Roxanne The Great

She was a Sixteen-year-old maiden among the captured natives of Bactria. He was the Emperor from Macedon, a young dreamer at twenty-eight. He had toppled their ruler and taken over their fort hence she was a captive. She was always told about these situations by her father who was a minor Baron and of the high socialites in the king's court. Usually, the men who won would enjoy their victory by taking possession of their lands, wealth and women. She was old enough to be called one and dreaded the awaiting consequences.

All the women were lined up in the palace courtyards as per the new king's order. He was coming on an inspection they said. All the women whispered among themselves. Some were saying he is coming to choose his prize and after him will follow his generals and the rest of the army. Some told this emperor was kind and respected women. Her eyes blurred with tears. She wanted freedom. The ropes were too tight on her soft hands.

" Bow down to the Baselieus of Macedon, Alexander III, son of Philip II captives!"
with the guard's announcement, everyone was bowing before the figure that walked in. She could only see his royal red shoes and nothing more as he walked past her and announced "Rise women of Bactria. You are the respected mothers, sisters and daughters and not our slaves."
She looked up and their eyes met.

His hazel eyes were fixed on hers in a surprised look. He continued his speech but his eyes never left hers. " Someday I dream of conquering the world, and that day I want all my subjects to be happy with their Emperor. Do not fear me but love me and support me oh women of Bactria! I promise you to respect and prosperity in return!"
Something told her that, unlike others with his power, he was not lying.
" Untie their ropes and give them a guest's welcome while I talk to their men."
He walked out stealing a last glimpse at her and whispering to his general.

Back in the hall where the women were captive, they were given bread and wine. Everyone was blessing the new king for his act of generosity. She could not help remembering his warm stares.
"Roxanne my dear! have this delicious bread! what are you thinking?"
" Nothing Meredith."
" I am sure it's something you can tell your friend dearly."
" Well I may be wrong but I think..."
Their conversation was interrupted by a guard.
" Lady Roxanne, the Baselieus Of Macedon wants to see you at his chambers." Her heart skipped a beat. Women were discussing whether maybe they were wrong about the emperor.

She made her way to his Chambers with the guard. He was sited on a chair and having wine.
" So your name is Roxanne and your father is a baron they tell me."
She stood silent. Feet away. Bowing before the king.
" I saw you at the courtyard today and I am mesmerized by your beauty." He sounded embarrassed at the confession. " I have been looking for a suitable wife and I will send my proposal to your father soon. I want your consent before I do. Tell me if you are willing or if your heart belongs elsewhere?"
"My heart belongs to no one My Lord. I am willing to do anything my father decides."
" Thank you! I am going on a conquest down south and when I return I shall make you mine Roxanne."

A year passed by as the Emperor returned victoriously and sent a proposal and gifts to her father. He readily agreed to make his daughter the emperor's chief wife. The wedding followed. They travelled to Macedon together to meet his mother as his wife. Like her son, Olympias too was mesmerized by her beauty and humble nature. Before long he wanted to start exploring further southeast to pursue his dreams.
" Roxanne, do you want to come with me on my next conquest and exploration? We can see the world together my Love!"
" Where are we going, my Lord?" She who had never travelled beyond her hometown in Bactria and the palaces at Macedon was excited.
Seeing the childish delight on his young wife's face he smiled. " To India. The land of natural treasures. The oldest and most spectacular of civilizations lie there. "

Alexander and Roxanne were painted by Pietro Rotari. Source: Wikipedia

They travelled together for years, to India and central Asia. He married two more royals, Daughters of an enemy he killed, but his heart and time belonged to Roxanne. She was his soul mate. He continued wars and conquests as she stayed in Babylon and Macedon praying for him and waiting to see him. Four years passed by since their marriage and she was pregnant and with his mother under her care in Macedon. He did not know if the child was a son and heir or a princess.

News of his death arrived in Macedon when she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. People cried foul play by his trusted Generals. Confused and broken, Roxanne and Olympias sought refuge in each other. Two months later a beautiful baby boy was born, an heir to the throne. She named him Alexander IV after his father. To protect her baby, all that she had left, she made indecision under the influence of her husband's trusted people and killed his other two wives to protect her son. She killed them knowing of their jealousy and intentions to harm her child and threw their bodies in a well.

