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{{for|the web series|Badshah Begum (web series)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Badshah Begum
| title = [[Shahzadi]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] <br/> [[Padshah Begum]] <br/> Zan-i-Kalan
| image = Shahnamah of Firdausi, late 18th century, Mughal, India.jpg
| caption =Badshah Begum seated on her throne.
| succession = [[Padshah Begum]]
| reign = 1721-1789
| birth_date = {{circa}} 1703
| birth_place =
| death_date = 14 December {{death year and age|1789|1703}}
| death_place = [[Delhi]], [[India]]
| consort = yes
| spouse = [[Muhammad Shah]]
| issue = Shahriyar Shah Bahadur
| full name =
| house = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] ''(by birth)''
| father = [[Farrukhsiyar]]
| mother = Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum
| religion = [[Islam]]
| burial_place = Tis Hazari Bagh, Delhi
| burial_date =
| signature =
|successor=[[Zeenat Mahal]]|predecessor=[[Zinat-un-Nissa]]|reign-type=Tenure}}
'''Badshah Begum''' ({{circa}} 1703 – 14 December 1789) was [[Empress consort]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] from 8 December 1721 to 6 April 1748 as the first wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor [[Muhammad Shah]].<ref name="Sarkar97">{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Jadunath|title=Fall of the Mughal Empire.|date=1997|publisher=Orient Longman|location=Hyderabad|isbn=9788125011491|page=169|edition=4th}}</ref> She is popularly known by her title '''Malika-uz-Zamani''' ("Queen of the Age") which was conferred upon her by her husband, immediately after their marriage.<ref name=Malik>{{cite book|last1=Malik|first1=Zahir Uddin|title=The reign of Muhammad Shah, 1719-1748|date=1977|publisher=Asia Pub. House|location=London|isbn=9780210405987|page=407}}</ref>

Badshah Begum was a [[cousin|second-cousin]] of her husband and was a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal princess]] by birth. She was the daughter of Mughal emperor [[Farrukhsiyar]] and his first wife, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum. She wielded major political influence in the Mughal court during her husband's reign and was his most influential wife. It was through her efforts that her step-son, [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]], was able to ascend the Mughal throne.<ref name=Asiatic>{{cite journal|title=Journal and Proceedings|date=1907|pages=16, 360|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyIYAAAAYAAJ&q=malikah|accessdate=15 September 2017|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal|language=en}}</ref>

==Family and lineage==
Badshah Begum was born c.1703, during the reign of her great-great-grandfather [[Aurangzeb]].<ref>The American Society of Genealogists, ''The Genealogist, Vol. 11-12'' (1997), p. 212</ref> She was the daughter of the later Mughal emperor [[Farrukhsiyar]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=ed. by Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482332|page=455}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Saha|first1=B.P.|title=Princesses, begams and concubines|date=1992|publisher=Tarang Paperbacks|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780706963915|page=32}}</ref> and his first wife, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum. Farrukhsiyar was the second son of Prince [[Azim-ush-Shan]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=Annemarie Schimmel ; translated by Corinne Attwood ; edited by Burzine K. Waghmar ; with a foreword by Francis|title=The empire of the Great Mughals : history, art and culture|date=2005|publisher=Sang-E-Meel Pub.|location=Lahore|isbn=1861891857|page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/58 58]|edition=Revised|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/58}}</ref> born to his wife Sahiba Niswan Begum.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cheema|first1=G. S.|title=The forgotten mughals : a history of the later emperors of the House of Babar ; (1707 - 1857)|url=https://archive.org/details/forgottenmughals00chee|url-access=limited|date=2002|publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distr.|location=New Delhi|isbn=8173044163|page=[https://archive.org/details/forgottenmughals00chee/page/n91 179]}}</ref> Azim-ush-Shan was himself the second son of the seventh Mughal emperor [[Bahadur Shah I]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Richards|first1=J.F.|title=Mughal empire|date=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, Eng.|isbn=9780521566032|page=260|edition=Transferred to digital print.}}</ref>

Badshah Begum's mother, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum (also known as Fakhr-un-Nissa Begum), was the daughter of Sadat Khan, a Mughal noble of [[Turkish people|Turkish]] origin,<ref>{{cite book|last1=University|first1=Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim|title=Medieval India : a miscellany|date=1972|publisher=Asia Pub. House.|location=London|isbn=9780210223932|pages=252}}</ref> who had been ''Mir Atish'' (head of [[artillery]])<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=U.B.|title=Administrative system in India : Vedic age to 1947|date=1998|publisher=APH Pub. Co.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788170249283|page=111}}</ref> under Farrukhsiyar.<ref name="Sarkar97" /> Being a Mughal princess, Badshah Begum was well educated, intelligent and had been instructed in the nuances of ruling and diplomacy.

