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{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
[[Don (honorific)|Dona]] '''Juliana Dias da Costa''' (1658–1733) was a woman of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] descent from [[Kochi (India)|Kochi]] taken to the [[Mughal Empire]]'s court of [[Aurangzeb]] in [[Hindustan]], who became a [[Harem]]-favorite of the [[Mughal Emperors|Mughal emperor]] of [[India]] [[Bahadur Shah I]], Aurangzeb's son, who became the monarch in the year 1707.

==Life==

Juliana Dias da Costa was the daughter of the Portuguese physician Agostinho de Dias Costa. There has been contradictory stories about her early life. According to one version, her family fled the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] conquest of [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] Kochi (''Cochim''). According to another, they were taken as slaves when the Mughal Emperor destroyed the Portuguese settlement of Hooghly.<ref>''[https://books.google.se/books?id=7nVIBhrRb9AC&pg=PA366&dq=Juliana+Dias+da+Costa+slave&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR-pGS7OfoAhXRxIsKHTuvBTQQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Juliana%20Dias%20da%20Costa%20slave&f=false]''</ref> Her father served as the physician at the Mughal [[court]] at [[Delhi]], either as a slave or as a free. It is in any event known that her mother was a slave.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ7vDQAAQBAJ&q=Juliana+Dias+da+Costa+slave&pg=PA67|title = Cooperation and Empire: Local Realities of Global Processes|isbn = 9781785336102|last1 = Bührer|first1 = Tanja|last2 = Eichmann|first2 = Flavio|last3 = Förster|first3 = Stig|last4 = Stuchtey|first4 = Benedikt|date = August 2017}}</ref> Juliana herself was born in Delhi.

Juliana Dias da Costa entered the [[Mughal Harem]] serving the family ([[wife]] and [[mother]]) of the then [[prince]] ''Shah’Alam''. She continued to do so after the prince fell into disfavour with his father and accompanied him into exile. She was rewarded when ''Shah’Alam'' became Emperor (''Shah'') Bahadur I upon his father's death and her influence in the court became great, even though she remained a [[Catholic]] in a [[Muslim]] state. Padre Anton Magellan arranged Juliana’s marriage to an unnamed Portuguese man after her mother died. Her husband died in battle shortly after.<ref name="Better">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/268217/juliana-dias-da-costa-mughal-empire-bahadur-shah-forgotten-portuguese-history/amp/|title=When a Portuguese Woman Intrigued with an Emperor in the Mughal Empire|date=9 December 2021}}</ref> She is said to have ridden on a [[war elephant]] beside Bahadur Shah during his battles to defend his authority, and even after his death she continued to be highly considered, although with less influence.

During her period of strongest influence, while Bahadur Shah I was still alive, she was frequently sought out by [[Europe]]an powers like the Dutch, Portuguese, the [[British Empire|British]], and the representatives of the Pope. She provided much assistance to the Society of Jesus, including helping the Italian Jesuit missionary [[Ippolito Desideri]] (1684-1733) in his [[Mission (Christian)|mission]] to [[evangelise]] [[Tibet]]. In recognition of her many contributions and services to the Jesuits she was recognized as a Patroness of the Society.

Juliana was also responsible for setting up a [[caravanserai|sarai]], or rest house, in the suburban village of [[Okhla]] in [[Delhi]], which was subsequently named after her as [[Sarai Julena]] and is a densely populated neighborhood today.<ref name="Better">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/268217/juliana-dias-da-costa-mughal-empire-bahadur-shah-forgotten-portuguese-history/amp/|title=When a Portuguese Woman Intrigued with an Emperor in the Mughal Empire|date=9 December 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*Maclagan, Sir Edward. The Jesuits and the Great Mogul. 1932: rpt. New York: Octagon Books, 1972: 181–189.
*Pomplun, Trent. Jesuit on the Roof of the World: Ippolito Desideri's Mission to Tibet. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010: 59,224n64.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Juliana Dias da}}
[[Category:1658 births]]
[[Category:1733 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]
[[Category:Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:Indian people of Portuguese descent]]
[[Category:Indian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Indian slaves]]
[[Category:Women in 17th-century warfare]]
[[Category:Women in 18th-century warfare]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:18th-century slaves]]

Juliana Dias da Costa - Revision history

Bot at 02:15, 22 August 2022