Shreyasingh: brief cleaned up article based on references and added references

2026-02-25T06:35:04Z

brief cleaned up article based on references and added references

2A00:1FA0:42D1:7030:0:6D:D18C:6201: /* Political role at the Mughal court */

2021-05-11T11:56:19Z

Political role at the Mughal court

New page

{{Infobox royalty
|name = Asmat Begum
|title =
|image =
|caption =
|succession =
|birth_name =
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|death_date = 10 October 1621
|death_place = [[Agra]], [[India]]
|consort = yes
|spouse = [[Mirza Ghias Beg]]
|issue = Muhammad Sharif Ibrahim Khan Fath Jang Itiqad Khan [[Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan]] [[Nur Jahan]] Manija Begum Sahlia Begum
|house =
|father = Mirza Ala-ud-Daula Aqa Mulla
|mother =
|religion = [[Shia Islam]]
|image_size = 250px
|place of burial = [[Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah]], Agra
}}
'''Asmat Begum''' (died 1621) was the wife of [[Mirza Ghias Beg]], the Prime minister of the Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]], and the mother of Mughal empress [[Nur Jahan]], the power behind the emperor.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thackeray|first1=Frank W.|last2=editors|first2=John E. Findling|title=Events that formed the modern world : from the European Renaissance through the War on Terror|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=9781598849011|page=254}}</ref> Asmat Begum was also the paternal grandmother of Empress [[Mumtaz Mahal]], for whom the [[Taj Mahal]] was built.

==Family==
Asmat Begum was the daughter of Mirza Ala-ud-Daula Aqa Mulla<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shujauddin|first1=Mohammad|last2=Shujauddin|first2=Razia|title=The Life and Times of Noor Jahan|date=1967|publisher=Caravan Book House|page=1|language=en}}</ref> and a member of the illustrious Aqa Mulla clan.<ref name=FindlyP9>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=9}}</ref> She was a wise, well-educated, accomplished and highly cultured lady.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nath|first1=Renuka|title=Notable Mughal and Hindu women in the 16th and 17th centuries A.D.|date=1990|publisher=Inter-India Publ.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788121002417|page=66|edition=1. publ. in India.}}</ref> She had a brother, Ibrahim Khan, who served as the governor of [[Bengal]] during Emperor Jahangir's reign.<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=180}}</ref>

==Marriage==
Asmat Begum was married to the Persian noble, Mirza Ghiyas Beg, the youngest son of [[Khvajeh Mohammad-Sharif]], a Persian noble of [[Tehran]] and a [[vizier]] to the governor of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nadiem|first1=Ihsan H.|title=Gardens of Mughal Lahore|date=2005|publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications|page=71|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities: With an Account of Its Modern Institutions, Inhabitants, Their Trade, Customs, &c|date=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|page=104|language=en}}</ref> The couple had seven children together: Mohammad Sharif, Ibrahim Khan, Itiqad Khan, Manija Begum, Asaf Khan, Sahlia and Mehr-un-Nissa (later Empress Nur Jahan).<ref>{{cite news|title=The Riverside Mansions and Tombs of Agra: New Evidence from a Panoramic Scroll Recently Acquired by The British Library|url= https://www.bl.uk/eblj/2017articles/pdf/ebljarticle92017.pdf|last1=Koch|first1=Ebba|last2=Losty|first2=JP}}</ref>

For unknown reasons, Ghias Beg and his family had suffered a reversal in fortune in 1576 and soon found circumstances intolerable in their homeland of [[Persia]]. Drawn to the favourable climate of Emperor [[Akbar]]'s court in [[Agra]], the family decided to migrate to [[India]].<ref name=FindlyP9/> Ghias Beg became a trusted minister under both Akbar and his son Jahangir and was awarded the title of 'I'timad-ud-Daulah' ("Pillar of the State") for his services.<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=24}}</ref>

However, while serving as the ''diwan'' to an ''amir-ul-umara'' in 1607, Ghias Beg was charged with embezzling Rs. 50,000, which led to a decrease in his rank and status at court.<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=32}}</ref> In 1611, Asmat Begum's second daughter, Mehr-un-Nissa, caught the eye of the reigning emperor Jahangir at the palace ''[[Meena Bazaar]]''. The emperor proposed immediately and they were married within the same year.<ref name=FindlyP3>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=3}}</ref> This marriage again led to a dramatic rise in the fortunes of Asmat Begum and Ghias Beg's family. Ghias Beg was given a substantial increase in ''[[Mansabdar|mansab]]'' and made ''[[Vizier|wazir]]'' of the whole dominion in 1611. Likewise, their sons Asaf Khan and Itiqad Khan were also given high positions and ''mansab''s in the empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=44}}</ref>

