Mughal Harem

The Mughal Harem (Urdu: مغل حرم‎) was the harem of Mughal emperors of South Asia. The term originated with the Near East, meaning a "forbidden place; sacrosanct, sanctum", and etymologically related to the Arabic حريم ḥarīm, "a sacred inviolable place; female members of the family" and حرام ḥarām, "forbidden; sacred". It came to mean the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their segregated quarters which are forbidden to men. Harems were composed of wives, female relatives , concubines, and male infants.

The harem was not just a place where women lived. Babies were born and children grew up there. Within the precincts of the harem were markets, bazaars, laundries, kitchens, playgrounds, schools and baths. The harem had a hierarchy, its chief authorities being the wives and female relatives of the emperor and below them were the concubines.[1] Mothers, step-mothers, aunts, grandmothers, step-sisters, sisters, daughters and other female relatives that lived in the harem. There were also ladies-in-waiting, servants, maids, cooks, women official and guards.[2]

The harem of the Mughal Empire was guarded by three lines of defence. The first were the trained Tatar and Uzbek women deadly with spears and bows. Next came the eunuchs whose job was to maintain discipline in the harem; some eunuchs were recruited as children locally or received as gifts from Ottoman and North African kings.

The Rajput Rajas of Rajputana sent their daughters to the Mughal Harem to create family bonds with The Mughal emperors. Mariam-uz-Zamani, also known as Jodha Bai, Heer Kunwari, Hira Kunwari or Harka Bai, (October 1 1542 – May 19, 1623) was an Empress of the Mughal Empire. She was the first and chief Rajput wife of Emperor Akbar, and the mother of the next Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.

The most women in the Mughal Harem were native girls from South Asia. Many local rulers of vassal states sent their daughters to the Mughal Harem to cement political relations with the Mughal empire. The Mughals preferred Central Asian, Afghani and Persian girls and these were the chief wives and concubines. The Persian girls included Georgian and Armenian girls that were part of Persian Safavid dynasty.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Inside the Harem of the Mughals
  2. ↑ Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions