Sarwar Sultana Begum or (Ulya (Ulli) Hazrat) (1875 – 1965), was an Afghan royal consort. She was married to

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901. ...

(r. 1901–1919), and was the mother of king

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...

(r. 1919–1929).

Life

Early life and marriage

She was the daughter of Loinab Sher Dil Khan of Shaghasi, Governor of

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

. Her sister, Tajawar Sultana married Sardar Mohammad Ali Khan Mohammadzai and they had two sons, Sardar Younus Khan and Sardar Mohammad Wali Jan. Her brother, Loinab Khush Dil Khan (born 1844) was the father of Loinab

Ali Ahmad Khan Amir Ali Ahmad Khan, ''Shaghasi'' ( ps, ; prs, ; 1883–1929) was an Afghan king from the Shaghasi family of the Barakzai tribe who was declared king of Afghanistan twice in 1929. He was first declared amir of Afghanistan by and influential cle ...

. He was married to

Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat or Bibi Gul, mostly known as just Seraj al-Banat (born 1902), was a royal princess of Afghanistan. She was born to Habibullah Khan (r. 1901-1919) and Sarwar Sultana Begum, and the sister of king Amanullah Khan ...

, Sarwar Sultana's daughter. She was one of the many wives of king

. Like his predecessors, Habibullah Khan had four official wives and a large number of unofficial wives as well as slave concubines in the royal Harem Sara palace complex in Kabul. Her husband was known to have even more wives than was common, having at least 44 official or unofficial wives, among them Ulya Janab, but Sarwar Sultana Begum was one of his four main wives. In 1919, her son succeeded to the throne, giving her a prominent position as the king's mother.

King's mother

She had an influential position at court during the reign of her son. Her son enacted a radical modernisation of the country, which included a reform in the position of women. This affected the royal court as well, as he dissolved the royal

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

and freed the enslaved bonds women of the Harem Sara palace complex. She was described by the Swedish memoir writer

Aurora Nilsson Aurora Nilsson, also known as ''Rora Asim Khan'' (1 January 1894 – 1972), was a Swedish writer who became known for her autobiographical depiction, ''Flykten från harem'' ("Escape from Harem"), about her experiences in Afghanistan during he ...

, who lived in Afghanistan with her Afghan husband in 1926–27. Nilsson visited the royal court in

Paghman Paghman (Persian/Pashto: پغمان) is a town in the hills near Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It is the seat of the Paghman District (in the western part of Kabul Province) which has a population of about 120,000 (2002 official UNHCR est.), ma ...

and Darullaman, and includes descriptions in her book of queen consort

Soraya Tarzi Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ملکه ثريا; November 24, 1899 – April 20, 1968) was the first queen consort of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particula ...

well as the mother of the king. With their encouragement, Nilsson talked to them about European customs.Rora Asim Khan (Aurora Nilsson): Anders Forsberg and Peter Hjukström: ''Flykten från harem'', Nykopia, Stockholm 1998. . Nilsson befriended the king's mother, whom she describes as influential and dominant, demonstrated dance and

gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoul ...

s for her and acted as her photographer. Nilsson described the king's mother as supportive of his modernisation reforms, and eager to assist her daughter-in-law in her role as a role model for a new modern Afghan woman. Her daughters also notably adopted Western fashion. She was noted to be tall and strict.

Later life and death

Her son was deposed in 1929, and left the country. She died in exile in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1965.

Issue

, king 1919-1929 #

(born 1902), married in 1919 to General H.E. Taj-i-Afghan ‘Ali Ahmad Jan Shaghasi. She was the co-founder of the

Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan ('Association for the Protection of Women') was a women's organization in Afghanistan, founded in 1928.Julie Billaud: Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan' It was the first women's organization in Afghan ...

(1928) and the general director of the Masturat Hospital (1924).
Afghanistan Quarterly Journal. Establishment 1946. Academic Publication of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan. Serial No: 32 & 33
' # Princess Safariya Samar Al-Siraj (born 1904), married in 1920 to Field Marshal H.R.H. Sardar Shah Wali Khan Ghazi. # Princess Razia Begum Noor Seraj (born 1909), married in 1927 to H.E. Sardar-i-Ala Muhammad Hasan Jan, GCVO (b. 1908), Court Chamberlain and Civil ADC to King Amanullah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarwar Sultana Begum 1875 births 1965 deaths Afghan royal consorts