Zain Khan Koka (died 1601) was a leading official in the

Mugal Empire Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

under

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 ...

, including serving for a time as governor of

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 ...

. Zain Khan was the son of Akbar's wetnurse and thus received the title "Koka" which means foster brother. He was an accomplished musician besides being a military leader. In 1585 he was made one of the leaders of the Mughal forces fighting to bring the

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...

Afghan tribe under Mughal control. In 1596 he was made governor of Kabul.

Daughter's marriage with Jahangir

In 1596 Prince Salim (future 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 ...

) became violently enamoured of Zain Khan Koka's daughter

Khas Mahal Khas Mahal ( fa, خاص محل), meaning "The exquisite one of the palace", was one of the chief wives of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Family Khas Mahal was the daughter of Zain Khan Koka. Zain Khan was the son of Khawajah Maqsud of Herat and Pi ...

, and meditated marrying her. Akbar was displeased at the impropriety. The cause of Akbar's objection was

Sahib Jamal Sahib Jamal ( fa, صاحب جمال; died 25 June 1599) was the wife of Prince Salim, the future Mughal emperor Jahangir and the mother of his second son, Prince Parviz. Family Sahib Jamal was of Turkish origin and was the daughter of a res ...

who had already been married to Salim. Akbar objected to marriages between near relations. However, when Akbar saw that Salim's heart was immoderately affected, he, of necessity, gave his consent. There was a great feast and joy. The marriage took place on the eve of 28 June 1596 at the house of

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.Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

References

Sources

John F. Richards John F. Richards (November 3, 1938 – August 23, 2007) was a historian of South Asia and in particular of the Mughal Empire. He was Professor of History at Duke University, North Carolina, and a recipient in 2007 of the Distinguished Contributio ...

, ''

The New Cambridge History of India ''The New Cambridge History of India'' is a major multi-volume work of historical scholarship published by Cambridge University Press. It replaced ''The Cambridge History of India'' published between 1922 and 1937. The new history is being publis ...

: The Mughal Empire'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 19930 p. 50.
description connected with painting of Zain Khan
1601 deaths Mughal Empire people Year of birth unknown {{Mughal-stub