Saliha Banu Begum (died 10 June 1620) was
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 ...
as the wife of Emperor
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 ...
.
She was also known as the Padshah Banu Begum or the Padshah Mahal.
Family
Saliha Banu Begum was the daughter of Qaim Khan, and came from a well placed family in the government as her brother, Abdur Rahim (titled Tarbiyat Khan), was said by Jahangir to be "of the hereditary houseborn ones of this Court."
She was the granddaughter of Muqim Khan, the son of Shuja'at Khan from Akbar's time.
Marriage
Jahangir married her in 1608, in the third year of his reign. As a consequence, her brother Abdur Rahim's position greatly advanced. He was awarded with the title of Tarbiyat Khan. His son named Miyan Joh, whom Saliha had taken for her son, was killed at the banks of river Jhelum by
Mahabat Khan
Mahabat Khan ( ur, مهابت خان) (full title ''Mahabat Khan Khan-e-Khanan Sipah-Salar Zamana Beg Kabuli)'', born Zamana Beg (died 1634), was a prominent Mughal general and statesman, perhaps best known for his coup against the Mughal Empero ...
when the latter behaved insolently towards Jahangir, in 1626.
For much of Jahangir's reign, she was the Padishah Banu ("The Sovereign Lady"), also called Padishah Mahal ("Sovereign of the Palace"),
and when she died in 1620, the title was passed on to
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 ...
.
She was, reportedly, Nur Jahan's only powerful rival for Jahangir's affections. Williams Hawkins, a representative of the
English East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southe ...
noted her among Jahangir's chief wives. He said the following:
Saliha Banu Begum was reportedly to be well versed in Hindi poetry.
Death
Saliha Banu Begum died on Wednesday, 10 June 1620.
Jahangir noted that Saliha Banu's death was foretold by the astrologer Jotik Rai; grief-stricken at her loss, he nevertheless marvelled at the accuracy of the prophecy, which had been taken from his own horoscope.
See also
*
Padshah Begum
Padshah Begum was a superlative imperial title conferred upon the empress consort or 'First Lady' of the Mughal Empire and was considered to be the most important title in the Mughal harem or ''zenana''. This title can be equivalent with "empres ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saliha Banu Begum
Wives of Jahangir
1620 deaths
16th-century Indian women
16th-century Indian people
17th-century Indian women
Place of birth unknown
Year of birth unknown
17th-century Indian Muslims
Indian nobility