Hamida Banu Begum

Who was Hamida Banu Begum?

1527 – 29 August 1604) was the empress consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar. 1527 to a family of Persian descent. Her family was a prestigious pīr family long settled in the Sindh. Her father, Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Shia, was a preceptor to Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, the youngest son of the first Mughal emperor, Babur. She had a younger half-brother named Khwaja Muazzam. She met Humayun, at the age of fourteen while visiting the household of Hindal Mirza during a banquet hosted by his mother, Dildar Begum, a widow of Babur and Humayun's stepmother, in Alwar. Hamida Banu Begum was the empress consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar.

Ali Akbar Jami was also known as Mian Baba Dost, who belonged to the lineage of Ahmad Jami Zinda-fil. As suggested by her lineage, Hamida was a devout Muslim.

Historical significance

She was bestowed the title of Mariam Makani 'Dwelling with Mariam'), by her son, Akbar. She also bore the title of Padshah Begum during the reign of Akbar. She was bestowed the title of Mariam Makani, by her son, Akbar.