She along with her infant and his mother wandered in disguise for many years with the help of some trusted Generals and their families. But disaster followed as Olympias was assassinated when her child was only seven years of age and she was forced to take shelter under the then-ruling General Cassandra with her child. Thinking she is safe she stayed there for six years before being poisoned to death along with her thirteen-year-old son by the power-hungry son of Antipater, Cassandra.

All through her thirty-three years of life, she struggled to find a place beside her husband through his difficult dreams and to protect her son from traitors. She gave up her life supporting Alexander of Macedon to become Alexander the Great in history yet people do not know her name or the sacrifices she made to maintain a life she never chose in the first place.

The Queen of Mewar

There have been many versions, folktales and local stories in Rajputana on their Kings and Queens. None of these versions is, however, historical as history only mentions her as wife to Maharana Pratap, his consort and Queen Mother to Amar Singh. She was busy making a garland when Ratnawati rushed inside, hardly able to breathe. Concerned, the elder sister stopped her work and looked at her panting young sibling. " What is it? What's wrong?" "Jija maa sa is not letting me go to the haat mela alone. Please come with me, I need to buy some bangles." The spoiled younger one pleaded. " Wait, let me do my aarti first, then we can go." The reluctant Ratnawati sat down impatiently. In another room, their mother was helping their father get ready for the day. He was the Samant of Bijolia, the representative of the Rana of Mewar. Throughout the day he had to deal with administrative problems in Bijolia and give people justice, but today he had something...

Jauhar: All You Need to Know

“We have no Knowledge of the beginning and end of the world, the first and last of this ancient book has fallen out” Abu Talib Karim Rightly said by the poet laureate of Emperor Shah Jahan above, we do not actually know the beginning and end of anything in the universe, be it the traditions, culture or human race, or the world. What we know are fragments of the past we extract out of evidence. It is in vain to try and determine the first and last of something. For the past few months owing to some media hype on Jauhar, many of you had asked me questions. I tried to answer most of them. However, a lot remained unsaid and unwritten. Mostly because some things are impossible to put into words. But here I try my best. Today is a very significant day in history. On the 23 rd of February 1568, the world saw the last “Jauhar” of Chittorgarh, recorded in the medieval history of India. Akbar had invaded Mewar and the siege of four months ended in the Saka. There was no better day for...

The Queen Mother of Mewar

Let me start by saying, this is a representation of history and folklore in my own words, trying to show how great a soul this lady was. And let me start with a line here. “Naari Ki Balidaano Ko Sadev Bhulta Aya hai Itihas.” Yes, most women lay forgotten in the pages of history, only alive through the folklore and local tales that fail to reach the pages of books due to a lack of historical evidence. Their names don’t remain, but their haunting hand prints on the fort walls before Jauhar, their names on inscriptions as daughter, wife and mother, often make us wonder, who were they, how were they and how were their lives! Historically, the only thing we know about Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara, princess of Jallore and queen of Mewar is that she was the first queen of Rana Udai Singh II, the mother of most probably her only son Maharana Pratap and daughter of ally of Rana Sanga, Akshay Raj of Jallore. Apart from that her entire life has no historical existence and is spun on ...

Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

23rd February 1568. The sun rose on the eastern horizon, not with the hope of a new day. But, with the horror of what was to follow. The first rays of the Sun God were met by the chants of “Jai Bhavani!” that echoed in the air of Chittorgarh. The Mewaris knew it was time. Four months back, when the Mughals camped at the base of the fort, a helpless Chittorgarh had watched. Rana Udai Singh had left with his closest aides to make the new city westwards, his capital. If rumours were to be believed, he had left behind a cavalry of 8000 soldiers, under Rao Jaimal of Merta and Rawat Patta of Kelwa to look over the fort. He had also left behind some of his lesser queens and infant princes, as an assurance to the people that Chittorgarh was invincible. Their safety and hope had lived in Kunwar Pratap. Truth be said, they had already taken the crown Prince as their King. Ever since Ranisa had left with him till he became the Senapati, he had time and again proved to be a better lead...

