{{short description|Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire from 1721 to 1748}} {{for|the Pakistani TV series|Badshah Begum (TV series)}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Badshah Begum | title = Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire <br/> Empress consort of the Mughal Empire <br> Zan-i-Kalan <br/> Malika-uz-Zamani | image = Painting of a begum out hawking with her maids, possibly a depiction of Badshah Begum, attributed to Nainsukh, ca.1735–40 (detail).jpg | caption = Possible depiction of Bahshah Begum from a painting attributed to Nainsukh, {{circa|1735–40}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Mira |title=Dogra Wall Paintings in Jammu and Kashmir |date=1987 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195615494 |pages=2–3 |edition=illustrated}}</ref> | succession = Padshah Begum | successor = Zeenat Mahal | predecessor = Zinat-un-Nissa | reign-type = Tenure | reign = 8 December 1721 – 26 April 1748 | birth_date = {{circa}} 1703 | birth_place = | death_date = 14 December {{death year and age|1789|1703}} | death_place = Delhi, India | burial_place = Tis Hazari Bagh, Delhi | burial_date = | consort = yes | spouse = {{marriage|Muhammad Shah|1721|1748|end={{Abbr|died|death}}}} | issue = Shahriyar Shah Bahadur | full name = | house = Timurid (by birth) | father = Farrukhsiyar | mother = Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum | religion = Islam | signature = }} '''Badshah Begum''' ({{circa}} 1703 – 14 December 1789) was the first wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.<ref name="Sarkar97">{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Jadunath|title=Fall of the Mughal Empire.|date=1997|publisher=Orient Longman|location=Hyderabad|isbn=9788125011491|page=169|edition=4th}}</ref> She is popularly known by her title '''Malika-uz-Zamani''' ("Queen of the Age") which was conferred upon her by her husband, immediately after their marriage.<ref name=Malik>{{cite book|last1=Malik|first1=Zahir Uddin|title=The reign of Muhammad Shah, 1719-1748|date=1977|publisher=Asia Pub. House|location=London|isbn=9780210405987|page=407}}</ref>
Badshah Begum was a second-cousin of her husband and was a Mughal princess by birth. She was the daughter of Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar and his first wife, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum. She wielded major political influence in the Mughal court during her husband's reign and was his most influential wife. It was through her efforts that her step-son, Ahmad Shah Bahadur, was able to ascend the Mughal throne.<ref name=Asiatic>{{cite journal|title=Journal and Proceedings|date=1907|pages=16, 360|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyIYAAAAYAAJ&q=malikah|accessdate=15 September 2017|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal|language=en}}</ref>
==Family and lineage== Badshah Begum was born c.1703, during the reign of her great-great-grandfather Aurangzeb.<ref>The American Society of Genealogists, ''The Genealogist, Vol. 11-12'' (1997), p. 212</ref> She was the daughter of the later Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Singh|editor-first1=Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482332|page=455}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Saha|first1=B.P.|title=Princesses, begams and concubines|date=1992|publisher=Tarang Paperbacks|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780706963915|page=32}}</ref> and his first wife, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum. Farrukhsiyar was the second son of Prince Azim-ush-Shan<ref>{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=Annemarie Schimmel; translated by Corinne Attwood; edited by Burzine K. Waghmar; with a foreword by Francis|title=The empire of the Great Mughals : history, art and culture|date=2005|publisher=Sang-E-Meel Pub.|location=Lahore|isbn=1861891857|page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/58 58]|edition=Revised|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/58}}</ref> born to his wife Sahiba Niswan Begum.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cheema|first1=G. S.|title=The forgotten mughals : a history of the later emperors of the House of Babar; (1707 - 1857)|url=https://archive.org/details/forgottenmughals00chee|url-access=limited|date=2002|publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distr.|location=New Delhi|isbn=8173044163|page=[https://archive.org/details/forgottenmughals00chee/page/n91 179]}}</ref> Azim-ush-Shan was himself the second son of the seventh Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah I.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Richards|first1=J.F.|title=Mughal empire|date=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, Eng.|isbn=9780521566032|page=260|edition=Transferred to digital print.}}</ref>
Badshah Begum's mother, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum (also known as Fakhr-un-Nissa Begum), was the daughter of Sadat Khan, a Mughal noble of Turkish origin,<ref>{{cite book|last1=University|first1=Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim|title=Medieval India : a miscellany|date=1972|publisher=Asia Pub. House.|location=London|isbn=9780210223932|pages=252}}</ref> who had been ''Mir Atish'' (head of artillery)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=U.B.|title=Administrative system in India : Vedic age to 1947|date=1998|publisher=APH Pub. Co.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788170249283|page=111}}</ref> under Farrukhsiyar.<ref name="Sarkar97" /> Being a Mughal princess, Badshah Begum was well educated, intelligent and had been instructed in the nuances of ruling and diplomacy.
