In December of 1557, at the age of eighteen, Salima Begum was married to the considerably older Bairam Khan, (who was in his fifties) at Jalandhar, Punjab.[5] Bairam was the Military Commander of the Mughal Empire and a powerful statesman at the Mughal Court. It is said that the marriage excited great interest at Court. It united two streams of descent from Ali Shukr Beg, i.e. the Blacksheep Turkomans from Bairam Khan's side and Timur from Salima's side as Salima was a Timurid through her maternal grandfather, Emperor Babur, and through Mahmud, one of her great-grandfathers.[6]Salima had been betrothed to Bairam Khan by her maternal uncle, Emperor Humayun, during his reign.[7] Salima became Bairam's second wife, after the daughter of Jamal Khan of Mewat, who was the mother to his son, Abdul Rahim. Salima and Bairam Khan's short-lived marriage did not produce any children.
After only three years of marriage, Bairam Khan died in 1561 as a result of the intrigues against him instigated by Maham Anga, which culminated in his murder. Salima was subsequently married to her first cousin, Akbar, in the same year. She was three years and seven months older than him. Akbar married Salima to protect her and Bairam Khan's son Rahimlives from further political conspiracies. Salima was very talented and Akbar's only other wife apart from Ruqaiya, who was of the most exalted lineage, being a Timurid through her mother's side and thus, a granddaughter of Emperor Babur in the maternal line.[8]
Being an extensive reader, she kept accounts of her encounters with the Emperor and the state of affairs. Salima was thus, one of the most important ladies at the court.[5]
Salima and Maryam Makani played a crucial role in negotiating a settlement between Akbar and Jahangir when the father-son's relationship turned sour in the early 1600s, eventually helping to pave the way for Jahangir's accession to the throne.[5][9] During Jahangir's reign, Salima and Ruqaiya played a crucial role in securing pardon for the powerful, Khan-i-Azam, Mirza Aziz Koka, who had been sentenced to death by Jahangir.[9]
In 1575, Salima went for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca along with her aunt Princess Gulbadan Begum and many other royal ladies.[10] Salima was an accomplished poet and collected a library, to which apparently copy of all books had to be contributed, which had any currency in court circles.[11][12]
Death[edit]
Salima died on 15 December 1612 at Delhi. Her step-son, Jahangir, gives particulars of her birth and descent; her marriages and he states that she was seventy three years old at the time of her death in 1612. By his orders, her body was laid in a garden which she herself had commissioned.[13]
Jahangir praises her both for her natural qualities and her acquirements. She creates an impression of herself as a charming and cultivated woman.[13]
Fan Fictions
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
