'Jodha Bai Mahal' also known incorrectly as 'Jodh Bai Mahal' is the largest palace in Fatehpur Sikri commissioned by Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1569 for his favourite queen consort, Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known as 'Jodha bai' . [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] This Mahal is the largest complex of the zenana (palace for women belonging to the royal household). [4] It is a masterpiece of the fusion of Hindu and Persian architecture made with red sandstone. [10]
"Having conducted a matrimonial alliance with the Hindu princess, Akbar spared no pains in making her new home resemble her old as much as possible"
— Edmund W. Smith, Moghul Architecture of Fathpur Sikri (1973) [11]
Born as a Rajput princess, Mariam-uz-Zamani was married to Akbar in the year 1562 as a result of a political alliance between Akbar and her father, Raja Bharmal. [12] [13] She gradually became his favourite wife and was the first wife of Akbar to honour the royal household with an heir. [14] In the year 1569, she gave birth to her third and first surviving child of Akbar, Prince Salim. Akbar shifted his capital from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri in acknowledgement of his faith in the efficacy of the holy man's prayer, Sheikh Salim Chisti, whose blessings he sought for the birth of an heir to his empire. [15] The construction in Sikri started in 1569 and a grand palace was established for the empress and her newborn son, prince Salim. This was the biggest residential palace in the city, and to this day it stands, though in ruins, as a monument of Akbar's love for the Amber princess. [16]
Jodha Bai Palace was commissioned by Akbar in her honour and was the largest residential palace in his harem. It is also known as Raniwas and Zenani Dyodhi. [17] It shows the Rajput influence and is built around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy. This palace building consists of a rectangular block with a single magnificent gateway on the eastern side, which was protected by guard rooms, and has triangular ceilings, and other apartments. The eastern gateway of the palace is exceedingly magnificent and is of typical Rajasthani architecture.
The Khawabgah of this palace is a beautiful and spacious double-storey complex. The palace comprises a Hindu temple and a Tulsi math used by his Hindu wife for worship. This palace was internally also connected to the palace of Akbar. [10] Several Hindu motifs have been used in the building alongside Lord Krishna depictions on the walls, which confirms that the occupant of the building was a Hindu lady. [17]
This palace has distinct Gujarati and Rajasthani architectural patterns. [18] Many motifs can be found in the interior like swans, elephants, parrots, Srivastava marks, etc. The western suite in the palace which served as a temple contains vedikas and other Hindu motifs. It contains beautiful curvilinear pillars with brackets. The superstructure of the building comprises chhatris, pillars with wall brackets, semicircular domes, and several niches. The palace is built with red sandstone making it seem captivating.
Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir, was Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal Emperor.
Fatehpur Sikri is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi) from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this role from 1571 to 1585, when Akbar abandoned it due to a campaign in Punjab and was later completely abandoned in 1610.
Agra is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 230 kilometres (140 mi) south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the fourth-most populous city in Uttar Pradesh and twenty-third most populous city in India.
Mughal architecture is the type of Indo-Islamic architecture developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of earlier Muslim dynasties in India and from Iranian and Central Asian architectural traditions, particularly Timurid architecture. It also further incorporated and syncretized influences from wider Indian architecture, especially during the reign of Akbar. Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways, and delicate ornamentation; examples of the style can be found in modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known by the misnomer Jodha Bai, was the chief consort and principal Hindu wife as well as the favourite wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. She was also the longest-serving Hindu empress of the Mughal Empire with a tenure of forty-three years (1562–1605).
Buland Darwaza, or the "Door of victory", was built in 1575 by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is the main entrance to the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, which is 43 km from Agra, India.
Raja Bharmal, also known as Bihari Mal, and Bihar Mal, was the 23rd Kachwaha Rajput ruler of Amber, which was later known as Jaipur.
The Ibādat Khāna was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri to gather spiritual/religious leaders of different religious grounds so as to conduct a discussion and debates on the teachings of the respective religious leaders.
Akbar's tomb is the mausoleum of the third and greatest Mughal emperor Akbar. The tomb was built in 1605–1613 by his son, Jahangir and is situated on 119 acres of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The buildings are constructed mainly from a deep red sandstone, enriched with features in white marble.
