Bibi Mubarika
Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai (Pashto: بيبي مبارکه یوسفزۍ; English: "Blessed Damozel") was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire. She was the wife of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal emperor.[1] She is frequently mentioned in the Humayun-nama by her stepdaughter Gulbadan Begum, who calls her stepmother 'The Afghan lady' or 'Afghani Aghacha'.[2]
Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai بيبي مبارکه یوسفزۍ | |
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Empress consort of Mughal Empire | |
Tenure | 27 April 1526 – 26 December 1530 |
Queen consort of Kabul | |
Reign | 30 January 1519 – 27 April 1526 |
Born | 16th century |
Spouse | Babur |
House | Yusufzai (by birth) Timurid (by marriage) |
Father | Shah Mansur Yusufzai |
Religion | Islam |
Family
Bibi Mubarika was the daughter of Malik Shah Mansur, the chief of the Yusufzai tribe of Pashtuns. She was the granddaughter of Malik Sulaiman Shah, and the niece of Taus Khan.[3] One of her brothers named Mir Shah Jamal accompanied Babur to India in 1525, and held high posts under Humayun and Akbar.[4] He was given the title of Khan. However Yusufzai do not use the names Malik, or Shah, hence, it can be said they could have belonged to the Suri tribe, that uses both names/titles.
Marriage
Babur married her at Kehraj on 30 January 1519.[5] The alliance was the sign and seal of amity between him and her tribe. An intelligent woman, Mubarika played an important role in the establishment of friendly relations between the Mughals and the Yusufzai Pashtun chiefs.[6] Mubarika was much-loved by Babur as evidenced by the fact that she was one of the small and select party of ladies who were the first to join him in India in 1529.[2]
Death
Bibi Mubarika lived through Humayun's reign and died early in Akbar's reign.[2]
In popular culture
Bibi Mubarika is a character in Farzana Moon's historical novel Babur: The First Moghul in India (1977).[7]
References
- Abridged, translated from the Turkish by Annette Susannah Beveridge; edited; Hiro, introduced by Dilip (2006). Babur Nama : journal of Emperor Babur (1.publ. ed.). New Delhi: Penguin Books. p. 362. ISBN 9780144001491.
- Begum, Gulbadan (1902). The History of Humayun (Humayun-Nama). Royal Asiatic Society. p. 266.
- Babur, Emperor; Beveridge, Annette Susannah (1922). The Baburnam in English (Memoirs of Babur). Luzac & Co., London. p. 375.
- Mukherjee, Soma (2001). Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions. Gyan Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-8-121-20760-7.
- Shyam, Radhey (1978). Babur. Janaki Prakashan. p. 263.
- Aftab, Tahera; edited; Hiro, introduced by Dilip (2008). Inscribing South Asian Muslim women : an annotated bibliography & research guide ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Leiden: Brill. p. 46. ISBN 9789004158498.
- Moon, Farzana (1977). Babur: The First Moghul in India. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 268. ISBN 978-8-171-56702-7.