Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
| Ruqaiya Sultan Begum رقیه سلطان بیگم |
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|---|---|
| Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire | |
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| Empress consort of the Mughal Empire | |
| Tenure | 11 February 1556 – 27 October 1605 |
| Predecessor | Bega Begum |
| Successor | Saliha Banu Begum |
| Born | 1542 |
| Died | 19 January 1626 (aged 84) Agra, India |
| Burial | Gardens of Babur, Kabul |
| Spouse | Akbar |
| House | House of Timur (by birth) |
| Father | Hindal Mirza |
| Mother | Sultanam Begum |
| Religion | Islam |
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (Persian: رقیه سلطان بیگم; also spelled as Ruqayya) (1542 – 19 January 1626) was Empress of the Mughal Empire from 11 February 1556 to 27 October 1605 as the first wife and chief consort of the third Mughal emperor Akbar. She was also the longest serving Mughal empress, having a tenure of almost fifty years.
Ruqaiya was a first cousin of her husband, and was a Mughal princess by birth. Her father, Hindal Mirza, was the youngest brother of Akbar's father Humayun. She was only nine years old when, immediately after the death of her father, she was betrothed to Akbar. The couple were to remain very closely bonded all their lives, but the marriage remained childless. In later life, Ruqaiya raised (virtually adopted) Akbar's favorite grandson Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan).
She also played a crucial role in negotiating a settlement between her husband and her stepson, Jahangir, when the father-son's relationship had turned sour in the early 1600s, eventually helping to pave the way for Jahangir's accession to the Mughal throne. She died just a year before her foster-son, Shah Jahan, acceded to the throne after a fratricidal struggle.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was born into the Timurid dynasty as a Mughal princess, and was the only daughter of Mughal prince Hindal Mirza, the youngest son of the first Mughal emperor Babur from his wife Dildar Begum. Ruqaiya's mother, Sultanam Begum, was the daughter of Muhammad Musa Khwaja and the younger sister of Mahdi Khwaja, who was the brother-in-law of Emperor Babur, being the husband of his sister, Khanzada Begum. Ruqaiya's oldest paternal uncle was the emperor Humayun, who later became her father-in-law as well, while her most notable paternal aunt was the imperial princess, Gulbadan Begum, the author of Humayun-nama ("Book of Humayun").
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