==Political role at the Mughal court==
Mehr-un-Nissa (titled 'Nur Jahan' after her marriage) became Jahangir's most beloved and influential wife and soon became the real [[power behind the throne]] after their marriage. Nur Jahan formed a faction known as the ''junta'' which comprised her family members and her step-son, Prince Khurram (the future emperor [[Shah Jahan]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=48}}</ref> This faction, led by Nur Jahan, took control of the government as Jahangir became increasingly addicted to [[opium]] and alcohol.<ref name=FindlyP3/>

Asmat Begum, who was a wise and patient counsel in her own right, must certainly have been the nurturing hub of the ''junta'' in its heyday.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Colby Library Quarterly|date=1989|volume=25|page=143|publisher=Colby College|language=en}}</ref> She is also known to have taken a politically active role in the affairs of the court and served as a mother-figure to Jahangir and a counselor to Nur Jahan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hansen|first1=Waldemar|title=The peacock throne : the drama of Mogul India.|date=1972|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|isbn=9788120802254|page=44|edition=1. Indian ed., repr.}}</ref> However, Asmat Begum is perhaps best known for having invented the famous rose perfume called ''Jahangiri-itr'', which was described by Jahangir as the discovery of his reign.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bashir|first1=Hassan|last2=Gray|first2=Phillip W.|title=Deconstructing Global Citizenship: Political, Cultural, and Ethical Perspectives|date=2015|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9781498502597|page=244|language=en}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Agra-Itmad ud Daulah mausoleum-Cenotaph of Asmat Begum and Mirza Ghiyas-20131019.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Cenotaph of Asmat Begum alongside that of her husband Mirza Ghias Beg.]]
Asmat Begum died in October 1621 in [[Agra]].<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=291}}</ref> Upon her death, her son-in-law Jahangir, who was extremely fond of her, wrote: "Without exaggeration, in purity of disposition and in wisdom and the excellencies that are the ornament of women no Mother of the Age was ever born equal to her, and I did not value her less than my own mother."<ref>{{harvnb|Findly|1993|p=165}}</ref>

Asmat Begum's death was a great blow to her family. Heartbroken over his wife's death, Ghias Beg also died a few months later in January 1622. Asmat Begum was buried in her husband's mausoleum, the [[Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah]] in Agra, which was commissioned by her daughter Nur Jahan, for both of her parents.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ruggles|first1=D. Fairchild |author1-link=D. Fairchild Ruggles|title=Islamic gardens and landscapes|url=https://archive.org/details/islamicgardensla0000rugg|url-access=registration|date=2008|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=9780812207286|page=[https://archive.org/details/islamicgardensla0000rugg/page/100 100]}}</ref> Nur Jahan, who was extremely devoted to her parents, spent large sums in its construction.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Asher|first1=[by] Catherine B.|title=The new Cambridge history of India.|date=1992|publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521267281|page=130|edition=Repr.}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*Asmat Begum is a character in Usha John's novel ''The Unknown Lover and Other Short Stories'' (1961).
*Asmat Begum is a principal character in [[Indu Sundaresan]]'s award-winning historical novel ''The Twentieth Wife'' (2002) as well as in its sequel ''The Feast of Roses'' (2003).
*Asmat Begum is a pivotal character in Tanushree Podder's historical novel ''Nur Jahan's Daughter'' (2005).
*[[Suparna Marwah]] portrayed Asmat Begum in [[EPIC (TV channel)|EPIC]] channel's critically acclaimed historical drama ''[[Siyaasat]]'' (based on ''The Twentieth Wife'').

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Banks Findley|first=Ellison|date=11 February 1993|title=Nur Jahan: Empress of Mughal India|location=Oxford, UK|publisher=Nur Jahan : Empress of Mughal India|isbn=9780195074888|ref=Findly}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Asmat}}
[[Category:Mughal nobility]]
[[Category:1621 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century births]]
[[Category:17th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:16th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:Women of the Mughal Empire]]

Asmat Begum - Revision history

Shreyasingh: brief cleaned up article based on references and added references

2A00:1FA0:42D1:7030:0:6D:D18C:6201: /* Political role at the Mughal court */