Saliha Banu Begum


Saliha Banu Begum was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire as the wife of Emperor Jahangir. She was also known as the Padshah Banu Begum or the Padshah Mahal.

Family

Saliha Banu Begum was the daughter of Qaim Khan, and came from a well placed family in the government as her brother, a man named Abdur Rahim, was said by Jahangir to be "of the hereditary houseborn ones of this Court." She was the grand daughter of Muqim Khan, the son of Shuja'at Khan from Akbar's time.

Marriage

Jahangir married her in 1608, in the third year of his reign. As a consequence, her brother Abdur Rahim's position greatly advanced. He was awarded with the title of Tarbiyat Khan. His son named Miyan Joh, whom Saliha had taken for her son, was killed at the banks of river Jhelum by Mahabat Khan when the latter behaved insolently towards Jahangir, in 1626.
For much of Jahangir's reign, she was the Padishah Banu, also called Padishah Mahal, and when she died in 1620, the title was passed on to Nur Jahan. She was, reportedly, Nur Jahan's only powerful rival for Jahangir's affections. Williams Hawkins, a representative of the English East India Company noted her among Jahangir's chief wives. He said the following:
Saliha Banu Begum was reportedly to be well versed in Hindi poetry.

Death

Saliha Banu Begum died on Wednesday, 10 June 1620. Jahangir noted that Saliha Banu's death was foretold by the astrologer Jotik Rai; grief-stricken at her loss, he nevertheless marvelled at the accuracy of the prophecy, which had been taken from his own horoscope.