Mariam-uz-Zamani is one of India’s most fascinating historical figures from the Middle Ages. She was Emperor Akbar’s third wife and was known by several names throughout history, including Harka Bai and Jodha Bai, the latter indicating that she was born in Jodhpur, while many historians claim that she was actually born in the Amber district of Rajasthan. Her father, Raja Bihari Mal, married her off to Akbar in order to forge an alliance with the Moguls, which was mostly due to the fact that Rajput households were at odds for control of the regal Amber kingdom at the time. The choice to marry a Rajput princess to a Muslim monarch drew widespread condemnation from Indian rulers. Akbar’s courtesans also chastised him for marrying a Hindu princess, but there was no stopping the Emperor from doing so. Mariam was Akbar’s most beloved wife, and she was the first to embellish the royal home with an heir, Jahangir. She was a strong-willed lady who, despite the regulations, installed Hindu deity idols inside her palace. She was in charge of trading with Europeans and other Gulf nations. Mariam died in 1623, and her son Jahangir constructed Mariam’s Tomb at Agra.
Childhood and Adolescence
Harka Bai was born on the 1st of October 1542 in Amer, the present-day Jaipur, as the eldest daughter of a Rajput monarch Rajaj Bihari Mal. She was born in the midst of a power struggle among the Rajputs, during a period when the Moguls were expanding their empires over the Indian subcontinent.
When she was born, Ratan Singh, Bihar Mal’s nephew, was King of Amer, but repeated wars turned Amer into a battleground for the crown, and Raja Ratan Singh was assassinated by his brother Askaran. The noblemen, however, rejected Askaran’s claim to the throne, and Bihari Mal was crowned King of Amer.
Harka Bai began her training to be a princess at a young age. The royal ladies didn’t have the option of marrying the person they loved at the time; instead, they served as a conduit for political or financial relationships, while the men were free to marry as many women as they wished.
A Rajput prince was to be granted, Harka Bai. Rajputs taught their girls fighting skills as well as politics, religion, economic trades, and other facets of being a royal, according to Rajput customs.
When Mogul Emperor Akbar gave the Rajputs the opportunity to surrender and become a part of the Mogul Empire, most Rajput kings turned him down. Those who surrendered were rewarded handsomely, while those who refused to kneel might expect to face Akbar’s “wrath.”
Because of the power battles, the Amber kingdom was already weak, and Raja Bihari Mal didn’t know of any other way to save his realm. He proposed his daughter’s hand to Akbar, who viewed it as a great opportunity to impress the Hindus, particularly the Rajputs, the most obstinate yet brave of Indians, and bring them under his control.
Later Life & Marriage with Akbar
Akbar had previously only married Muslim ladies, therefore when he accepted Harka Bai’s marriage, he was immediately perplexed because most of his royal courtesans were opposed to introducing a Hindu princess into the royal court.
They expected Harka, like many other Hindu princesses forced to marry Muslims, to commit suicide, but against all odds, Harka Bai accepted the marriage, citing her family’s interests. Despite the threats of radical Islam supporters in his court, Akbar appreciated her and eventually agreed to marry her.
The marriage took place in the early months of 1562, and Harka Bai already knew that marrying a Muslim monarch would make her an outcast in her community. As a result, she persuaded Akbar not to force her to convert, and she also begged that she be allowed to worship her Hindu gods in her palace.
At first, Akbar was skeptical, but he eventually consented to her demands. Harka Bai was awarded the title of Mariam uz-Zamani as a result of the marriage, which was a highly regarded title given to Mogul queens.
For agreeing to the alliance, Akbar faced a lot of flak from his family. His Agra aunts and cousins, among other nobility, did not attend the wedding, and, worse, as Mariam grew on him, Akbar began to ignore his other Muslim spouses, particularly Ruqaiah Begum and Salima.
Despite the hatred, Akbar was able to keep his marriage to Harka Bai, and when she gave birth to Akbar’s first son and heir, she was accepted to a degree by the same people who had rejected her.
In 1569, she gave birth to Salim Jahangir, who would succeed Akbar as emperor. But she wasn’t immediately welcomed back to her hometown. She only went to Amber twice or three times throughout her marriage to Akbar, and each time she was insulted and ordered not to return.
When Akbar learned of this, he forbade her from ever visiting Amber again. Despite the fact that many of Harka’s relatives were given prominent posts in the royal court by Akbar, the Rajputana as a whole detested Bihari Mal and Harka Bai for defying their religion.
Harka Bai was so traumatized by this treatment that she never returned to Rajputana, but her loving friendship with her cousin brother Surajmal, or Sujamal, remained her only link to her prior life as the princess of Rajputana over time. Meanwhile, back in the royal court, protests were mounting about the presence of Hindu deities in Princess Harka’s royal palace, also known as Jodha Bai by some.
Akbar seemed unconcerned about the offenses and continued to maintain a love relationship with his wife. The marriage was a happy one, and Jodha remained Akbar’s wife’s favorite son until his death. However, she had no significant part in the royal court.
During the reign of Jahangir
When Jahangir became emperor, Mariam wasn’t heavily involved in royal administration at first, but her abilities allowed her to play a significant role in the royal court’s operations. Until Nur Jahan took her position as empress, she was politically active in the court.
Harka Bai was the first woman to be granted the uncommon power of issuing a royal command, or ‘Farman,’ and she oversaw the construction of various mosques, gardens, and walls around the country. She was noted for her tenacity and willpower, as well as her perfect mental presence.
When Akbar died in 1605, Harka Bai began assisting her son Jahangir with all of the court’s essential tasks. She was in charge of the Mogul ship commerce, which allowed Muslims to visit the holy city of Mecca, as well as the spice trades with Europeans. She contributed significantly to the royal court’s prosperity by establishing lucrative commercial partnerships with the Europeans through the trafficking of silk and spices.
When her ship, the Rahimi, was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates in 1613, she was met with fury in the royal court. Her son, Emperor Jahangir, stepped in to help her and ordered the conquest of Daman, a Portuguese-controlled little island. This specific event had a lot of value.
For the most part, Jahangir was the last great Mogul emperor, and it was mostly because of the advice he received from his mother; after that, the Mogul Dynasty and Indians, in general, fell downhill.
Mariam-uz’s Death
Although the reason for her death is uncertain, most historical records claim that she died peacefully of natural causes. She died in 1623, and she desired that her grave be put beside her deceased husband, Akbar before she died.
Her mausoleum is located in Jyoti Nagar, about a kilometer from Akbar’s tomb. Her son was devastated by her death and ordered the construction of a mosque in her honor, which is now known as ‘The Mosque of Mariam Zamani Begum Sahiba’ and is located in Lahore, Pakistan.
Mariam-uz-Zamani’s Legacy
Mariam uz-Zamani was a courageous woman who endured a lot of abuse and name-calling from her own people and still stood by her husband and son. After her death, she became the topic of many stories and poetry, and she still is.
Her name, however, has long been a source of consternation, as official biographies of Akbar and Jahangir refer to her as Mariam uz-Zamani and Harka Bai, respectively, while some 17th and 18th-century poets refer to her as Jodha Bai.
She was referred to as Jodha Bai in the Indian film ‘Mughal-e-Azam,’ as well as the 2008 film ‘Jodha Akbar.’ The uncertainty about her name raised many questions among the Rajputs, who also alleged that the film misrepresented many other aspects besides her name.
Estimated Net worth
Unknown.