Gender Relations at Imperial Court

Let us for the purposes of this course, study Gender during Mughal rule. The requirements
of a hereditary rule put women right at the center of power.
The colonial ideology has projected the Haram as nothing but a place of sexual gratification
for the emperor where the women led a restricted and unfulfilled lives. However, in reality the
Haram was a place where very hardworking, educated and successful women lived.

Women during the reign of Babur and Humayun

When the central Asian semi-nomadic war lord Babur rode into Hindustan, he did not only
bring Warriors with him. He Brought his Haram or household, which included elderly
matrons, young wives, children, servants, widowed relatives, sisters and unmarried royal
relatives.
Khanzada Begum
She was Babur’s elder sister and enjoyed great respect at the court of Babur and Humayun
until she lived. During Babur’s early years he was at war with the Uzbek warlord Shaybani
Khan and lost to him. To ensure babur’s safety Khanzada Begum was left behind with
Shyabani khan and Babur was always grateful to her for her sacrifice hence when she
returned to Babur after Shaybani khan’s death, Khanzada Begum was made Padshah
Begum of the Mughal Court and remained so till she lived. She was the greatest political
advisor to babur and Humayun guiding them in every decision they took for the newly found
Empire. When Kamran Mirza, Babur’s younger son rebelled against his brother and emperor
Humayun, Khanzada Begum was sent to him as the emperor’s ambassador to reconcile
things between the brothers.

Fig. 1: Khanzada begum seated in

front of an attentive and respectful
Babur, raising a commanding hand
while speaking to the men.
Gulbadan Begum
Gulbadan Begum, sister of Humayun and daughter of Babur, arrived in Hindustan at the age
of five. Many years later, she was asked by her nephew Akbar to write a biography of
Humayun. It is this document- the Humayun-Nama that has been used most extensively by
scholars to understand the inside life of the Haram as it talks about the ladies in the lives of
both Babur and Humayun in great detail. It tells us that the Haram in the initial years of the
Mughal Empire was not a private, enclosed space that it became from the time of Akbar. The
women of the haram experience no rigid limitations on their freedom and the matriarchs like
Khanzada begum are especially called upon again and again by the emperor to fulfil public
roles. Gulbadan begum was one of the first female writers of the Mughal empire and through
her writings she has both explicitly and implicitly shattered the stereotypical phenomenas
associated with the haram.

Fig. 2: Gulbadan Begum

Depiction of Women in Humayun-nama

There are many sources available to reconstruct the history of the glorious Mughal empire.
These sources discuss the economic, the political and even the social spheres of the
empire. However, not many sources are available that give us a view of both the outside
world and working of the inner most sector of the Empire that is the Haram. One such source
is Gulbadan Begum’s Humayun Nama. Humayun nama is a very different source in itself.
Most of the sources about the Mughal empire available to us are from the European world
and discuss the Mughal empire as the Europeans must have viewed and experienced it. In
aspect of gender dimensions, the European sources unlike Gulbadan Begum’s Humayun
Nama, were based on their ‘imagination’ of the Haram as they had no rights of entry to it.
They could only yearn to visit the Haram and never had an actual access to it. Thus as
outsiders, they depicted the Women of the Haram as ‘objects of Sexual Gratification’ by the
emperor, who were always jealous of each other and who had no say in the working of the
Empire.
This is where Gulbadan Begum’s Humayun Nama stand apart, not only from European but
most of the sources discussing the lives of the haram insiders. It shatters all such myths and
can be considered as one of the most authentic source about the inner quarters as it was
written by a haram inmate who had seen the reign of three Mughal Emperors- Babur (her
father), Humayun (her brother) and Akbar (her nephew). Through Gulbadan’s accounts one
gets to know of that Haram under Babur and Humayun was a mobile and rugged space in
which the purdah of the women was not so strict and frequently porous.
She also records the gifts that were sent for the ladies of the haram by babur after winning
the battle in India. She writes how babur had sent gifts for all ladies of the Harem young or
old and had asked for them to be distributed amongst the women. Which further highlights
the importance of these women.
Gulbadan begum’s account mentions some exciting fragments that are never referred to in
the men’s biographies. One hears of Babur’s preference for Maham begum (Humayun’s
mother) over his other wives. One can also understand the close-knit and layered
relationships in the haram and the kind of relationship Humayun shared with his wives. Like,
Hamida Bano begum who was determined to stay beside her husband during his troubled
times. She also writes about Bega begum who spoke her mind in front of her husband,
disagrees with him on various occasions and was even quick to take offence but still
remained an important part of Humayun’s haram.
A crucial moment from the Humayun Nama to trace the role of women in the Mughal world is
Gulbadan’s writing of her brother’s accession to the throne. She describes a mystic feast
given in the honor of the emperor by Khanzada begum, who was rich and mighty enough to
throw such a feast. She mentions all the young and old women present at the event. While
describing the feast, she records the name of 36 of the 96 women present their, who were all
members of the royal family and were as much a part of the feastings and gatherings as
men. She particularly describes two women- Shad begum and Mihrangaz Begum, writing
“they had a great friendship and dressed up as men in men clothing” she also writes that
they were adorned with various accomplishments like playing polo. Shooting and playing
musical instruments which means that they were active members of the society. Hence,
although they were different from the lot, they weren’t left out and were very much a part of
all social gatherings.