==Marriage==
Muhammad Shah acceded to throne in 1719 and was a son of Prince [[Jahan Shah (Mughal prince)|Jahan Shah]], the youngest son of Emperor [[Bahadur Shah I]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=J. L.|title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc.|location=Slough|isbn=9781932705546|page=24}}</ref> and the younger half-brother of Emperor Farrukhsiyar's father, Prince Azim-ush-Shan. Badshah Begum was therefore, a second-cousin of her husband through her father's side. She married Muhammad Shah on 8 December 1721<ref>{{cite book|last1=Awrangābādī|first1=Shāhnavāz Khān|last2=Prashad|first2=Baini|last3=Shāhnavāz|first3=ʻAbd al-Ḥayy ibn|title=The Maāthir-ul-umarā: being biographies of the Muḥammadan and Hindu officers of the Timurid sovereigns of India from 1500 to about 1780 A.D.|date=1979|publisher=Janaki Prakashan|page=652|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfG1AAAAIAAJ&q=muhmmad+shah+8+december+1721|language=en}}</ref> in [[Delhi]]. The marriage was celebrated with great splendour. Accordingly, many of the officers presented [[lakh]]s of [[rupees]] and everyone received a dress of honour and jewels and increase of pay.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=ed. by Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482356|page=10}}</ref> Upon her marriage, Badshah Begum was given the title of Malika-uz-Zamani ("Queen of the Age")<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malik|first1=Zahir Uddin|title=The reign of Muhammad Shah, 1719-1748|date=1977|publisher=Asia Pub. House|location=London|isbn=9780210405987|page=407}}</ref> by which she is popularly known and further, the exalted title of ''[[Padshah Begum]]''. Badshah Begum bore her husband his first son, Shahriyar Shah Bahadur, who died in his childhood. After that, she remained childless.<ref name="Malik" />

===Empress===
Badshah Begum took an interest in several aspects of the state and governance and an active part in matters of importance. Being the Emperor's chief wife, she was the most influential among all of his wives and exercised her opinions on him. Muhammad Shah later developed a passion for a dancing girl, [[Udham Bai]], a woman of no refinement, and made her a wife of his though Badshah Begum remained his favourite. This marriage resulted in the birth of a son, [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]. This son was brought up by the Empress as though he were her own son. She loved him greatly, and he grew up to ascend the throne due to her efforts.<ref name="Sarkar97" /><ref name=Latif>{{cite book|last=Latif|first=Bilkees I.|title=Forgotten|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780143064541|page=49}}</ref> Later, Badshah Begum also brought up Ahmad Shah's daughter, Muhtaram-un-Nisa.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=ed. by Nagendra Kr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh|date=2001|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corp.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788176482349|page=86}}</ref>

Badshah Begum commissioned elegant mansions in [[Jammu]] and in typical [[Mughal architecture|Mughal]] style, laid the foundations of pleasure gardens on the banks of the [[Tawi River]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rai|first1=Mridu|title=Hindu rulers, Muslim subjects : Islam, rights and the history of Kashmir|date=2004|publisher=Hurst|location=London|isbn=9781850656616|page=95|edition=[Nachdr.].}}</ref>

==Dowager empress==
In April 1748, Muhammad Shah died. Badshah Begum, concealing the news of his death, sent messages to her step-son Ahmad, who was in camp with Safdar Jang near [[Panipat]] to return to [[Delhi]] and claim the throne. On Safdar Jang's advice, he was enthroned at Panipat and returned to Delhi a few days later.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Michael|title=The Orchid House: Splendours and Miseries of the Kingdom of Oudh, 1827-1857|date=1960|publisher=Cassell|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUeAAAAMAAJ&q=chief+queen|language=en}}</ref> Badshah Begum was greatly respected by the court and the people as a Dowager empress, even after the Emperor's death.<ref name=Latif />

In February 1756, Badshah Begum's 16-year-old step-daughter, Princess [[Hazrat Begum]], became so famous for her matchless beauty that the Mughal emperor [[Alamgir II]], who was then about sixty, used undue pressures and threats to force Sahiba Mahal and the princess' guardian Badshah Begum, to give him Hazrat Begum's hand in marriage.<ref name=Islamic >{{cite book|last1=Aḥmad|first1=ʻAzīz|last2=Israel|first2=Milton|title=Islamic society and culture: essays in honour of Professor Aziz Ahmad|date=1983|publisher=Manohar|page=146|language=en}}</ref> The princess preferred death over marrying an old wreck of sixty and Alamgir II did not succeed in marrying her.<ref name="Islamic" />

