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Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (?also spelled as Ruqayya, Ruqayyah) (1542 ' 19 January 1626) was Empress of the Mughal Empire as the first wife and chief consort of Emperor Akbar.She was the longest serving Mughal Empress having a tenure of over 49 years.Ruqaiya was born a Mughal princess (Shahzadi) and was the only daughter of Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, who was Akbar's paternal uncle as well.She was also the granddaughter of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal Emperor, as well as the niece of the second Mughal Emperor Humayun.As the Emperor's chief consort, Ruqaiya wielded major political influence over Akbar and played a crucial role in negotiating a settlement between her husband and her step-son, 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
F a m i l y
Shahzadi Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was born a Mughal princess as the only daughter of Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, the youngest and favourite son of Emperor Babur from his wife Dildar Begum. Ruqaiya's mother, Sultanam Begum, was the daughter of Muhammad Musa Khwaja and the younger sister of Mahdi Khwaja, who was the brother-in-law of Emperor Babur, being the husband of his sister, Khanzada Begum.[8] Ruqaiya's eldest paternal uncle was the Emperor Humayun, who later became her father-in-law as well and her paternal aunt was Gulbadan Begum, the author of Humayun Nama ("Book of Humayun") which is the account of the life of Emperor Humayun.
M a r r i a g e
At the age of nine, Princess Ruqaiya married her first cousin, Akbar, in November of 1551 at Jalandhar, Punjab, shortly after her husband's first appointment as a Viceroy in the province of Ghazni, Afghanistan.The marriage was arranged by Ruqaiya's uncle and Akbar's father, Emperor Humayun, and took place soon after the untimely death of Ruqaiya's father, Hindal Mirza, who died in a battle. As a result, Ghazni, which was one of her father's jagir, was given to her husband, Akbar, to whom were also transferred her father's army and adherents.Ruqaiya became Empress of the Mughal Empire at the age of fourteen years following her husband's accession to the throne in 1556. As empress, she bore the exalted title of Padshah Begum, a title reserved for the first lady of the Empire and the Emperor's principal consort and therefore, rightly bestowed upon Ruqaiya.Akbar's profound affection for his wife came to the fore in his early middle-age, when he stated that had he been wiser earlier in his life, he would not have taken more than one wife. He regretted to have ever taken another wife apart from Ruqaiya, and even went so far as to recommend monogamy, saying, "To seek more than one wife is to work one's own undoing. In case she [the wife] were barren or bore no son, it might then be practical, but still improper." Throughout her fifty three years of marriage, Ruqaiya remained childless, but assumed the primary responsibility for the upbringing of her grandson, Prince Khurram (the future Emperor Shah Jahan).When Khurram was born in 1592 and was only six days old, Akbar ordered that prince be taken away from his mother and handed him over to Ruqaiya so that he could grow up under her care. Ruqaiya oversaw Khurram's education as well.Ruqaiya and Khurram, therefore, shared a close relationship much like the relationship that Akbar had shared with Khurram (the prince had been a favourite of his grandfather). Khurram's father and Ruqaiya's step-son, Jahangir, noted that Ruqaiya had loved Khurram "a thousand times more than if he had been her own son".Despite the fact that she did not bear any children, she was Akbar's beloved wife and his only consort who had the best claim of being his favourite. She was always kept in high regard by her husband as he great respect and affection for her. Ruqaiya was thus, the most senior and highest ranked figure in the imperial harem and at Court during her husband's reign as well as in his successor's (Jahangir) reign.Thereby, she took precedence over every other wife of Akbar, not only because she was his chief consort but also because she was his only wife who was the most supreme in terms of birth, being herself a Mughal princess and thus, belonging to the Timurid dynasty. Her step-son, Jahangir, whom Ruqaiya greatly supported as her husband's successor, also had great respect and affection for his step-mother and fondly speaks of her in his memoirs.The Empress also took active part in court politics and had major political influence over the Emperor. She played a crucial role in negotiating a settlement between her husband 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.Ruqaiya also owned trading ships which carried out overseas trade of the Empire.[18] Apart from her own palace at Fatehpur Sikri, Ruqaiya owned palaces outside the fort in Agra, near the Jamuna river, a privilege given to Mughal princesses only and sometimes to empresses who were kept in high esteem. Ruqaiya was both.In 1607, Ruqaiya went for a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of her father Hindal, in Kabul, while being accompanied by Jahangir. The same year, Sher Afghan's wife, Mihrunnissa (later Empress Nur Jahan) upon her husband's death, was appointed lady-in-waiting to the now Dowager Empress, Ruqaiya. Mihrunnisa, together with her daughter, Ladli Begum, served as ladies-in-waiting to the Empress for four years while earnestly endeavouring to please their imperial mistress.
D e a t h
Ruqaiya died in 1626, at the age of eighty four having outlived her husband by twenty years. She was buried on the fifteenth level in the Gardens of Babur (Bagh-e-Babur) in Kabul, which is also the resting place of her grandfather, Emperor Babur and her father, Hindal Mirza. Her tomb was built by her grandson, Emperor Shah Jahan.While recording her death in his autobiography, Jahangir fondly speaks of Ruqaiya and makes note of her exalted status as Akbar's chief wife and the unmatched position she held in her husband's life.
Edited by disha15 - 10 years ago
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