Saliha Banu Begum

Saliha Banu Begum
Padshah Begum
Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
Tenure	c. 1605 – 1620
Predecessor	Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
Successor	Nur Jahan
Died	c. 1620 Srinagar, Kashmir
Burial	Tomb of Jahangir, Lahore
Spouse	Jahangir (m. 1591)
House	Timurid (by marriage)
Father	Qaim Khan
Religion	Islam

Saliha Banu Begum (died 1620) was the chief consort and Padshah Begum of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from the time of his accession in 1605 until her death in 1620. She was also known as the Padshah Banu Begum or the Padshah Mahal.

Saliha Banu Begum was the daughter of Qaim Khan, and came from a well placed family in the government as her brother, a man named Abdur Rahim (titled Tarbiyat Khan), was said by Jahangir to be "of the hereditary houseborn ones of this Court."

She was a highly cultured and well educated woman and was fully conversant with the rules and etiquettes of the palace.

Saliha married Jahangir in 1591 and bore her husband five children - three daughters and two sons - but none of them lived for more than three months. For much of Jahangir's reign, she was the Padshah Banu Begum, also called Pashah Mahal ("Empress of the Palace"), and when she died in 1620, the title was passed on to Nur Jahan. She was, reportedly, Nur Jahan's only powerful rival for Jahangir's affections.

Saliha Banu Begum died in 1620 in Srinagar, Kashmir. Jahangir noted that Saliha Banu's death was foretold by the astrologer Jotik Rai; grief-stricken at her loss, he nevertheless marvelled at the accuracy of the prophecy, which had been taken from his own horoscope.

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