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The Imperial Household (7) (1 HOUSEHOLD Harem = domestic world of Mughals,…
The Imperial Household (7)
1
HOUSEHOLD
Harem
= domestic world of Mughals
from Persian word Haram meaning a sacred place
Polygamy was widely practiced especially among the ruling groups
Mughal household consisted of
Wives
Concubines
distant relatives (mother, step and foster mother, sisters, daughters, aunts, children, etc.)
Female slaves
servants
2 MARRIAGE
Rajputs and Mughals viewed marriage as a way of cementing political alliances
Gift of territory accompanied by a gift of daughter
this ensured a continuing hierarchical relationship between ruling groups
because of marriage the Mughals formed a vast kinship network
3 WIVES
in the household, a distinction was maintained between wives from royal fams (begums) and other wives (aghas) who were not of noble birth
Begams had a higher status because they brought huge amounts of cash and valuables
the concubines aghacha or lesser agha - lowest in the hierarchy of females intimately related to the royalty
they all received monthly allowances and gifts according to their status
agha and aghacha could rise to the status of begam according to the husband's will and provided he did not already have 4 wives
love and motherhood played imp roles in elevating such women to a higher status
4 SLAVES
they performed all kinds of tasks - simple and easy and complex requiring skill
Slave eunuchs (khwajasara) served as guards, servants, and also agents of women dabbling in commerce
5 WOMEN AND COMMERCE
After Nur Jahan, queens and princesses started controlling significant financial resources
Shah Jahan's daughters Jahanara and Roshanara enjoyed an annual income often equal to that of high imperial mansabdars
Jahanara also got revenue from port cities of Surat
6 WOMEN AND ARCHITECTURE
Jahanra participated in many achitectural projects of Shah Jahan's new capital Delhi
double storeyed caravanserai with a courtyard and garden
Chandni Chowk
7 BOOKS
Humayun Nama - look into domestic world of the Mughals
written by Gulbadan Begum
Gulbadan - daughter of Babur, Humayun's sister and Akbar;s aunt
she could write fluently in Turkish and Persian
Akbar had asked her to write her memoirs of earlier times when he ordered Abu'l Fazl to write Akbar Nama
8 GULBADAN BEGUM
she described in great detail the conflicts and tensions among princes and kings
important mediating role of elderly women in resolving these conflicts
