The Emperor's First Wife

Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son Hindal Mirza and his wife Sultanam Begum in 1542 A.D. merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabian and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power at Hind.

In 1551 A.D. just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince and when Humayun won back Lahore, she was fifteen. At the mere age, of Humayun's sudden death Akbar was declared the emperor on the 14th of February 1556. Rukaiya Sultana Begum thus became the empress of the Mughal Empire and was to become the longest-serving begum, in Akbar's long reign from 1556 to 1605 A.D.

Ruqaiya Begum was extremely proud of her Timurid blood and was not very much in favour of Akbar's Rajput policy or Din I Elahi. When the Mughal harem shifted to Lahore in 1557, where she spent most of her life, a separate palace was built for her use by the emperor. In the year 1561 Rukaiya Begum suffered her last miscarriage of many (often thought to be the deed of Mahamanga) She remained childless all her life only to be given the custody of Khurram, third son to Jahangir, and the future emperor Shah Jahan. Rukaiya Begum had palaces in Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore and also aided the construction and maintenance of Babur's Garden.

Not being in favour of inter-religious marriages she had supported Jahangir when he wanted to marry her lady-in-waiting, Meherunnisa who was the later empress Noor Jahan, also of Timurid lineage. His strong opinions and well-read mind of Khurram were also under her guidance. Surviving Akbar by 18 years she spent her last days in grace and dignity in the Lahore Palace. She was buried beside her father in the garden of Babur.

Torn between love and duty, childless and alone amidst kins, Rukaiya Begum managed to survive and establish her power in the haram with her intelligence and grace. She was Akbar's most respected wife fondly remembered by both her stepson and grandson in their memoirs. She also presented herself in the marriages of Shah Jahan in 1607 and 1609 and at the birth of his first two children, one of whom died in infancy. Rukaiya Begum was not as strong a woman as her successor Noor Mahal and neither was she as mildly opinionated as Hamida Banu.

The tomb of Rukaiya Begum is a simple one beside her father Hindal Mirza on the west side of Babur's resting place in the Bagh e Babur at Kabul. Her soul is believed to be a pure one as the tree grows beside her tomb naturally providing shade over her resting place.

In 1626 A.D. upon her death amidst the turmoil of an impending father-son battle between her foster son Khurram and stepson Jahangir, both remember her fondly and hold prayer meets for her soul.

Rukaiya Begum though not actively interested in business like Harka Bai or Salima Begum who owned ships and went on pilgrimages, spend her days attending to the need of the harem and giving political advice to her husband. The fact that in his last illness, none except her was allowed to be with him proves the amount of trust Akbar had in her. While many fantasise about a non-existing romance between Mariam ur Zamani and Akbar or even Salima Begum and Akbar, the story of Rukaiya Begum remains hidden between the pages of history and fiction waiting to be told.
Akbar was perhaps personally closest to this Begum than anyone else in his haram (and that is clear when he was on his death bed, both his son and grandson's memoirs mention only she was allowed to be with him). And the little political importance of the heirless princess lands her a line or two in books and a simple and humble tomb beside her father.
Like many others in the Mughal haram, Rukaiya Begum's voice remains silent in the walls of time.

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