BABUR NARRATION

Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and father of the Mughal ruler Humayun.
The history of the rule of Mughals is important to be read for the IAS Exam preparation. This
article will provide you details about Babur, his reign, his military conquests and his battle
with Rana Sangha.

 Babur is the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.

 He was a descendant of Timur (on his father’s side) and Genghis Khan (on his Mother’s
side).
 His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad.
 In 1494 at the age of 11, Babur became the ruler of Farghana (at present in Chinese
Turkistan) succeeding Umar Shaikh Mirza, his father.
 Daulat Khan, the most powerful noble of Punjab, who was discontented with Ibrahim
Lodhi, invited Babur to invade India.
 He undertook four expeditions to India in order to conquer it between the years 1519 and
1523.

Humâyûn

Humâyûn

Biographie
Humayun is the second Mughal emperor, the dynasty ruling North India from the sixteenth to
the nineteenth century. He is the great-grandfather of Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal.
Heir to a new and particularly unstable empire, he will have to fight two successive rebellions,
lose his throne and will be able to reconstitute his father's empire only after fifteen years of
progress, going from battle to battle. He will leave his son a larger Empire than he has received,
from Afghanistan to Bengal.

The early years

Humâyûn was born on March 17, 1508 in Kabul, during a period when his father, Bâbur, was
trying to expand his kingdom. He followed him in his wanderings throughout his childhood and,
at the age of 18, he was at his side during the battle of Pânipat (1526), a founding battle of the
Mughal Empire. Then he participated in the capture of Agra and was sent to pacify the valley of
the Ganges, in the far east of the Empire. In 1528 he received the governorate of Badakhshan, a
region now straddling between South Tajikistan and North Afghanistan. It is also south of
Ferghana, the original kingdom of the dynasty, and east of Kabul, a city that served as a rear
base for the conquests of Babur and which represents the starting point of the dynasty.
Badakhshan was a bit like the original territory of the Empire.

Story Of Anarkali

Anarkali - Who WAs She?

The story of Anarkali exists somewhere between fact & fiction. This is because of the
reason that in Mughul era, there were some many palace intrigues, complicated
relationships, schemes amongst the large extended families of nobles and ordinary
service people.

That is why many secrets were just got buried in the hearts and minds and the final
truth could sometimes never be revealed. It is only an effort of picking up some
disconnected pieces and trying to re-connect the dots to make up a story from the
underneath.

The interesting thing about history is that it can hardly be hundred percent true. Even
if someone has witnessed it with his or her own eyes, it will just be the interpretation
of that individual.

So read this story of Anarkali with an open mind and you may contemplate and draw
your own conclusions if you may wish.
The Famous Version Of The Story Of Anarkali
As per the most famous legendary version, Anarkali (pomegranate blossom) was a
legendary slave girl from Lahore,Punjab (in present day Pakistan). She was
supposedly ordered to be buried alive between two walls by Mughal emperor Akbar
for having an illicit relationship with the crown prince Salim, later to become Emperor
Jahangir.

Due to the lack of evidence and sources, the story is widely accepted to be either
false or heavily embellished. This story was originally written by Indian writer Abdul
Halim Sharar and on the first page of that book he had clearly mentioned it to be a
work of fiction. Nevertheless, her story is cherished by many and has been adapted
into literature, art and cinema.

The story goes like that the Great Mughal emperor Akbar and his wife, Mariam-uz-
Zamani (Jodha Bai), had a son named Prince Saleem (later Emperor Jahangir). He
was considered to be a spoiled and rude boy. Akbar sent his son away to the army
for fourteen years to learn the discipline required to rule the empire. Finally, Akbar
allowed this son to return to the main palace in Lahore. Since this day was one of
great celebration, the harem of Akbar decided to hold a great Mujra (dance
performance) by a beautiful girl named Nadira, daughter of Noor Khan Arjun. Since
she was an exceptional beauty, "like a blossoming flower", Akbar called her Anarkali
(blossoming pomegranate).

RUKHMAVATI
Rukmavathi Lal Bhaiji was a Princess of Jodhpur(called Marwar then) a powerful
Rajputhana kingdom. Princess Rukmavathi was daughter of King Rao Maldeo and
his cocubbine Tipu. Akbar married Rukmavathi in 1581 (he was 39 years and she
was 15 years old at time of marriage). Marwar rulers are called Suryavanshi’s
because their leniage can be traced to Lord Rama and through him to Lord Surya
himself. The Jodhpur royal family used to rule Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh for many
centuries till Muhammad Ghori defeated Raja jai Chand in 1192 and they had to
leave. They roamed the plains of Ganges in Gujarath and Rajasthan before settling
in Rajputhana.

Rukmavathi was also the sister of Motta raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur whose daughter
Jodha Bai (or Jagat Gosain later after convering to Jainism) was married to Prince
Salim(who became Jagat Guru after accepting Jainism) and was his chief consort
after he became Emperor Jehangir. Jodha Bai was Emperor Jehangirs chief consort
(also known as Malika e Khas, Chief Queen) from 1605 when he became emperor
till 1615 (when Nur Jahan became his favourite and Chief Queen ). Jodha Bai was
Malika e Hindustan till her death in 1619.