The Princess of Marwar

Historically we know nothing about Phool Bai Rathore except that she was the daughter of Ram Singh Rathore, granddaughter of Raja Maldeo Rathore and fifth wife of Maharana Pratap. There is no historical evidence of Akbar's alliance with her in particular however Maldeo did give his granddaughters in a marriage alliance with Mughals and other major dynasties. Phool Kanwar's cousin Maanwati Bai (Better known as Jodha Bai or Jagat Gossain) married Salim, Akbar's son and later emperor Jahangir. The Princess was in her chambers. The Mehrgarh Fort was in a quiet dark state and everyone feared what lay ahead. The men of the Rathore clan had gone to ally with the Mughal emperor Akbar. Rao Maldeo had decided that it was the only way to save Marwar's future. His second son Udai and youngest one Chandrasen supported his decision to save the country. But his heir and firstborn Ram Singh Rathore was a rebel. He was not going to bow down before the Mughals and lose his dignity. A...

Maharana Pratap: The Sun of Mewar

Many of you have read my fan fiction as well as historical representations of the life and times of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar. I provided small details of his life in many articles. But never have I ever made a separate historical post on him. It is very difficult to put together his life without the help of folklore because historical evidence is scarce. This one was requested and hence here it goes. Needless to say, this one is very special. This is a blend of history and folklore. Leave your love. ❤️ Background and Birth: The year was 1540. Mewar was under a cloud of uncertainty. Banbir, their ruler for four years now, was a very incompetent ruler who always spent his time in luxury, drinking and dancing with girls. The crown prince Udai Singh was rumoured to be killed by him. Chittorgarh was in darkness. Around March 1540, Mewar once again saw hope as some trusted generals along Mewar with Kunwar Udai Singh attacked Chittorgarh taking Banbir by surprise. He was soon to re...

The Warrior Bride

Kelwa/Kailwa is a small village situated around two hours away from Chittorgarh and an hour from Lake Pichola. It was mainly inhabited by the Rathores and ruled by the Chundawat clan, who were once the rulers of Mewar. One chief of Kelwa, was Rawat Sihaji Singh Chundawat. He was a very close ally of Rana Sanga. His son Jaga Singhji too died fighting for Rana Udai Singhji in one war with the Afghans in 1555 AD. Kelwa’s heir was the minor child of Jaga Singhji and his widow Sajjan Bai Songara Chauhan. Being from the clan of the Chauhan Rajputs, she was a warrior at heart. From the early age of about four, her only son was brought up under his uncle Naga Singhji, to fight for his motherland and serve it like all other Mewaris. Fatta (Patta), as fondly called by everyone was a deft warrior even before he reached his teens. His name and bravery spread across the land, to Rana Udai Singh’s ears in Chittorgarh. He was also the nephew to Ranaji’s close aide Rawat Chundawatji. Upon the order of...

Symphony of Love

A week was enough for the master to be pleased enough with the new student to tell the Sultan that she was ready for her first performance. The Sultan was extremely pleased and rewarded him with a gold chain. As the master bowed to leave, the guards announced the arrival of the chief queen. Sultan Baz Bahadur sat upright. She was his first bride, a childhood alliance his father had forced upon him when he did not even know what marriages implied. Now he only saw her face when she had complaints about the inner palace and its inhabitants. Honestly, he expected her there since Roopmati arrived. His queen did not like changes especially if those changes were threatening to her position. The Chief Queen arrived with her maids, dismissed them at the threshold and came up to her husband to bow and greet him. “What brings you here?” Baz Bahadur asked, with a lingering smile on his lips. The queen could hear the hint of taunt in his voice. She forced a smile. Her marriage to this reckles...

The Navroz Incident

This popular folklore has been recreated from Col, James Todd's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. Names I have added, from my own historical research. This one is especially for Garima to thank her for the books and love! Yet another Veer Gatha from the dessert! Ps. This is folklore with no evidence of history, please remember that Bikaner, lying in the western part of the Thar, was a small yet independent state ruled by a clan of Marwari Rathores until Raja Kalyanmal surrendered to Akbar's Rajput Policies in 1571. His fourth son Prithviraj Rathore, being a great warrior and poet was respected as one of the "Nine Gems" in Emperor Akbar's court. Prithviraj, was the son of Kalyanmal's first wife and queen Rani Songaribai Rainawati, a cousin of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai of Mewar. Hence he was cousin to the valiant Pratap Singh of Mewar. He was also married to one of Rana Udai Singh of Mewar's daughters from his other wives, sister to Kunwar Pratap, Baisa Ja...

Charumati's Love

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and not claiming any historical happening in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana. The year 1657. Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased and if the news spread was to be believed his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by the enemies and alliances as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short tempered and cunning he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wage ...

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