==Marriage== Muhammad Shah acceded to throne in 1719 and was a son of Prince Jahan Shah, the youngest son of Emperor Bahadur Shah I<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=J. L.|title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc.|location=Slough|isbn=9781932705546|page=24}}</ref> and the younger half-brother of Emperor Farrukhsiyar's father, Prince Azim-ush-Shan. Badshah Begum was therefore a second cousin of her husband through her father. She married Muhammad Shah on 8 December 1721<ref>{{cite book|last1=Awrangābādī|first1=Shāhnavāz Khān|last2=Prashad|first2=Baini|last3=Shāhnavāz|first3=ʻAbd al-Ḥayy ibn|title=The Maāthir-ul-umarā: being biographies of the Muḥammadan and Hindu officers of the Timurid sovereigns of India from 1500 to about 1780 A.D.|date=1979|publisher=Janaki Prakashan|page=652|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfG1AAAAIAAJ&q=muhmmad+shah+8+december+1721|language=en}}</ref> in Delhi. The marriage was celebrated with great splendour. Accordingly, many of the officers presented lakhs of rupees, and everyone received a dress of honour, jewels, and an increase in pay.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Singh|editor-first1=Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482356|page=10}}</ref> Upon her marriage, Badshah Begum was given the title of Malika-uz-Zamani ("Queen of the Age")<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malik|first1=Zahir Uddin|title=The reign of Muhammad Shah, 1719-1748|date=1977|publisher=Asia Pub. House|location=London|isbn=9780210405987|page=407}}</ref> by which she is popularly known, and further, the exalted title of ''Padshah Begum''. Badshah Begum bore her husband his first son, Shahriyar Shah Bahadur, who died in his childhood. After that, she remained childless.<ref name="Malik" />
===Consort=== thumb|Ladies of the harem setting up encampments, c.1730-1740. Behind the Emperor's mother who is riding upon a bullock, Badshah Begum is seen reclining and smoking a huqqah. Badshah Begum took an interest in several aspects of the state and governance and played an active part in matters of importance. Being the Emperor's chief wife, she was the most influential among all of his wives and exercised influence over him. Muhammad Shah later developed a passion for a dancing girl, Udham Bai, a woman of no refinement, and made her a wife of his, though Badshah Begum remained his favourite. The marriage with Udham Bai resulted in the birth of a son, Ahmad Shah Bahadur. This son was brought up by Badshah Begum as though he were her own son. She loved him greatly, and he grew up to ascend the throne due to her efforts.<ref name="Sarkar97" /><ref name=Latif>{{cite book|last=Latif|first=Bilkees I.|title=Forgotten|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780143064541|page=49}}</ref> Later, Badshah Begum also brought up Ahmad Shah's daughter, Muhtaram-un-Nisa.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Singh|editor-first1=Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482349|page=86}}</ref>
Badshah Begum commissioned elegant mansions in Jammu and, in typical Mughal style, laid the foundations of pleasure gardens on the banks of the Tawi River.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rai|first1=Mridu|title=Hindu rulers, Muslim subjects : Islam, rights and the history of Kashmir|date=2004|publisher=Hurst|location=London|isbn=9781850656616|page=95|edition=[Nachdr.].}}</ref>
==Dowager== In April 1748, Muhammad Shah died. Badshah Begum, concealing the news of his death, sent messages to her step-son Ahmad Shah Bahadur, who was in camp with Safdar Jang near Panipat to return to Delhi and claim the throne. On Safdar Jang's advice, he was enthroned at Panipat and returned to Delhi a few days later.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Michael|title=The Orchid House: Splendours and Miseries of the Kingdom of Oudh, 1827-1857|date=1960|publisher=Cassell|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUeAAAAMAAJ&q=chief+queen|language=en}}</ref> Badshah Begum was greatly respected by the court and the people as a Dowager, even after the Emperor's death.<ref name=Latif />
In February 1756, Badshah Begum's 16-year-old step-daughter, Princess Hazrat Begum, became so famous for her matchless beauty that the Mughal emperor Alamgir II, who was then about sixty, used undue pressure and threats to force the girl's mother, Sahiba Mahal, and her guardian, Badshah Begum, to give him Hazrat Begum's hand in marriage.<ref name=Islamic >{{cite book|last1=Aḥmad|first1=ʻAzīz|last2=Israel|first2=Milton|title=Islamic society and culture: essays in honour of Professor Aziz Ahmad|date=1983|publisher=Manohar|page=146|language=en}}</ref> The princess made it clear that she preferred death to marrying an old man, and Alamgir II ultimately failed to win her.<ref name="Islamic" />
