's forces. According to
Niccolao Manucci
Niccolao Manucci (19 April 1638 – 1717) was a Venetian writer, a self-taught physician, and traveller, who wrote accounts of the Mughal Empire supposedly first-hand but with many details now considered doubtful. He also documented folk beliefs ...
, she was the only Mughal empress to have ever been held captive.
On the morning of 26 June 1539, Humayun learned about her captivity, he immediately sprang on a horse and collected a small guard consisting of four nobles, Tardi Beg, Baba Beg, Koch Beg, and MrBachka Bahadur. Endeavouring to save the empress, they attempted to fight their way through the Afghan crowd and in doing so all except Tardi Beg were cut down. He alone returned to Humayun. ''The Tazkirat-ul-umard'' mentions the death of one Mir Pehlwan Badakshi. Initially, two faithful officers - Baba Julair and Que Beg - while zealously attempting to execute the emperor's orders, courted "
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
at the door of ''Her Majestys enclosure" and were slain at the entrance of the private tents.
While in captivity, the empress was treated by Sher Shah with the utmost courtesy and respect and he had her returned to Humayun escorted by his most trusted general, Khwas Khan. Unfortunately, the ordeal at Chausa led to death of her eight-year-old daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum, on 27 June. Humayun became extremely devastated and regretted ever bringing his daughter to Chausa in the first place. He blamed himself, confessing to his younger brother
Hindal Mirza
Abu'l-Nasir Muhammad (4 March 1519 – 20 November 1551), better known by the sobriquet Hindal ( Chagatai: "Taker of India"), was a Mughal prince and the youngest son of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal e ...
, 'In the earlier disturbance, Aqiqa Bibi is daughterhad disappeared and I suffered from everlasting regret why I had not killed her myself' est she fall into the enemy's hands a sentiment that his brother entirely endorsed.
Bega was also with Humayun throughout his long exile in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
at the court of the Safavid dynasty. She also took an active interest in the affairs of the state. Bega Begum's brother-in-law, Zahid Beg, was favoured when he was appointed Governor of Bengal which the latter declined. Humayun wanted to punish him but she interceded, though in vain, to seek the Emperor's pardon for him.
Dowager empress
When Humayun died in 1556, Bega Begum grieved so deeply over her husband's death that she dedicated her life thenceforth to a sole purpose: the construction of the most magnificent mausoleum in the empire, at a site near the
Yamuna River
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...
in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
for the memorial of the late emperor. Bega Begum undertook a pilgrimage to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
and
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
for '' Hajj'' in 1564, but before starting on her absence from the Court for three years, she made arrangements for the construction of the mausoleum at her own cost. She returned from ''Hajj'' in 1567, then led a retired life at Delhi and supervised the project.
The empress' choice of architect for the construction of the mausoleum was the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas. Bega Begum was interested in patronizing education and so she established a
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
near the mausoleum. She was also responsible for the construction of the ''Arab Sarai'' near the tomb.
Death
Bega Begum died in 1582 in Delhi, after a brief illness, and was mourned by her step-son, the Emperor Akbar; whom she shared an extremely close relationship with. Akbar was, in fact, so attached to her that many people, as Akbar himself confirmed, mistook her to be his real mother and confused her with his biological mother,
Hamida Banu Begum
Hamida Banu Begum ( 1527 – 29 August 1604), was the queen consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar.`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (Badauni) called Bega Begum 'second mother to the Emperor kbar. Akbar escorted her body to Humayun's Tomb for her burial.
Legacy
During the Mughal era (sixteenth to nineteenth century) the practice of commissioning monuments received a fillip through the efforts of Bega Begum with the construction of Humayun's Tomb. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that was to decisively influence the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture. The mausoleum was principally based on Persian architectural vocabularies, but was cleverly Indianized. The surrounding garden was also the first prodigious materialization of the form of the Persian 'Chahar Bagh' (Quartered Garden) in India. The mausoleum is the best representative monument in the Indian capital (Delhi) of the past authority of the Mughal Empire.