Salima Sultan Begum

Salima Sultan Begum سلیمہ سلطان بیگم
Salima Begum and Abdul Rahim being escorted to Ahmedabad after Bairam Khan's assassination in 1561
Born	23 February 1539
Died	2 January 1613(1613-01-02) (aged 73) Agra, India
Burial	Mandarkar Garden, Agra
Spouse	Bairam Khan (m. 1557–1561) Akbar (m. 1561–1605)
House	Timurid (by marriage)
Father	Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza
Mother	Gulrukh Begum
Religion	Islam

Salima Sultan Begum (Urdu: سلیمہ سلطان بیگم) (February 23, 1539 – January 2, 1613) was an Empress of the Mughal Empire and was the fourth wife of Emperor Akbar.

Salima was the daughter of Akbar's paternal aunt Gulrukh Begum and her husband, the Viceroy of Kannauj, Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza. She was at first betrothed to Akbar's regent Bairam Khan by her maternal uncle, Humayun. The bride was probably a reward for the surpassing services done by Bairam for Humayun. The couple, who had a considerable age difference of approximately forty years, were married in 1557 after Akbar had succeeded Humayun as the third Mughal emperor. However, this brief union, which did not produce any children, lasted for only three years as Bairam Khan was assassinated by a band of Afghans in 1561. After his death, Salima was subsequently married by her first-cousin Akbar.

Salima was a senior-ranking wife of Akbar and had much influence over her husband and his son Jahangir. She wielded major political influence in the Mughal court during her husband's reign as well as in his successor's (Jahangir) reign. Her name, however, appears in the histories as a reader, poet, who wrote under the pseudonym of Makhfi (مخفی, "Hidden One") and as pleading with Akbar for Jahangir's forgiveness.

She stands out in the early Mughal history and was known as the "Khadija of that era" for her wisdom.

Salima Sultan Begum was the daughter of Mughal princess Gulrukh Begum and her husband, the Viceroy of Kannauj, Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza. Her father was the grandson of Khwaja Hasan Naqshbandi and was a scion of the illustrious Naqshbandi Khwajas, who were held in great esteem and were related to Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza of the Timurid Empire through his son, Sultan Mahmud Mirza. Salima's mother, Gulrukh Begum, was a daughter of the first Mughal emperor Babur and his wife Dildar Begum. Gulrukh was thus, a half-sister of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and a full-sister of Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza.