# Bega Begum

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{{short description|Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Bega Begum
| title        = [Empress consort](/source/Empress_consort) of the [Mughal Empire](/source/Mughal_Empire) <br> Zan-i-Kalan
| predecessor  = [Maham Begum](/source/Maham_Begum)
| successor    = Lad Malika ([Sur Empire](/source/Sur_Empire))
| reign        = 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540
| reign-type   = First tenure
| reign1       = 22 June 1555 – 27 January 1556
| reign-type1  = Second tenure
| successor1   = [Hamida Banu Begum](/source/Hamida_Banu_Begum)
| coronation   = 
| succession   = [Padshah Begum](/source/Padshah_Begum)
| birth_name   = Bega Begum
| image        = Possible contemporary depiction of Bikä Begim (Bega Begum) in 1546, Kabul. Dust Muhammad.jpg
| caption      = Possible contemporary depiction of Bega Begum in 1546, Kabul. [Dust Muhammad](/source/Dust_Muhammad).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parodi |first1=Laura E. |last2=Wannell |first2=Bruce |title=The Earliest Datable Mughal Painting |journal=www.asianart.com |date=2011 |url=https://www.asianart.com/articles/parodi/index.html |quote=A more plausible candidate would be Bikä Begim, who doubtlessly participated in the 1546 AD celebrations.}}</ref>
| spouse       = {{Marriage|[Humayun](/source/Humayun)|1527|27 January 1556|end ={{Abbr|d.|death}}}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[Al-aman Mirza](/source/Al-aman_Mirza)
*Aqiqa Sultan Begum}}
| father       = Yadgar Beg
| mother       = 
| birth_date   = {{circa}} 1511
| birth_place  = [Khurasan](/source/Khurasan), [Persia](/source/Persia)
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1582|1|17|1511|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [Delhi](/source/Delhi), [India](/source/India)
| burial_place = [Humayun's Tomb](/source/Humayun's_Tomb), Delhi
| house        = [Timurid](/source/Timurid_dynasty) ''(by marriage)''
| religion     = [Islam](/source/Islam)
}}

'''Bega Begum''' ({{circa|1511}} – 17 January 1582) was [Empress consort of the Mughal Empire](/source/Empress_consort_of_the_Mughal_Empire) from 26 December 1530 to 17 May 1540 and 22 June 1555 to 27 January 1556 as the first wife and chief consort of the second Mughal emperor [Humayun](/source/Humayun).<ref name=Schimmel>{{cite book|author1=Annemarie Schimmel |author2=Burzine K. Waghmar |title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne |url-access=registration |year=2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/149 149]|isbn=9781861891853 }}</ref><ref name=Hum>{{cite book|last=Banerji|first=S.K.|title=Humayun Badshah|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.511547|year=1938|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=97, 232}}</ref><ref name= Misra>{{cite book|author1=Neeru Misra |author2=Tanay Misra |title=The garden tomb of Humayun: an abode in paradise|year=2003|publisher=Aryan Books International|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nath|first=R.|title=History of Mughal architecture|year=1982|publisher=Humanities Press|location=Atlantic Highlands, N.J.|isbn=9780391026506|edition=1. publ.}}</ref> She was known as Zan-i-Kalan being the first wife of Humayun and was also known as '''Haji Begum''' after she performed the ''[Hajj](/source/Hajj)'' pilgrimage.<ref>{{cite web|title=Humayun's Tomb|url=http://www.indfy.com/delhi/tourist-places-to-visit/forts-and-monuments/humayuns-tomb.html|access-date=31 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125103958/http://www.indfy.com/delhi/tourist-places-to-visit/forts-and-monuments/humayuns-tomb.html|archive-date=25 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bega Begum began the tradition of commissioning monuments in the [Mughal Empire](/source/Mughal_Empire) when she had her husband's mausoleum commissioned in the late 16th century, [Humayun's Tomb](/source/Humayun's_Tomb) at [Delhi](/source/Delhi). This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that decisively influenced the design of the later [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal), the high point of [Mughal architecture](/source/Mughal_architecture).<ref name=Schimmel/><ref name=Takeo /><ref name=Burke>{{cite book|last=Burke|first=S. M.|title=Akbar, the Greatest Mogul|year=1989|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|page=191}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Eraly|first=Abraham|title=The Mughal world: Life in India's Last Golden Age|year=2007|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780143102625|page=369}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Vincent Arthur|title=Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542-1605|year=1919|publisher=[Clarendon Press](/source/Clarendon_Press)|page=125}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Henderson|first=Carol E.|title=Culture and Customs of India|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313305139|page=90}}</ref><ref name=mau>{{cite news|title=Mausoleum that Humayun never built|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/28/stories/2003042800730200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206210414/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/28/stories/2003042800730200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 6, 2007|access-date=31 January 2013|newspaper=[The Hindu](/source/The_Hindu)|date=April 28, 2003}}</ref>

==Early years and marriage==

Bega Begum was a [Persian](/source/Persian_people) from [Khurasan](/source/Khurasan)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bhalla|first1=A. S.|title=Monuments, Power and Poverty in India: From Ashoka to the Raj|date=2015|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1784530877|page=74}}</ref> and was the daughter of Humayun's maternal uncle (''taghai''), Yadgar Beg,<ref name=Hum/> who was the brother of Sultan Ali Mirza, father of [Kamran Mirza](/source/Kamran_Mirza)'s wife Gulrukh Begum. She was a wise, well educated woman and had profound knowledge of medicine and treatment also.

