Mariam uz-Zamani_Wikipedia Info

Mariam uz-Zamani (Other names: Rukmavati Sahiba, Harkha Bai) was a wife of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Hira Kunwari, was the eldest daughter of Raja Bhar Mal of Amer. She was also the sister of Bhagwandas and the aunt of Man Singh I of Amber, who later became one the nine jewels (Navaratnas) in the court of Akbar.

Life

In a marriage of political alliance, Mariam uz-Zamani was married to Akbar on February 6, 1562 at Sambhar, Rajasthan, India. She was 22 days older than her husband. She became a secondary wife of Akbar after Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, who was Akbar's first wife and chief consort and Empress Salima Sultan Begum, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan. As per the custom of renaming a Hindu wife, Hira Kunwari was given the title Mariam uz-Zamani ("Mary of the Age").

Mariam Zamani Palace, where all of Akbar's Hindu wives resided

A Hindu by birth, she remained a Lord Krishna devotee, and until now her palace is decorated with Krishna paintings and frescos. She is said to have been involved in court politics until Nur Jahan became empress. In 1586 she wed her son, Prince Salim (later Jahangir), to her niece, Man Bai, who was the mother of Prince Khusrau Mirza.

Mariam uz-Zamani owned and oversaw the ships that carried Haj pilgrims to and from the Islamic holy city Mecca. In 1613, her ship, the Rahm was seized by Portuguese pirates along with the 600-700 passengers and the cargo. When the Portuguese officially refused to return the ship and the passengers, the outcry at the Moghul court was quite severe. Mariam uz-Zamani's son, the Indian emperor Jahangir, ordered the seizure of the Portuguese town Daman. This episode is considered to be an example of the struggle for wealth that would later ensue and lead to colonization of the Indian sub-continent.

Mariam uz-Zamani died in 1623. As per her last wishes, a vav or step well was constructed by Jahangir. Her tomb, built in 1611, is on the Tantpur road now known as in Jyoti Nagar. She was buried according to Islamic custom. The Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was built by her son Nuruddin Salim Jahangir and is situated in the Walled City of Lahore, present day Pakistan, while Mariam's Tomb is situated at Agra, which was also built by Jahangir. The tomb's location reduced its chances of becoming a tourist attraction, but likewise, its lack of visibility meant it fell into a state of disrepair.

The misnomer Mariam uz-Zamani

There is a popular perception that the wife of Akbar, mother of Jahangir, was known as "Jodha Bai".

Her name as in Mughal chronicles was Mariam uz-Zamani. This is why the mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was constructed in The Walled City Of Lahore, present day Pakistan, by her son Salad Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, the autobiography of Jahangir, doesn't mention Jodha Bai. Therein, she is referred to as Mariam uz-Zamani. Neither the Akbarnama (a biography of Akbar commissioned by Akbar himself), nor any historical text from the period refer to her as Jodha Bai

According to Professor Shirin Moosvi, a historian of Aligarh Muslim University, the name "Jodha Bai" was first used to refer to Akbar's wife in the 18th and 19th centuries in historical writings. According to the historian Imtiaz Ahmad, the director of the Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library in Patna, by Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod, in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan.

According to Professor N R Farooqi, a historian of Allahabad Central University, Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbar's queen; it was the name of Jahangir's wife Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani the Princess of Jodhpur, whose real name was Jagat Gosain.