Maham Anga (died 25 June 1562) was the
foster mother and chief
wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...
of the
Mughal emperor
The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...
Akbar
Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
. She was the political adviser of the teenage emperor and the
de facto regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
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
Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Mughal emperor Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan B ...
,
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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
without his regent and guardian
Bairam Khan
Muhammad Bairam Khan (; 18 January 1501 – 31 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal Empire, Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at ...
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, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. 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
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and victory tower comprising the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage ...
in
Mehrauli
Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, Delhi, India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurugram and next to Vasant Kunj.
History
Mehrauli is one of the seven medieval cities that ...
.
Khairul Manazil
She also built a mosque,
Khairul Manazil, in 1561 CE along the lines of
Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture is the style of architecture developed in the Mughal Empire in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of ea ...
. It later served as a ''
Madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...
'', and now stands opposite
Purana Qila, Delhi on
Mathura Road, south east to Sher Shah Gate.
It was her slave that tried to assassinate Akbar, after his return from hunting and moving towards
Nizamuddin Dargah, but the arrow hit a soldier in his entourage instead, who was hurt, not a lot, and he did not suffer heavy wounds.
In popular culture
*
Ila Arun
Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...
portrayed as fictionalized Maham Anga in the Bollywood film ''
Jodhaa Akbar
''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language historical drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the fictional life and lo ...
'' (2008).
*A fictionalized Maham Anga was portrayed by
Ashwini Kalsekar in
Zee TV
ZEE TV also known as Z TV is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 1 October 1992 as the oldest privately owned television channel in India.
History ...
's fictional drama ''
Jodha Akbar''.
*Tiya Gandwani portrayed Maham Anga in
BIG Magic's 2015 sitcom, ''
Hazir Jawab Birbal
''Hazir Jawab Birbal'' is an Indian sitcom television series which premiered on 17 August 2015 on BIG Magic replacing the sitcom ''Akbar Birbal''. The series is produced by Triangle Films Productions. It stars Saurabh Raj Jain as Emperor Akbar a ...
''.
*
Jaya Bhattacharya
Jaya Bhattacharya (born 1 July 1978) is an Indian television actress. She is known for playing antagonistic roles in TV serials, widely known for playing Payal in Ekta Kapoor's soap opera ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi''. She also played the ...
portrayed Maham Anga in
Sony TV's historical drama ''
Bharat Ka Veer Putra - Maharana Pratap''.
*
Hetal Yadav portrayed Maham Anga in Akbar Rakht Se Takht Ka Safar in 2017 Indian drama television series tracing Akbar's journey to the Mughal throne.
References
Further reading
* ''Mughal Architecture of Delhi : A Study of Mosques and Tombs'' (1556-1627 A.D.), by Praduman K. Sharma, Sundeep, 2001, . ''Chapter 4''.
* B.V. Bhavan 'The Mughal Empire' (Bombay 1974) ''The Cambridge History of India'' v.4 Abdul Fazl '
Akbarnama
The ''Akbarnama (; )'', is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abul Fazl. It was written in Persian, which was the literary l ...
' Badauni.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anga, Maham
1562 deaths
Women in Delhi politics
Mughal nobility
Year of birth unknown
16th-century Indian women politicians
16th-century Indian politicians
Wet nurses
16th-century Mughal Empire people