Maham Anga (died 1562) was the

foster mother Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...

and chief

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

of the Mughal emperor Akbar. She was the political adviser of the teenage emperor and the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

from 1560 to 1562.

Biography

Maham Anga was Akbar's chief nurse prior to his enthronement at age of thirteen as Mughal emperor in 1556. Her own son, Adham Khan, as Akbar's foster brother, was almost regarded as one of the imperial family. Maham Anga, believed to be shrewd and ambitious, and very much in charge of the household and harem, sought to advance her own authority and that of her son. In 1560, the two tricked Akbar into coming to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

without his regent and guardian Bairam Khan and were able to convince Akbar that now that he was seventeen, he did not need Bairam. Akbar dismissed his regent and sent him on a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

. Months later, Bairam was murdered by an Afghan, and much of the former's power passed on to Maham Anga.

Death

Adham Khan's violent execution for the murder of Shams-ud-Din Ataga Khan, Akbar’s favourite general, at the hands of the young Emperor himself no less, in May 1562, profoundly affected her. She famously commented ''You have done well'' to Akbar when he broke the news to her and died shortly afterwards. Her tomb and that of her son, known as Adham Khan's Tomb, was built by Akbar, and popularly named ''Bhul-bulaiyan'', owing to the labyrinth in its structure, lies north of the Qutub Minar in

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven mediev ...

Khairul Manazil

She also built a mosque, Khairul Manazil, in 1561 CE along the lines of Mughal architecture. It later served as a ''

madarsa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated ' ...

'', and now stands opposite

Purana Qila, Delhi Purana Qila () is one of the oldest forts in Delhi, India. Built by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Surid Sultan Sher Shah Suri, it is thought by many to be located on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. The fort formed the in ...

on Mathura Road, south east to Sher Shah Gate. It was her slave that tried to kill Akbar, after his return from hunting and moving towards Nizamuddin Dargah, but the arrow hit a soldier in his entourage instead, who was hurt, albeit not gravely.

In popular culture

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk and folk-pop singer. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood movies such as ''Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', ''Shaadi Ke Side Effects'' and ''Begum Jaan''. Personal life Arun ...

portrayed Maham Anga in the Bollywood film '' Jodhaa Akbar'' (2008). *A fictionalized Maham Anga was portrayed by

Ashwini Kalsekar Ashwini Kalsekar is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Marathi and Hindi television and film industry. She is known mostly for her collaboration with Hindi movies directors Sriram Raghavan, Rohit Shetty, and Ram Gopal Varma. S ...

in Zee TV's fictional drama ''

Jodha Akbar ''Jodha Akbar'' is an Indian Historical drama television series that aired from 18 June 2013 to 7 August 2015 on Zee TV and is also digitally available on ZEE5. The show was produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms. Starring Rajat Tokas a ...

''. *Tiya Gandwani portrayed Maham Anga in BIG Magic's 2015 sitcom, '' Hazir Jawab Birbal''. * Jaya Bhattacharya portrayed Maham Anga in

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

's historical drama ''

Bharat Ka Veer Putra - Maharana Pratap Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bhar ...

''.

Biography

Death

Khairul Manazil

In popular culture

References

Further reading