In Gulbadan’s writings we also come across more tender lives, most likely to be overlooked
by male biographers who focused on writing about the glory of the emperor. Like there is the
six year old daughter of humayun Aqiqa, who was lost at a famous battle, presumed
drowned. Gulbadan begum mentions how an emotional Humayun approached her and
regrets taking his small daughter with him.
Most of the male centric writings, fail to point out the emotional aspects of the lives of the
emperors and their families. However, Gulbadan begum clears writes about the emotions
experienced by both Babur and Humayun. For example, she writes about how furious Babur
was when Humayun made him wait for a meeting as he was busy with his mother who he
had met after a long time. She also mentions of how happy Babur was upon learning that
Gulbadan Begum and her mother Mahim Begum had finally arrived in Hindustan and were
near the court that he didn’t even wait for a horse and ran to meet them. Such intricate
details are however missing from her father’s accounts that is the Baburnama.
 Women During the Reign of Akbar and Jahangir
It was during the long reign of Akbar, that a notion of a separate private space for women
first came up. It was also at this time that it was considered undignified to mention the royal
Mughal women by name and so they became hidden behind the anonymity of grandiose
titles: Maryam Makani for Akbar’s mother Hamida Banu begum and Maryam Uz Zamani for
Jahangir’s mother. However, this never meant a decreased participation of the women of the
Haram in political and administrative affairs. Neither were they cut off completely from the
outside world, there is mention of Gulbadan Begum going to hajj with a small group of
women under Akbar’s rule.

Fig. 3: Hamida Banu sits on a chair by her reclining daughter-in-law Harkha Bai, who has just given birth to Jahangir.

Harkha Bai (Maryam-uz-zamani)

