Ruqaiya Sultan Begum

Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
Bornc. 1542
DiedJanuary 1626 (aged 84)[1][2]
Agra, Mughal Empire
Burial
Gardens of Babur (Bagh-e-Babur)
Kabul, Afghanistan
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1556; died 1605)​
HouseTimurid dynasty
DynastyMughal dynasty
FatherHindal Mirza
MotherSultanam Begum
ReligionSunni Islam

Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (alternatively spelled Ruqayya or Ruqayyah; c. 1542–1626) was the first wife and one of the chief consorts of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.[3][4]

Ruqaiya was a first cousin of her husband and was a Mughal princess by birth. Her father, Hindal Mirza, was the youngest brother of Akbar's father, Humayun. She was betrothed to Akbar at the age of nine and married him at 14, but remained childless throughout her marriage. She was, being the first wife, also known as Zan-i-Kalan. In later life she raised Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani's grandson, Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan).

  1. ^ Gulbadan, Begum (1902). The History of Humāyūn (Humāyūn-Nāma). Translated by Beveridge, Annette S. Guildford: Billing and Sons Ltd. p. 274.
  2. ^ Ruggles, Fairchild (2011). Islamic Gardens and Landscapes. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-8122-0728-6.
  3. ^ Burke, S. M. (1989). Akbar, the greatest Mogul. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 142.
  4. ^ Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan (1999). The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Translated by Thackston, Wheeler Mc. Oxford University Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8. Ruqayya-Sultan Begam, the daughter of Mirza Hindal and wife of His Majesty Arsh-Ashyani [Akbar], had passed away in Akbarabad. She was His Majesty's chief consort wife. Since she did not have children when Shahjahan was born His Majesty Arsh-Ashyani entrusted that "unique pearl of the caliphate" to the begum's care, and she undertook to raise the prince. She departed this life at the age of eighty-four.