New Delhi: Contrary to popular belief, the Mughal Empire had its share of powerful women. While the names of Nur Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are the most famous among the Mughal women, the life and legacy of Hamida Banu Begum and the key role she played in the early years of the empire need to be unearthed once again. And in this article, we are going to do precisely that.
Who was Hamida Banu Begum?
Hamida Banu Begum was Humayun’s empress consort, the second Mughal emperor. Also, she was Akbar’s mother, the third Mughal emperor who gave her the title of ‘Mariam Makani’. She also had the title of Padshah Begum during Akbar’s reign. Born in 1527 to a Persian family which had close ties with the Mughals, she met Humayun when he was just 14 years old in Alwar.
Interestingly, during the negotiations for a marriage between Humayun and Hamida, both she and Hindal Mirza, the youngest son of Emperor Babur and Humayun’s half-brother bitterly opposed the marriage proposal. It is believed that they were possibly in love with each other, but there is only circumstantial evidence to support this theory. In her book ‘Humayun-nama’, Gulbadan Begum, the sister of Hindal and also a close friend of Hamida mentioned that she used to frequently visit her brother’s palace. However, after about 40 days of persuasion from Humayun and at Dildar Begum, Hinda’s mother’s insistence, she agreed to marry the second Mughal emperor. Notably, at that time, Humayun was in exile after being defeated by Sher Shah.
How did she influence the Mughal Empire?
Hamida Banu was a constant companion of Humayun during their days in exile. She undertook a perilous journey through the desert through the desert in 1542 with him to reach Umerkot, where Rana Prasad sheltered them. Two months later, she gave birth to Akbar, on October 15, 1542. She would go on numerous tough journeys with her husband who was trying to get back the empire. She went with an infant Akbar to a camp at Jūn after travelling for 10 days. In 1543, she travelled from Sindh aiming to reach Qandahar but both she and Humayun had to diverfrom Shal-mastan and travel through a desert.
She left Akbar behind and went with Humayun to Persia, always encouraging him. In 1544, at a camp at Sabzawar, she gave birth to a daughter. But the child along with her full sister died during Hamida’s return journey from Persia. She would see Akbar again on November 15, 1545, and the scene of the young boy meeting and identifying his mother among a group of women is described in ‘Akbarnama’. In 1548, she and Akbar went to Kabul along with Humayun.
Hamida Banu endured a tough, rather very tough life and even when Humayun got back his empire, her days as the empress were short due to the untimely death of her husband. But she wielded immense power during Akbar’s reign and even secured pardons for state offenders. After Akbar took firm hold of the Mughal Empire, Hamida joined him from Kabul during the second year of his reign in 1557. Also, she intervened in politics several times and had a key role to play in ousting Bairam Khan, the man who was the guardian of Akbar during the initial years of his reign.
Hamida Banu passed away on August 29, 1604, and she was buried in Humayun’s Tomb which she commissioned. According to English traveller Thomas Coryat, during one of her journeys to Agra from Lahore, Akbar carried her palanquin himself across the river. When Prince Salim (Jahangir) rebelled against Akbar, Hamida interevened. Due to her effprts, Akbar settled for peace with his son even after Salim killed Abu’l-Fazl, the emperor’s close minister, averting a prolonged civil war in the Mughal Empire.
Hamida Banu Begum was the empress consort of Humayun, the second Mughal emperor and the mother of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor. She wielded immense power during Akbar’s reign and even secured pardons for state offenders. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
