Nawab Bai
| Nawab Bai Ji | |
|---|---|
| Empress consort of the Mughal Empire | |
| Tenure | 31 July 1658 – 1691 |
| Born |
c. 1623 Rajauri, Kashmir |
| Died | 1691 (aged 67–68) Delhi, Mughal Empire |
| Spouse | Aurangzeb |
| Issue |
Muhammad Sultan Bahadur Shah I Badr-un-nissa Begum |
| House | Timurid (by marriage) |
| Father | Raja Raju of Rajauri or Syed Shah Mir |
| Religion | Islam (Hinduism, prior to marriage) |
Rahmat-un-Nissa Begum (Persian: رحمت النساء بیگم; meaning "Clemency among women"; c. 1623 – 1691) better known by her title Nawab Bai Ji (Persian: نواب بائی جی; meaning "Greatest among women") was the Empress consort to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
A Hindu by birth, Nawab Bai Ji belonged to Kashmir. She married Prince Aurangzeb (later known as Alamgir upon his accession) in 1638, and bore him three children including, Aurangzeb's eldest son Prince Muhammad Sultan, his second son Prince Muhammad Muazzam, who succeeded his father as Bahadur Shah I.
Her sons misconduct, and disobedience to their father, under the influence of their counsellors, embittered her later life. She ended her days some time before the middle of 1691 at Delhi, after many years of separation from her husband and sons.
There are two conflicting accounts of Nawab Bai Ji's parentage. According to one account, she was the daughter of Rajah Raju of the Rajauri State in Kashmir, and came of the hill Rajput blood. However, according to Mughal historian Khafi Khan, she was the daughter of a Muslim saint named Syed Shah Mir, the descendant of Abdul-Qadir Gilani, who had taken to a life of retirement among the hills of Rajauri. The Rajah of the country waited on him and in the course of time, he was so adored the holy man that he offered him his daughter in marriage to him. The saint accepted the tribute, converted and wedded her, and thus became the father of a son and a daughter. Then he went on a pilgrimage to the holy land of Islam, where all trace of him was lost. The Rajah brought up his deserted grand-children as Hindus, keeping their parentage a secret. When Emperor Shah Jahan demanded from him a tribute of money, and daughter of his house, the Rajah sent him this grand-daughter, who was noted for her beauty, goodness and intelligence. According to modern historians, she was given this false pedigree in order to give Bahadur Shah a right to call himself a Sayyid.
In the imperial harem she was taught languages and culture by a set of masters, governesses, and Persian women versed in court manners, and in due time she was married to Prince Aurangzeb, in 1638. After her marriage, she was given the name Rahmat-un-Nissa Begum, and was awarded with a very high status. In 1639, she became pregnant with the couple's first son, Prince Muhammad Sultan Mirza. He was born on 29 December 1639, at Mathura. Over the next eight years, she gave birth to two more children. They were Prince Muhammad Muazzam Mirza (future Emperor Bahadur Shah I), and the memorizer of the Quran, Princess Badr-un-nissa Begum. Although, she had given birth to Aurangzeb's eldest son, but still his first wife, the Persian princess, Dilras Banu Begum, remained his chief consort for twenty years until her death in 1657, a year before his accession to the throne.
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