Mughal Harem

Harems were composed of wives and female relatives of the Mughals. Most women usually entered the Harem through marriage, birth, appointments or as gifts.[1]

The women were governed through strict rules of Purdah, and they could not move out of the harem as they liked, but many women travelled for affairs of pilgrimage to local shrines, hunting and sightseeing with the Emperor. They always moved out in decorated palanquins or on the back of the elephants. Inside the Harem, they led a materially luxurious and a comfortable life.

The Harem had gardens, fountains and water channels attached to it. There were various departments within the Mughal Harem that fulfilled the basic needs of its inmates. The food was provided from the Royal Kitchen known as Bawarchikhana and the Akbar Khanah provided drinking water and wine. The Ritab Khanah was in charge of supplying bread and the Maywa Khanah provided fruits to the household. Things of personal use such as dresses, jewellery, fancy articles and other household items were provided by the Imperial Karkhanah.[2]

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.[3] Mothers, step-mothers, aunts, grandmothers, step-sisters, sisters, daughters and other female relatives lived in the harem. There were also ladies-in-waiting, servants, maids, cooks, women, officials, and guards.[4]

The harem of the Mughal Empire was guarded by eunuchs, as well as female warriors called Urdubegis.[5]

Akbar's imperial harem was re-organized into a fortress-like institution which is quite in contrast to the image of the reigns of Babur and Humayun. Harbans Mukhia attributed this change to the growing influence of Rajput cultural ethos on Akbar ever since his marriage in 1562 to Mariam-uz-Zamani.[6] With the construction of Fatehpur Sikri, Emperor Akbar saw the need to organize the administration of his Zenana. This portion of the palace was reputably home to about five thousand women.[7] While Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak claims in the Akbarnama that each woman had her own suite of rooms, it is more likely that only members of the royal family and favorites of the emperor had their own apartments.[8]

The zenana was divided into sections, with (female) daroghas tending to the organizational needs of the residents and working to keep the peace. Other administrative positions within the zenana included the tehwildars, or accounts officers responsible for the salaries and financial requests of the zenana inhabitants. The mahaldar, the female servant of the highest authority, often acted as an intelligence source from the zenana directly to the emperor. The anagas, or royal wet-nurses, were elevated to positions of rank though their purpose was not strictly administrative.[9]

Mughal women had control over the financial resources and were involved in various economic activities. They enjoyed annual incomes and used eunuchs as agents of commerce. Many women also commissioned buildings and gardens. Akbar's favourite wife, Mariam-uz-Zamani, is the earliest recorded woman of the Mughal empire who engaged in inland and overseas trade.[10] During the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir, she built the largest ships that carried pilgrims to and from the Islamic holy city Mecca, ran an extensive trade of silk and several spices to international borders, and oversaw the trade with Gulf countries and nations. In the words of Findly, she had, in the larger arena, helped chart the role of Mughal women in the newly expanding business of foreign trade. Shah Jahan's daughter, Jahanara Begum contributed to many architectural projects of Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad and she as well as her sister, Roshanara enjoyed an annual income often equal to that of high imperial mansabdars.[11] They also had a strong administrative control over the domestic trade and gained large revenues from various towns. Jahanara received revenues from the port city of Surat, which was a profitable centre of overseas trade, Nur Jahan by system of tolls from internal trade had an income of 230,000 mahmudis. They combined their Economic sense with Political Activities to strengthen the monarchy and the empire.[12]

The Humayun Nama provides an insight into the lives of Mughal women. It was written by Gulbadan Begum, who was Humayun's sister. She describes in great detail the conflicts and tensions in the empire and how women played a mediating role in resolving them.[13] For instance, Hamida Bano and Salima sultan Begum brought about peace in the household when Salim revolted against his father in 1601.[14] She also indicates that women knew about the political changes going on in their world and how they played a role in them. For example, she was approached by the traitor Mirza Kamran to write a letter to his brother asking him to join Kamran's campaign against the emperor.[15]