===Role in Afghan invasions of Delhi=== In April 1757, the Durrani king Ahmed Shah Abdali, after sacking the imperial capital of Delhi, desired to marry Princess Hazrat Begum.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of India: 1712-1772|date=1978|publisher=Orient Longmans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggduAAAAMAAJ&q=Hazrat+sahiba+mahal|language=en}}</ref> Badshah Begum again resisted handing over her tender charge to a fierce Afghan of "grandfatherly age",{{efn|Writer's mistake of ''Jadunath Sarkar'', Ahmad Shah was 35 years old.}} but Ahmad Shah forcibly wedded Hazrat Begum on 5 April 1757 in Delhi.<ref name=Sarkar71>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Sir Jadunath|title=1754-1771 (Panipat). 3d ed. 1966, 1971 printing|date=1971|publisher=Orient Longman|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtU5AQAAIAAJ&q=Hazrat+sahiba+mahal|language=en}}</ref> After their wedding celebrations, Ahmad Shah took his young wife back to his native country of Afghanistan. The weeping bride was accompanied by her mother, Sahiba Mahal, and by her step-mother, Badshah Begum, along with a few other ladies of note from the imperial harem.<ref name="Sarkar71" />
During Ghulam Kadir's two-month occupation of Delhi, from 18 July to 2 October 1788, emperor Shah Alam II was deposed on 30 July 1788 and blinded ten days later. Prince Bidar Bakht, the son of emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur, was released from the imperial prison and made a puppet emperor with the regnal name ''Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Jahan Shah.'' Bidar Bakht was the step-son of Badshah Begum, who wanted to see Shah Alam deposed because his father Alamgir II had blinded and killed her step-son Ahmad Shah Bahadur to seize the throne in 1754. Bidar Bakht's enthronement was secured through a payment of 12 lakhs of rupees to Ghulam Kadir.
Ghulam Kadir tortured the Mughal royal family, and it is said that 21 princes and princesses were killed. The dishonouring behaviour towards the women of the imperial family is noted as especially cruel in the eyes of its time. Even Badshah Begum's fate turned as her palace was raided and she was placed on a river bank.
The Mughal royal family were freed from captivity by the Maratha armies led by Mahadji Shinde which captured Delhi after defeating Ghulam Qadir and his army.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=J. L. |title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813 |date=2005 |publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc. |isbn=9781932705546 |location=Slough |page=595}}</ref> On 16 October 1788, the now blind Shah Alam II was reinstated as Mughal emperor under Maratha suzerainty and on 17 October 1788 ''khutbah'' was read in his name. His formal coronation happened on 7 February 1789.
==Death== Badshah Begum died in 1789 in Delhi and was buried in the ''Tis Hazari Bagh'' (Garden of Thirty Thousand). The garden had been commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan during his reign. Emperor Aurangzeb's daughter, Princess Zeenat-un-Nissa, had also been buried in the ''Tis Hazari Bagh'' upon her death in 1721.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Blake|first1=Stephen P.|title=Shahjahanabad : the sovereign city in Mughal India, 1639-1739|url=https://archive.org/details/shahjahanabadsov00blak|url-access=limited|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521522991|page=[https://archive.org/details/shahjahanabadsov00blak/page/n78 63]}}</ref>
==Ancestry== {{ahnentafel |collapsed=yes |align=center |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. '''Badshah Begum''' |2= 2. Muin-ud-din Muhammad Shah Farrukhsiyar, Mughal Emperor |3= 3. Gauhar un-nisa Begum |4= 4. Shahzada Azim-ush-Shan |5= 5. Sahiba Nizwan |6= 6. Nawab Sa'adat Khan Zulfiqar Jang |7= 7. Gauhar un-nisa Begum |8= 8. Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah I, Mughal Emperor |9= 9. Amrita Bai |10= |11= |12= 12. Sayyid Hussain Marashi |13= |14= 14. Mirza Masum Khan Safawi |15= |16= 16. Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor |17= 17. Nawab Bai of Rajauri |18= 18. Rup Singh, Raja of Kishangarh |19= |20= |21= |22= |23= |24= |25= |26= |27= |28= 28. Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safawi |29= 29. Nauras Banu Begum}}
==See also==
*Mughal Empire *Muhammad Shah *Padshah Begum
==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{notelist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Badshah}} Category:Mughal princesses Category:Timurid princesses Category:1700s births Category:1789 deaths Category:Daughters of emperors Category:18th-century Indian women Category:18th-century Mughal Empire people Category:Wives of Muhammad Shah