===Role in Afghan invasion of Delhi===
In April 1757, the Durrani king [[Ahmed Shah Abdali]], after sacking the imperial capital of [[Delhi]], desired to marry Badshah Begum's 16-year-old step-daughter, Princess [[Hazrat Begum]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of India: 1712-1772|date=1978|publisher=Orient Longmans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggduAAAAMAAJ&q=Hazrat+sahiba+mahal|language=en}}</ref> Badshah Begum again resisted handing over her tender charge to a fierce Afghan of grandfatherly age but Ahmad Shah forcibly wedded Hazrat Begum on 5 April 1757 in Delhi.<ref name=Sarkar71>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Sir Jadunath|title=1754-1771 (Panipat). 3d ed. 1966, 1971 printing|date=1971|publisher=Orient Longman|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtU5AQAAIAAJ&q=Hazrat+sahiba+mahal|language=en}}</ref> After their wedding celebrations, Ahmad Shah took his young wife back to his native place of [[Afghanistan]]. The weeping bride was accompanied by Badshah Begum, her mother Sahiba Mahal, and a few other ladies of note from the imperial harem.<ref name="Sarkar71" />

During the Afghan occupation of Delhi, which lasted for two months and a half from 18 July to 2 October 1788, hell was let loose on [[Shah Alam II]] and the imperial family. He was deposed on 30 July 1788 and blinded ten days later. [[Ghulam Kadir|Ghulam Qadir]] took out Prince [[Mahmud Shah Bahadur|Bidar Bakht]], son of Ahmad Shah, the ex-emperor from the imperial prison and made him the new puppet emperor with the title of Jahan Shah; he is said to have received 12 [[lakh]]s of [[rupees]] from Badshah Begum to wreak her vengeance against Shah Alam II, whose father [[Alamgir II]] had secured the throne by deposing and blinding Ahmad Shah. 4 months later however, the Mughal royal family were freed from captivity by the Maratha armies led by [[Mahadji Shinde]] which had just captured [[Delhi]] from Ghulam Qadir and his army.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=J. L.|title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc.|location=Slough|isbn=9781932705546|page=595}}</ref>

==Death==
Badshah Begum died in 1789 in [[Delhi]] and was buried in the Tis Hazari Bagh (Garden of Thirty Thousand) there. The garden had been commissioned by the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] during his reign. Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]'s daughter, Princess [[Zeenat-un-Nissa]], was also buried in the Tis Hazari Bagh upon her death in 1721.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Blake|first1=Stephen P.|title=Shahjahanabad : the sovereign city in Mughal India, 1639-1739|url=https://archive.org/details/shahjahanabadsov00blak|url-access=limited|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521522991|page=[https://archive.org/details/shahjahanabadsov00blak/page/n78 63]}}</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Badshah Begum'''
|2= 2. [[Farrukhsiyar|Muin-ud-din Muhammad Shah Farrukhsiyar, Mughal Emperor]]
|3= 3. Gauhar un-nisa Begum
|4= 4. [[Shahzada (title)|Shahzada]] [[Azim-ush-Shan]]
|5= 5. Sahiba Nizwan
|6= 6. [[Nawab]] Sa'adat Khan Zulfiqar Jang
|7= 7. Gauhar un-nisa Begum
|8= 8. [[Bahadur Shah I|Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah I, Mughal Emperor]]
|9= 9. Amrita Bai
|10=
|11=
|12= 12. [[Sayyid]] Hussain [[Marashi (surname)|Marashi]]
|13=
|14= 14. Mirza Masum Khan [[Safavid Dynasty|Safawi]]
|15=
|16= 16. [[Aurangzeb|Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor]]
|17= 17. Nawab Bai of [[Rajauri]]
|18= 18. Rup Singh, [[Raja]] of [[Kishangarh]]
|19=
|20=
|21=
|22=
|23=
|24=
|25=
|26=
|27=
|28= 28. [[Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi|Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safawi]]
|29= 29. Nauras Banu Begum}}

==See also==

*[[Mughal Empire]]
*[[Muhammad Shah]]
*[[Padshah Begum]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Badshah}}
[[Category:Mughal empresses]]
[[Category:Mughal princesses]]
[[Category:Timurid princesses]]
[[Category:1703 births]]
[[Category:1789 deaths]]

Badshah Begum - Revision history

imported>Aciram at 23:37, 8 August 2021