Born to Rajput Raja Bharmal of Amber, Harkha Bai married Akbar in 1562 and joined the
royal haram. However, she did not come alone, with her she brought many Hindu customs
and religious beliefs that she practiced freely in the Mughal Haram. She became one of the
chief wives of Akbar and was also an important member of the Haram during her son
Jahangir’s reign.
After Akbar died, Salim, who crowned himself as Jahangir, would double the royal stipend of
Harkha Bai and give her a cavalry command of 12000 men. This is where Harkha Bai would
truly come into her own.
Along with the cavalry at her command, the Rajput-Mughal royal also had the right to issue
firmans. Harkha Bai was not dependent on her husband or son’s financial support. She
owned properties, would conduct trade and had the right to a salary for running the Harem.
While she was often given gifts in forms of gems, jewels and horses, Harkha Bai had chosen
trade to be one of her most important revenue sources. She was not only one of the
wealthiest women on earth at that time but also had unparalleled influence over Jahangir.
One of Harkha Bai’s most prized possessions was ‘Rahimi’, the largest Indian ship in the
seas at that time and the vessel that carried 600-700 pilgrims to Mecca every year. The
newly aggressive trade partners with the Mughals, Portuguese demanded that every ship
that sails through their marine “territory” must carry their license. This license, much to the
annoyance of the Mughals in India, was an image of the Christian Virgin Mary. Having to put
up an image of the Christian figure was an insult to the Mughals. But, to keep the peace, the
‘Rahimi’ too, carried the pass on the seas.
In 1613, the Portuguese seized this royal ship and forced it to sail to Goa, along with the 700
people on board. The ‘Rahimi’ had the pass, but the Portuguese were trying to gain leverage
over the other European traders who seemed to frequent the Mughal empire. They figured
that they could terrorise the Mughals into giving them special treatment. Adding oil to the fire
(literally), the Portuguese also set the ship on fire. But, they misunderstood the Mughals.
Rather than begging for their subjects, who were on route for the Holy pilgrimage, to be
released, the royals blazed with anger. And insult to the grand empress was an insult to the
entire empire. Taking quick and stern action, Jahangir blocked all Portuguese trade from
Surat- the most important trade port.
The Portuguese, who had thought that this incident would prove them to be powerful than
any other European traders in the Empire were left to beg for mercy from the Emperor and
Maryam-uz-zamani, but in vain and had to ultimately leave the Empire. Such was the power
and influence of this Rajput-Mughal queen.

Wet Nurses and Foster Mothers

Another element in the harem was that of fostering children among the wives of the
Emperor. In Mughal domestic life under Akbar, the fostering and care of imperial children
underline the blessings that women were supposed to have obtained through any service or
attachment to the emperor. It was customary in noble families for infants to be fed by loyal
and deserving women.
The position of a wet nurse was an extremely desired one as that meant high positions and
bestowments upon the entire family of the wet nurse. Akbar had atleast eleven women
appointed as foster mothers and wet nurses the chief amongst them was Maham Anga. Next
the her was Jiji Anga.
Both these women had been said to have great influence over Akbar and their sons who
were considered to be the foster brothers of the emperor were given high positions and great
ranks at court.

Nur Jahan
Born Mehrunnissa, Nur Jahan was Jahangir’s twentieth and most favourite wife. She
enjoyed great privileges and honours and the Mughal Court. Because of her favoured status,
even her father and brother benefitted and were given prominent positions at court.
Nur Jahan was her husband’s greatest advisor and is said to have considerable influence
over the political matters of the Empire. Many historians also believe that in reality, it was
Nur Jahan who was running the empire. she even minted coins in her name and issued royal
decrees—two powers typically reserved for sovereigns, not wives.
She is also believed to have great hunting skills which Jahangir compliments in his memoir-
“The elephant sensed the lion and wouldn’t keep still, and to shoot a gun from on top of an
elephant without missing is a very difficult task…[Nūr Jahān] hit it so well on the first shot
that it died of the wound.”
She was one of the richest women of her times and contributed extensively to art and
architecture. According to the Dutch traveller Pelaert her patronage of architecture was
extensive, as he notes, "She erects very expensive buildings in all directions- "sarais", or
halting places for travellers and merchants, and pleasure gardens and palaces such that no
one has seen before”. In 1620, Nur Jahan commissioned a large "sarai" in Jalandhar district
twenty-five miles southeast of Sultanpur. It was such an important "sarai" that, according to
Shujauddin, " 'Serai Noor Mahal' in local idiom meant some spacious and important edifice.
She also constructed a Tomb for her father Itmaaduddaula in Agra. It took six years to
complete and according to many scholars its pietra dura inlay was one of the earliest true
examples of the technique in India.
According to legend, Nur Jahan is purported to have made contributions to almost every
type of fine and practical art. Nur Jahan is said to have contributed substantially by
introducing a variety of new textiles, among them silver-threaded brocade (badla) and silver-
threaded lace (kinari).
Nur Jahan was very creative and had a good fashion sense, and she is credited for many
textile materials and dresses like nurmahali dress and fine cloths.

Fig. 4: Nur Jahan holding a portrait

of Jahangir.

