Hamida Banu Begum

Hamida Banu Begum Mariam Makani
Hamida Banu Begum
Empress mother of Mughal
Tenure	27 January 1556 - 29 August 1604
Empress consort of Mughal
Tenure	22 February 1555 – 27 January 1556
Born	21 April 1524 Paat, Dadu District Sindh
Died	29 August 1604 (aged 80) Agra, Mughal Empire
Burial	30 August 1604 Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
Spouse	Humayun
Issue	Akbar
Father	Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami
Mother	Mahna Afroz Begum
Religion	Shia Islam

Hamida Banu Begum, she was the given the title Mariam Makani (1527 – 29 August 1604, Persian: حمیدہ بانو بیگم‎, translit. Ḥamīda Banū Begum‎) was a wife of the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the mother of Mughal Emperor, Akbar. She built Humayun's mausoleum by a mix of Persian and Hindustani artisans.

Hamida Banu Begum was born in 1524 to Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian Shia, and a friend and preceptor to Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, the youngest son of the first Mughal Emperor Babar. Ali Akbar Jami was also known as Mian Baba Dost, who belonged to the lineage of Ahmad Jami Zinda-fil. Hamida Banu's mother was Mahna Afraz Begum, who married Ali Akbar Jami in Paat, Sindh. As suggested by her lineage, Hamida was a devout Muslim.

She met Humayun, as a seventeen-year-old girl and frequenting Mirza Hindal's household, at a banquet given by Dildar Begum, Babar's wife and Humayun's stepmother in Alwar. Humayun was in exile after his exodus from Delhi, due to the armies of Sher Shah Suri, who had ambitions of restoring Afghan rule in Delhi.

When negotiations for Humayun's marriage with Hamida Banu Begum were going on, both Hamida and Hindal vehemently opposed the marriage proposal, possibly because they were involved with each other. It is seems probable that Hamida was in love with Hindal, though there is only circumstantial evidence for it. In her book, the Humayun-nama, Hindal's sister and Hamida's close friend, Gulbadan Begum, pointed out that Hamida was frequently seen in Hindal's palace during those days, and often attended parties organized by their mother, Dildar Begum.