Shahzada Khanum

Shahzada Khanum
Princess of the Mughal Empire
Born21 November 1569
Akbarabad, Mughal Empire
DiedMughal Empire
SpouseMuzaffar Husain Mirza
DynastyTimurid Dynasty
FatherAkbar
ReligionIslam

Khanum Sultan Begum (Persian: خانم سلطان بیگم; born 21 November 1569), better known as Shahzada Khanum (Persian: شھزادہ خانم) was a Mughal princess, the second surviving child and eldest daughter of Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Biography

Born on 21 November 1569, Shahzada Khanum was the eldest daughter of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.[1] Her mother was a royal concubine,[2] on whose death on 13 May 1599, she was deeply grieved,[3] and Akbar "soothed her somewhat by sympathy and counsels."[4] Akbar received the news of her birth when he reached Gwalior, named her Khanum Sultan and ordered rejoicings.[1] She was placed under the care of her grandmother, Hamida Banu Begum.[2]

She was well respected by her older half-brother, Jahangir who remarked – "Among all my sisters, in integrity, truth, and zeal for my welfare, she is without her equal; but her time is principally devoted to the worship of her creator."[5]

Her husband was Muzaffar Husain Mirza, the son of Prince Ibrahim Husain Mirza, a descendant of Prince Umar Sheikh Mirza, second son of Amir Timur.[6] His mother was Princess Gulrukh Begum, the daughter of Prince Kamran Mirza, son of the first Mughal emperor Babur, and brother of the next emperor Humayun.[7] He had a sister named Princess Nur-un-Nissa Begum, married to Emperor Jahangir in 1592.[8] The marriage took place on 2 September 1594 in the quarters of Hamida Banu.[9]

Shahzada maintained relations of kinship with her sister-in-law, Nur-un-Nissa, and strictly observed the rules of courtesy and proper behaviour towards her.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. II. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 509.
  2. ^ a b Emperor, Jahangir (1999). Jahangirinama. Translated by Thackston, W. M. Washington D. C; New York: Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Oxford University Press. p. 39.
  3. ^ Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 1130.
  4. ^ Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 1131.
  5. ^ Sarkar, Kobita (2007). Shah Jahan and His Paradise on Earth. Agra, India: K.P. Bagchi & Company. p. 43.
  6. ^ Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 461.
  7. ^ Begum, Gulbadan (1902). The History of Humayun (Humayun-Nama). Royal Asiatic Society. p. 234.
  8. ^ Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. pp. 969–970.
  9. ^ Fazl, Abul. The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Calcutta: ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 990.
  10. ^ Bhakkari, Shaikh Farid (1993). The Dhakhiratul-khawanin: a biographical dictionary of Mughal noblewomen. Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Dehli. pp. xv.