Fig. 5: Coins minted in Nur Jahan’s

name.
 Fig. 6: Maham Anga seated next to Emperor Akbar

Women during the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb

Mumtaz Mahal
Arjumand Banu Begum, popularly known as Mumtāz Mahal, was the chief consort of
Emperor Shahjahan. She was the daughter of Nur Jahan’s brother and was married to
Shahjahan when his was still prince Khurram. More popularly known for her love story with
her husband, she was a one of the wealthiest lady of the empire. Shah Jahan’s trust in her
was so great that he even gave her his imperial seal, the Muhr Uzah.
Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz traveled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout
his earlier military campaigns. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant and
their relationship was intense. She died in Burhanpur [1631 AD] in the Deccan (now in
Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their thirtheenth child, a daughter named Gauhara
Begum.
The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal's
death and Shah Jahan's grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement,
the Emperor was reportedly inconsolable.
Apparently after her death, Shah Jahan went into secluded mourning for a year. When he
appeared again, his hair had turned white. His back was bent, and his face worn. Since
Mumtaz had died on Wednesday, all entertainments were banned on that day. Shah Jahan
gave up listening to music, wearing jewellery or rich and colourful clothes and using
perfumes for two years. Shah Jahan's eldest daughter, the devoted Jahanara Begum,
gradually brought him out of grief and took the place of Mumtaz at court.
The Queen Mumtaz Mahal’s personal fortune valued at 10,000,000 rupees was divided by
Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half and the rest of her surviving
children.
Immediately after the burial in Burhanpur, Shah Jahan and the imperial court devoted
themselves to the planning and design of the mausoleum and funery garden in Agra, now
known as the Taj Mahal

Jahanara and Roshanara Begum

They were both Daughters of Shah Jahan and had unimaginable wealth at their disposal
which they used to create a vision of an imperial city named Shahjahanabad that their father
was building.
Jahanara was her father’s favourite and became the Padshah begum after her mother’s
death. Her contribution to the city was immense. She built Chandni Chowk, the main bazzar
of the city. Chandni Chowk had a large pool in the center, reflecting the moon light or
Chandani which gave the square its name. To the south of the square was a Hamam or a
public bath and to the north a sarai or inn, both commisioned by princess Jahanara.
Jahanara Begum was a Sufi scholar and a disciple of Nizzamuddin Auliya. She was a writer,
a poet and patron of writers and saints.
Roshanara Begum on the other hand in best known for the construction of Roshanara
Garden just outside the main city she was also a poet.
Both of them also actively participated in the politics of succession where Jahanara
supported Dara shukho and Roshnara supported Aurangzeb. After Dara’s defeat Jahanara
shifted to Agra with her father where he was put under house arrest by Aurangzeb. She only
returned to the city after Shah Jahan’s demise in 1658.

Zeb-un-nissa
She was the daughter of Aurangzeb and his chief wife Dilras Banu Begum. She was well
read in science, philosophy, literature, and was a mistress of Persian, Arabic and Urdu. She
had a good reputation in calligraphy as well. Her library surpassed all other private
collections, and she employed many scholars on liberal salaries to produce literary works at
her bidding or to copy manuscripts for her. Her library also provided literary works on each
subject, such as law, literature, history and theology.
Zeb-un-Nissa was a kind-hearted person and always helped people in need. She helped
widows and orphans. Not only did she help people but every year she sent Hajj pilgrims
to Mecca and Medina. She also took an interest in music and it was said that she was the
best singer among the women of her time. When Aurangzeb became the emperor, he used
to discuss matters of political and administrative concern with her and took her advice.
Thus, it must be noted that the matrimonial connections with an empire did not always
decide the power exercised by a woman. So, it was not just the sexuality of women which
empowered them. Most women of the Mughal Haram were in fact not wives at all. They were
mothers like Hamida Banu and Maryam-uz-zamani; Sisters like Khanzada and Gulbadan
begum; and daughters like Jahanara Begum and Roshnara Begum. All of them had role to
play and duty to perform in the empire. They were all respected and paid for these crucial
jobs. The lives they led and the influence they exerted changed over time but they were at
par with men when it came to shaping the empire in ways both subtle and significant for over
200 years.

Fig.7: Jahanara Begum

Fig. 8: Mumtaz Mahal

References:

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