Begum Shahi Mosque, officially the Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum, is a 17th-century mosque situated in the interior walled city of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. Constructed by Mughal empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, chief consort of Akbar. The mosque was built between 1611 and 1614 during the reign of Jahangir.
The Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani or Mariam's tomb is the mausoleum of Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known as Jodha Bai, the favorite wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The tomb was built by her son Jahangir, in her memory between years 1623–1627 and is located in Sikandra, next to the Akbar's tomb, in the direction of Mathura. She stands as the only wife of Akbar buried closed to him.
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, popularly known as Akbar the Great, and also as Akbar I, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in the Indian subcontinent. He is generally considered one of the greatest emperors in Indian history and led a successful campaign to unify the various kingdoms of Hindūstān or India proper.
Jahangiri Mahal may be the most noteworthy building inside the Agra Fort of India. The Mahal was the principal zenana, and was used by the Rajput wives of Akbar. It is a form of Islamic architecture.
The Jama Masjid is a 16th-century congregational mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fatehpur Sikri, located in Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Akbar, and was the largest mosque in the empire at the time of construction. The Jama Masjid's design drew from earlier mosques built by various pre-Mughal sultanates, and served as an important precedent in subsequent Mughal architecture.
Manavati Bai, also spelled Manvati Bai,, better known by her title, Jagat Gosain, was the second wife and the empress consort of the fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir and the mother of his successor, Shah Jahan.
The architecture of Uttar Pradesh demonstrates a diverse and eclectic combination of Buddhist, Hindu, Indo-Islamic, and Indo-European architectural styles. Three of its architectural monuments—the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort, as well as the township of Fatehpur Sikri founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar—are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The architectural structures in Uttar Pradesh include ancient Buddhist stūpas and vihāras, ancient Buddhist and Hindu monasteries, townships, forts, palaces, temples, mosques, mausoleums, memorials, and other community structures. Uttar Pradesh's architectural structures also include various Hindu temples, Ghats, etc. largely found in ancient cities like Benares (Varanasi), Brindaban (Vrindavan), Mathura, and Prayagraj (Allahabad).
Jodha Akbar is an Indian historical drama television series that aired from 18 June 2013 to 7 August 2015 on Zee TV, also digitally available on ZEE5. The show was produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms. Starring Rajat Tokas and Paridhi Sharma, critics have praised the series for its acting performances, scope, soundtrack and production values. It replaced Rab Se Sohna Isshq and was replaced by Tashan-e-Ishq in its timeslot.
Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments is a book written in Persian by Dr Ali Asghar Hekmat E Shirazi and published in 1956 and 1958 and 2013. New edition contains the Persian texts of more than 200 epigraphical inscriptions found on historical monuments in India, many of which are currently listed as national heritage sites or registered as UNESCO world heritage, published in Persian; an English edition is also being printed.
Shah Begum was the first wife and chief consort of Prince Salim. She was known as Zan-i-Kalan being the first wife of Salim. She was a Rajput princess by birth and committed suicide shortly before the succession of her husband to the royal throne. She was the mother of the eldest daughter and son of Prince Salim, Sultan-un-Nissa Begum and Khusrau Mirza.
Mariam Zamani's palace in Fatehpur Sikri, mother of prince Salim, came to be known as Jodha Bai Palace. It stands as the biggest palace of Akbar's harem and is built as per distinctive Rajput architecture.
Akbar's Khwabgah—dream-cottage—-a song of love in red sand¬ stone and white marble was where the ceremony of the lifting of "the veil of every new wife he took was performed—and he took at least one every full moon. The guides in Fatehpur almost proudly stress that no woman—wife, concubine, or mistress—shared the Khwabgah with the Emperor twice In her lifetime. Jodha Bai was perhaps the only exception. The Padshah often invited her to the seclusion of the pleasure house "for the company and a game of chess."
Akbur, after this conquest, made a pilgrimage to Khwaja Moyin-ood-Deen Chishty at Ajmere and returned to Agra; from whence he proceeded to visit the venerable Sheikh Sulim Chishty, in the village of Seekry. As all the king's children had hitherto died, he solicited the Sheikh's prayers, who consoled him, by assuring him he would soon have a son, who would live to a good old age. Shortly after, his favourite sooltana, being then pregnant, on Wednesday the 17th of Rubbee-ool-Awul, in the year 997 was delivered of a son, who was called Sulim.