Bega married her [first cousin](/source/first_cousin),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lal|first1=K.S.|title=The Mughal harem|date=1988|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788185179032|page=19}}</ref> Prince Nasir ud-din (later known as 'Humayun' upon his accession) in 1527. The marriage took place while Humayun was in [Badakshan](/source/Badakshan) during his second term as [Viceroy](/source/Viceroy) of the province (1527–1529). In November 1528, she gave birth to Humayun's first child and son, [Shahzada](/source/Shah) [Al-aman Mirza](/source/Al-aman_Mirza). The imperial couple were tremendously congratulated by the Emperor [Babur](/source/Babur) on the birth of an [heir](/source/heir), although the connotation of his name, 'Al-aman', he thought ominous. The prince died in his childhood.<ref name=Lal78 />

==Empress==

Upon Emperor Babur's death in December 1530, Humayun ascended the throne at twenty three-years of age, while Bega was just nineteen when she became empress. She subsequently came to [India](/source/India) for the first time, while accompanying her husband. Bega was held in high regard by Humayun throughout his life and remained his favourite as well as his chief consort until his death.<ref>{{cite book|author= B. P. Saha|title=Begams, Concubines, and Memsahibs|year=1997|publisher=Vikas Pub. House|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Fazl|first=Abul|title=Akbar Nama, Volume 1|year=1907|publisher=The Asiatic Society|page=340}}</ref>

In 1531, Bega announced her second pregnancy to the imperial family after arriving in [Agra](/source/Agra) from [Kabul](/source/Kabul). Here, she gave birth to her last known child, a daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gulbadan Begam |author2=Beveridge, Annette S |title=The History of Humayun (Humayun-Nama)|year=1902|pages=14, 112|publisher=Billing and Sons}}</ref> In 1539, Bega accompanied her husband to Chausa, [Bengal](/source/Bengal), where she was taken as a prisoner by [Sher Shah Suri](/source/Sher_Shah_Suri), after a well developed surprise attack on the Mughal territory by Sher Shah's forces.<ref name=Lal78 /> According to [Niccolao Manucci](/source/Niccolao_Manucci), she was the only Mughal empress to have ever been held captive.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Agrawal|editor-first1=C.M.|title=Indian woman|date=2001|publisher=Indian Publishers Distributors|location=Delhi|isbn=9788173412127|page=247}}</ref>

On the morning of 26 June 1539, Humayun learned about her captivity, he immediately sprang on a horse and collected a small guard consisting of four nobles, Tardi Beg, Baba Beg, Koch Beg, and MrBachka Bahadur. Endeavouring to save the empress, they attempted to fight their way through the Afghan crowd and in doing so all except Tardi Beg were cut down. He alone returned to Humayun. ''The Tazkirat-ul-umard'' mentions the death of one Mir Pehlwan Badakshi. Initially, two faithful officers—Baba Julair and Que Beg—while zealously attempting to execute the emperor's orders, courted "[martyrdom](/source/martyrdom) at the door of ''Her Majesty'''s enclosure" and were slain at the entrance of the private tents.<ref name=Lal78>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Muni|title=Humayun|year=1978|publisher=Vikas Publ. House|isbn=9780706906455|pages=81, 212}}</ref>

While in captivity, the empress was treated by Sher Shah with the utmost courtesy and respect and he had her returned to Humayun escorted by his most trusted general, Khwas Khan.<ref name=Burke/><ref>{{cite book|last=Erskine|first=William|title=A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun, Volume 2|publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans|location=1854|pages=445}}</ref> Unfortunately, the ordeal at Chausa led to death of her eight-year-old daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum, on 27 June.<ref>{{cite book|author=Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|title=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland|year=1917|publisher=Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society|page=552}}</ref> Humayun became extremely devastated and regretted ever bringing his daughter to Chausa in the first place. He blamed himself, confessing to his younger brother [Hindal Mirza](/source/Hindal_Mirza), 'In the earlier disturbance, Aqiqa Bibi [his daughter] had disappeared and I suffered from everlasting regret why I had not killed her myself' [lest she fall into the enemy's hands], a sentiment that his brother entirely endorsed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mukhia|first1=Harbans|title=The Mughals of India.|date=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Chichester|isbn=9780470758151|page=69}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Humāyūn|year=1902|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society|page=143|author=Gulbadan Begum}}</ref>

