Excerpt of Article 'Akbar had No Real Love of His Life'

Unlike other Great Mughal emperors (including Jahangir and Shah Jahan), it seems Akbar was not a very romantic man. While he did sleep with countless many women, particularly when he was still young, it seems he had no real "love of his life". It is however well documented that his cousin Salima Sultana, whom he married after Bairam Khan's death, was clearly his favorite, in spite of the fact that she did not bear him any children. She was highly influential, probably much more than Akbar's mother was, and Akbar greatly valued her opinion. She appears to have been intelligent, exceptionally well-read, and an accomplished poetess, but to my knowledge, she has not left any published memoirs to posterity.

It is reported that no less than 5,000 women lived in Akbar's palace, of whom, chroniclers hasten to reassure us, "only" about 300 (still a highly impressive number) were his wives or concubines. It should be remembered, though, that these unions were, above all, politically inspired: many a local ruler was more than eager to send one of his daughters to the imperial palace and thus establish a family link between himself and the emperor.

It is also well documented, that the ladies in the imperial palace were quite influential and active in society. Many mosques, madrasas and other monuments of the Mughal era have in fact been commissioned by women! It is also reported that the princess of Amber (Akbar's first Hindu wife and Jahangir's mother) was a highly astute business woman, who ran an active international trade in spices, silk, etc., and thus amassed a private fortune which dwarfed the treasury of many a European king...