The “Maryam Makani” of the Baburid dynasty

A figurative portrait of Hamida Banu.
A page from the “Akbar Album”.
The British Museum, London, 1948.1009.0.53
Agra, circa 1560.

The depiction of Hamida Banu on a page from the “Akbar Album” is not merely a portrait of a noblewoman but serves as an artistic and cultural document that reveals the role of aristocratic women in history and their influence on political processes. This miniature, currently housed at the British Museum in London, was created around 1560 in the city of Agra.

Hamida Banu (1527–1604) was one of the distinguished women in the history of the Baburid dynasty. Her father, Shaykh Ali Akbar Jami, was a respected figure in religious and scholarly circles who adhered to the Shia school of thought. Her mother, Mah Afroz Begum, was from the town of Pat in the Sindh region. Hamida Banu’s courage and religious worldview were shaped within this environment.

How did she meet Humayun?

Hamida Banu first encountered Humayun when she was a fourteen-year-old girl visiting the household of Mirza Hindal. This meeting took place in Alwar, during a banquet hosted by her mother, Dildar Begum (a wife of Babur and Humayun’s stepmother). At the time, Humayun was living in exile after fleeing Delhi due to an assault by Sher Shah Suri’s forces, who sought to restore Afghan rule there.

When the idea of Hamida Banu Begum marrying Humayun was proposed, both she and Hindal initially objected strongly likely due to the close relationship between them. It is believed, though not definitively proven, that Hamida may have been in love with Hindal. This assumption is based on circumstantial evidence. Gulbadan Begum, Hindal’s sister and a close friend of Hamida, mentions in her memoir Humayun-nama that Hamida was frequently seen at her brother’s palace, and even in the palace of Dildar Begum.

Initially, Hamida refused to meet Humayun. However, after forty days of persistent efforts and persuasion, and at the request of Dildar Begum, she finally agreed to marry him. In the Humayun-nama, Hamida’s initial reluctance is clearly noted.

Her role as a mother: The birth of Akbar

On October 15, 1542, Hamida Banu gave birth to the great emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in Umerkot. She was later honored with the title Maryam Makani (symbol of purity and motherhood). Although Akbar spent much of his early life apart from his parents, he was eventually reunited with them. Hamida later became one of his most trusted political advisers.

Her role during Akbar’s reign

During Akbar’s reign, it was not uncommon for royal women to intervene in matters of state, including appealing for clemency on behalf of those who had committed crimes. On one occasion, Hamida Banu and her daughter-in-law, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, both sought pardon for an offender. However, Akbar refused to pardon a Sunni Muslim from Lahore who had killed a Shia Muslim purely out of sectarian fanaticism a decision that has been preserved in historical records.

Meanwhile, Sher Shah Suri died in May 1545, and his son and successor Islam Shah passed away in 1554, effectively bringing an end to the Suri dynasty’s rule. In November 1554, Humayun set out for India, leaving Hamida behind in Kabul. He regained control of Delhi in 1555 but died a year later in 1556 at the age of 47, after falling down the steps of his library in the city of Purana Qila. At the time of his death, his heir Akbar was just thirteen years old. Akbar would go on to become one of the greatest emperors of the Baburid Empire.

Hamida Banu joined Akbar only in the second year of his reign, in 1557, traveling from Kabul to be with him, and remained by his side thereafter. She became involved in political affairs on various occasions. Most notably, she advised her son during the dismissal of the powerful Baburid vizier Bairam Khan. Later, she also took part in raising her granddaughter, the princess.

Journey to the hereafter

Hamida Banu passed away on August 29, 1604, in the city of Agra one year before the death of her son Akbar and nearly half a century after the passing of her husband Humayun. She was buried beside Humayun’s tomb. Later, when Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir, rebelled against his father Akbar, Hamida Banu took it upon herself to reconcile the two. Despite the fact that Salim had orchestrated the murder of Akbar’s favorite minister, Abu’l-Fazl, the reconciliation was ultimately achieved.

Hamida Banu bore the honorific title Maryam Makani, and after her death, Akbar regarded her as a “symbol of purity”. In the court chronicles of both her son Akbar and her grandson Jahangir, she is respectfully referred to as Hazrat. Details of her life appear in Humayun-nama, written by Humayun’s sister Gulbadan Begum, as well as in Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari, compiled during Akbar’s reign.

Durdona Rasulova

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