Roshanara Begum
| Roshanara Begum روشن آرا بیگم |
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| Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire Padshah Begum |
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Aurangzeb's sister, Roshanara Begum, the one who energetically sided with him
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| Born | 3 September 1617 Burhanpur, India |
| Died | 11 September 1671 (aged 54) Delhi, India |
| Burial | Roshanara Bagh, Delhi |
| House | House of Timur |
| Father | Shah Jahan |
| Mother | Mumtaz Mahal |
| Religion | Islam |
Roshanara Begum (Urdu: شاهزادی روشن آرا بیگم ) (3 September 1617 – 11 September 1671) was a Mughal princess and the second daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his chief consort, Empress Mumtaz Mahal. Roshanara was a brilliant woman, a talented poet, the mastermind behind her brother, Aurangazeb's accession to the Mughal throne and, by the time of her death in 1671, one of the most notorious women in the Mughal Empire.
Today, however, Roshanara is best known for the Roshanara Bagh, a pleasure garden located in north Delhi, next to Kamala Nagar Road and Grand Trunk Road. The present-day Roshanara Club which was constructed in the late 19th century by the British is a famous country club that was actually originally a part of the Roshanara Bagh.
Of Roshanara's four brother's, the oldest, Dara Shikoh, was Shah Jahan's favourite son and heir apparent to the Peacock Throne. Shah Shuja, the second son, was the rebellious Governor of Bengal, with open designs on his father's throne. Aurangzeb, the third son, was the nominal Governor of Deccan. Murad, the youngest son, was granted Governorship of Gujarat, at which position he proved so weak and so ineffectual that Shah Jahan had him stripped of his titles, offering them to Dara Shikoh, instead. This precipitated a family struggle between Shah Jahan and his embittered younger sons, who resolved to depose the aging emperor and seize the throne for themselves. During this power struggle, Dara Shikoh received the support of his oldest sister, Jahanara Begum while Roshanara Begum sided with Aurangzeb, instead.
Roshanara's rise to power began when she successfully foiled a plot by her father and Dara Shikoh to kill Aurangzeb. According to history, Shah Jahan sent a letter of invitation to Aurangzeb to visit Delhi, in order to peacefully resolve the family crisis. In truth, however, Shah Jahan planned to capture, imprison and kill Aurangazeb in prison as he viewed his third son as a serious threat to the throne. When Roshanara got wind of her father's plots, she sent a messenger to Aurangzeb, outlining their father's true intentions, and warning Aurangazeb to stay away from Delhi.
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Wikipedia