Rukmavathi had powerful connections and was related to powerful emperors and
Kings of those times. Indeed among all of Akbars wives she was the only one who
had powerful brother in laws. Her brother in laws included
 Emperor Sher Shah Suri (her elder sister Lal bai was married to Sher Shah Suri
in 1544)
 Badshah Muhammad Shah (Her elder sister Kankavati was married to him)
 Haji Khan of Ajmer (Her elder sister Ratnavati married him)
 Khan Muhammad Daulat Khan (Her elder sister Jasoda bai married him in 1532)
 Maharana Pratap (Her elder sister Phool Kanwar was married to him)
 Bhagwan Das (Her elder sister was married to him)
Further to this Rukmavathi’s neice Jodha Bai was chief consort of Prince Salim and
his third wife and mother of next emperor Shah Jahan(Prince Khurram). Princess
Rukmavathi ensured that Emperor Jehangir also married Shah Jahan to
Rukmavathis grand neice (Jodha’s brothers daughter). Rukmavathi’s great grand
neice was married by Shah Jahan to dara Sikoh and was his top three wives too.
Rukmavathi’s elder sister was Phool Kunwar the one of the two chief consort of
Maharana Pratap. Bhagwan das, brother of Hira Kunwari (mother of Salim) was also
married to an elder sister of Rukmavathi and hence her brother in law. Raja Man
Singh was her nephew in relation. Hence Rukmavathi had a close family relationship
with powerful men of those times.

Rukmavathi was one of the top 36 chief wives of Akbar and among his top 10 wives
and had many powers. She was very close both to Akbar and Jehangir. Some
incidents show how close Rukmavathi was to Akbar and Jehangir. Tulsi das was a
great poet who lived in times of Akbar. Akbars commander and adopted son Abdul
Rahim Khan e Khana(known as Rahim Das the great poet) was a great friend of
Tulsi Das and Kabir das. When Akbar entrusted the education of his sons to Abdul
rahim , he appointed hindu priest from Kashi to teach about Hindu religion to Akbars
sons. Also he requested Tulsi Das to teach Ramayana to the Princes. Tulsi das work
was translated into Persian for the Mughal princes and library. Akbar had good
relation with Tulsi das, he visited his ashram in 1590s and its recorded in mughal
books and paintings.

HAMIDA

Hamida Banu Begum (Persian: ‫ ;حمیده بانو بیگم‬c. 1527 – 29 August 1604) was
the empress consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his
successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar.[1][2] She was bestowed the title
of Mariam Makani (lit. 'Dwelling with Mary'), by her son, Akbar.[3] She also bore the
title of Padshah Begum during the reign of Akbar.[4]
Family[edit]
Hamida Banu Begum was born c. 1527 to a family of Persian descent.[5] Her father,
Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Shia, was a preceptor to Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, the
youngest son of the first Mughal emperor, Babur. Ali Akbar Jami was also known as
Mian Baba Dost, who belonged to the lineage of Ahmad Jami Zinda-fil. Hamida
Banu's mother was Maah Afroz Begum, who married Ali Akbar Jami in Paat, Sindh.
As suggested by her lineage, Hamida was a devout Muslim.[6]
Meeting with Humayun[edit]
She met Humayun, as a fourteen-year-old girl and frequenting Mirza Hindal's
household, at a banquet given by his mother, Dildar Begum (Babur's wife and
Humayun's step-mother) in Alwar. Humayun was in exile after his exodus from Delhi,
due to the armies of Sher Shah Suri, who had ambitions of restoring Afghan rule in
Delhi.[7]
When negotiations for Humayun's marriage with Hamida Banu Begum were going
on, both Hamida and Hindal bitterly opposed the marriage proposal, possibly
because they were involved with each other.[8] It seems probable that Hamida was in
love with Hindal, though there is only circumstantial evidence for it.[8] In her book
the Humayun-nama, Hindal's sister and Hamida's close friend, Gulbadan Begum,
pointed out that Hamida was frequently seen in her brother's palace during those
days, and even in the palace of their mother, Dildar Begum.[9]
ZAINAB

Zainab Sultan Begum was Queen consort of Ferghana Valley and Kabul as the
second wife of Emperor Babur. She like two of his other wives Aisha Sultan
Begum and Masuma Sultan Begum was a direct cousin of the Babur.[1]
She was one of the first Mughal cousins to marry among the own family, which later
became a common practice, which would be especially be followed by Humayun, the
second Mughal emperor who succeeded Babur after his death in 1530.[2]
Family and lineage[edit]
Zainab Sultan Begum was born a Timurid princess and was the fifth daughter
of Sultan Mahmud Mirza, who was Babur's paternal uncle. Her mother was the
granddaughter of Mir Buzurg, and the daughter of a brother of Khanzada Begum, her
father's first wife. Her father was a son of Abu Sa'id Mirza, the Emperor of
the Timurid Empire.
Zainab's paternal uncles included Umar Sheikh Mirza, the ruler of Ferghana Valley,
who later became her father-in-law as well while her first cousins included her future
husband, Babur, and his elder sister, Khanzada Begum. Her sister Ak Begum, who
was married to Babur's brother Jahangir Mirza, became her sister-in-law.
Marriage[edit]
Babur married her after annexing Kabul in 1504. However she was not a favourite
wife of the emperor because she was too proud of her parentage and failed to win
Babur's affection. He also did not remember the year of her death correctly. [3]