Bega was also with Humayun throughout his long exile in [Persia](/source/Persia) at the court of the [Safavid dynasty](/source/Safavid_dynasty).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edward James Rap;son, Sir Wolseley Haig, Sir Richard Burn|title=The Cambridge History of India, Volume 5|date=1968|publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive|quote=The tomb was built by Humayun's widow, Haji Begum, who shared his long exile at the court of the Safavids.}}</ref> She also took an active interest in the affairs of the state. Bega Begum's brother-in-law, Zahid Beg, was favoured when he was appointed Governor of Bengal which the latter declined. Humayun wanted to punish him but she interceded, though in vain, to seek the Emperor's pardon for him.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Sudha|title=The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India|date=2016|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9789351505679|page=184|language=en}}</ref>

===Dowager empress===
When Humayun died in 1556, Bega Begum grieved so deeply over her husband's death that she dedicated her life thenceforth to a sole purpose: the construction of the most magnificent mausoleum in the empire, at a site near the [Yamuna River](/source/Yamuna_River) in [Delhi](/source/Delhi) for the memorial of the late emperor.<ref name=Takeo>{{cite web|last=Kamiya|first=Takeo|title=HUMAYUN'S TOMB in DELHI|url=http://www.kamit.jp/02_unesco/12_humayun/hum_eng.htm|work=[UNESCO](/source/UNESCO)|access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref> Bega Begum undertook a pilgrimage to [Mecca](/source/Mecca) and [Medina](/source/Medina) for ''[Hajj](/source/Hajj)'' in 1564, but before starting on her absence from the Court for three years, she made arrangements for the construction of the mausoleum at her own cost.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Vincent Arthur|title=Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542-1605|year=1919|publisher=[Clarendon Press](/source/Clarendon_Press)|page=75}}</ref> She returned from ''Hajj'' in 1567,<ref>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Ruby|title=Domesticity and power in the early Mughal world|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521850223|pages=212}}</ref> then led a retired life at Delhi and supervised the project.<ref name= Misra/>

The empress' choice of architect for the construction of the mausoleum was the [Persian](/source/Persian_people) [architect](/source/architect), Mirak Mirza Ghiyas.<ref name=Cherry>{{cite book|editor-last=Cherry|editor-first=Deborah|title=Local/global : Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century|year=2005|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=9780754631972|page=70|author=Helland, Janice}}</ref> Bega Begum was interested in patronizing education and so she established a [madrasa](/source/madrasa) near the mausoleum. She was also responsible for the construction of the ''Arab Sarai'' near the tomb.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Capper|first1=John|title=Delhi, the capital of India.|date=1997|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788120612822|page=81|edition=AES reprint.}}</ref>

==Death==
thumb|Humayun's Tomb, where Haji Begum is also buried
Bega Begum died in 1582 in Delhi, after a brief illness, and was mourned by her step-son, the Emperor [Akbar](/source/Akbar); whom she shared an extremely close relationship with. Akbar was, in fact, so attached to her that many people, as Akbar himself confirmed, mistook her to be his real mother and confused her with his biological mother, [Hamida Banu Begum](/source/Hamida_Banu_Begum). [`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni](/source/%60Abd_al-Qadir_Bada'uni) (Badauni) called Bega Begum 'second mother to the Emperor [Akbar]'.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Sudha|title=The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India|date=2016|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9789351505679|page=65}}</ref> Akbar escorted her body to Humayun's Tomb for her burial.<ref name="mau" />

==Legacy==
During the Mughal era (sixteenth to nineteenth century) the practice of commissioning monuments received a fillip through the efforts of Bega Begum with the construction of Humayun's Tomb. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that was to decisively influence the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture. The mausoleum was principally based on Persian architectural vocabularies, but was cleverly Indianized. The surrounding garden was also the first prodigious materialization of the form of the Persian 'Chahar Bagh' (Quartered Garden) in India. The mausoleum is the best representative monument in the Indian capital (Delhi) of the past authority of the Mughal Empire.<ref name=Cherry/>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* Three Memoirs of Homayun. Volume One: Humáyunnáma and Tadhkiratu'l-wáqíát; Volume Two: Táríkh-i Humáyún, translated from the Persian by Wheeler Thackston. Bilingual Edition, Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions, No. 11 (March 15, 2009). {{ISBN|1-56859-178-0}}

Category:Wives of Humayun
Category:1510s births
Category:1582 deaths
Category:16th-century empresses consort
Category:16th-century Mughal Empire people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bega Begum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bega_Begum) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bega_Begum?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.