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Mariam uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba (often shortened to Mariam-uz-Zamani), née Rajkumari Hira Kunwari Sahiba, alias Harkha Bai,[1], (October 1, 1542 - 1622), was a Rajput princess who became the Mughal Empress, and the eldest daughter of Kacchwaha Rajput, Raja Bharmal, Raja of Amber, a princely state in medieval India, near Jaipur.
Her notability arises from her marriage to the Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar. She was also the mother of emperor Nuruddin Salim Jahangir, her husband's heir.
Her name as recorded in Mughal chronicles was Mariam-uz-Zamani. This is why the mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was constructed in Lahore, Pakistan, in her honour. She has been also referred to as Jodha Bai or Jodhabai in modern times, although she was never known as such during her lifetime.
Biography
Hira Kunwar, Akbar's first Rajput wife, was the eldest daughter of Raja Bhar Mal of Amer.[2] 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.[3]
Hira Kunwari (her maiden name) was married to Akbar on January 20, 1562, at Sambhar, near Jaipur.[4] She was Akbar's third wife and one of his three chief queens. She was 22 days older than her husband. Akbar's first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum, and his second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan. After her marriage, Hira Kunwari was given the title Mariam-ul-Zamani ("Mary of the Age").[5]
She is said to have been politically involved in the court until Nur Jahan became empress.
Like few other women at the Mughal court, Maryam-uz-Zamani could issue official documents (singularly called farman), which was usually the exclusive privilege of the emperor. Maryam Zamani used her wealth and influence to build gardens, wells, and mosques around the country.[6]
In 1586, she arranged a marriage of her son, Prince Salim (later Jahangir), to her niece, Princess Manmati (Manbhawati Bai), who was the mother of Prince Khusrau Mirza.
Maryam Zamani owned and oversaw the ships that carried pilgrims to and from the Islamic holy city Mecca. In 1613, her ship, the Rahimi 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. 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 India.[6]
Maryam Zamani died in 1622.[7] As per her last wishes, a vav or step well was constructed by Jahangir. Her tomb, built in 1611, is on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, near Fatehpur Sikri. She was buried according to Islamic custom and was not cremated according to the Hindu religion. Still there is an ambiguity over her rajput origin .Rajputs is said to have swaped their daughter with a low caste maid as the final revenge just before the royal marriage.
The misnomer Jodha Bai
There is popular perception that Rajput wife of Akbar, mother of Jahangir, was known as "Jodha Bai".[2]
In Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri she is referred as Mariam Zamani.[8] Neither the Akbarnama (a biography of Akbar commissioned by Akbar himself), nor any historical text from the period refer to her as Jodha Bai.[8] Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, the autobiography of Jahangir, doesn't mention Jodha Bai either.[2]
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.[8] According to the historian Imtiaz Ahmad, the director of the Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library in Patna, the name "Jodha" was used for Akbar's wife for the first time by Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod, in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan.[5]
According to Professor N R Farooqi, a historian of Allahabad Central University, Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbar's Rajput queen; it was the name of Jahangir's Rajput wife Princess Manmati of Jodhpur, whose real name was Jagat Gosain.[2]
Protests against the film Jodhaa Akbar
The controversy over the name "Jodha Bai" is a matter of historical debate in Rajasthan, with various Rajput organisations taking the field against the director of the movie, Ashutosh Gowariker, for not portraying history correctly.
In 2008, a section of the Rajput community in Rajasthan protested against the Hindi film, Jodhaa Akbar, released on 15th of February 2008, which is about Akbar and his wife Hira Kunwari/Mariam-uz-Zamani. The wife of Akbar has been referred to as "Jodha Bai" in the movie, which has led to much controversy as a similar sounding name "Jodh Bai" is addressed to Princess Manmati of Jodhpur, the wife of Jahangir (Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani's son) and mother of emperor Shahjahan. It is to be noted that Mariam-uz-Zamani was mentioned by the same name "Jodha Bai" in the 1960 classic movie Mughal-e-Azam.
Literary References
Jodha is a prominent character in Salman Rushdie's novel The Enchantress of Florence. Here, she is described as the imaginary wife of Akbar. She is his favorite among his harem but she does not actually exist.
References
- ^ Christopher Buyers. "The Rathor Dynasty: Genealogy". Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
- ^ a b c d Atul Sethi (2007-06-24). "'Trade, not invasion brought Islam to India'", The Times of India. Retrieved on 15 February 2008.
- ^ "Jaipur (Princely State)". Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
- ^ Harsha Kumari Singh (2008-01-31). "Royal support for Jodhaa Akbar", NDTV. Retrieved on 15 February 2008.
- ^ a b Syed Firdaus Ashraf (2008-02-05). "Did Jodhabai really exist?". Rediff.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
- ^ a b Findly, Ellison B. (1988), "The Capture of Maryam-uz-Zamani's Ship: Mughal Women and European Traders", Journal of the American Oriental Society 108 (2): 227-238
- ^ Glynn, Catherine; Smart, Ellen (1997), "A Mughal Icon Re-Examined", Artibus Asiae 57 (1/2): 5-15
- ^ a b c Ashley D'Mello (2005-12-10). "Fact, myth blend in re-look at Akbar-Jodha Bai", The Times of India. Retrieved on 15 February 2008.
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