A new biography of Aurangzeb examines the role of his queens and the harem in his empire

Aurangzeb’s princely harem began slowly to take shape after he was granted adult status in 1634, but filling out his larger princely household was a greater priority. Although his growing wealth and high status should have made it relatively easy to recruit people, campaigns in Bundelkhand and then his appointment to the governorship of the Deccan, a recently conquered but still unsettled part of the empire, slowed things down. This is suggested by, among other things, the longer than normal gap – three years – between officially becoming an adult and his first marriage in 1637. But by the time of his first marriage, to Dilras Banu, his household was sufficient for a new bride and an emerging princely harem.

The choice of Dilras Banu as a bride for Aurangzeb was very important. As a descendant of Shah Isma‘il I, founder of the contemporary Safavid dynasty of Iran, she was from an extremely prestigious lineage. This branch of the Safavids had moved to Mughal India in the 1590s and contracted many marriages with the Mughal royal family – including with Emperor Shah Jahan, his uncle Prince Parvez, and Aurangzeb’s older brother Prince Shuja‘. Dilras Banu’s father, Shahnawaz Khan, was a longstanding and distinguished Mughal nobleman. Her mother, Nauras Banu, was a niece of the former empress Nur Jahan and current prime minister, Asaf Khan, which amplified Dilras Banu’s status. Aurangzeb could not have hoped for a more prominent first match. He undoubtedly had his sister Jahanara (the principal figure in the Mughal harem since 1631), the harem’s mahaldar Sati al-Nisa (d. 1647), and Shah Jahan to thank. The first two organised the 1637 wedding celebrations in Agra – an account of which can be found in the Padshahnama, the magisterial history of Shah Jahan’s reign. After journeying to Agra from the Deccan for his marriage and the celebrations that lasted a couple of months, Aurangzeb traveled back south with his 15-year-old bride. She was already pregnant with their first child; their daughter Zeb al-Nisa was born in Daulatabad (in the Deccan) just over nine months after their marriage.

Dilras Banu had barely settled into her new household before a second marriage was contracted for Aurangzeb. It was with Nawab Bai/Rahmat al-Nisa, the daughter of the ruler of Rajauri (in present-day Jammu) and from Pahari Rajput stock. Compared to Dilras Banu her lineage was not particularly noteworthy, and, given her familial and regional background, Rahmat al-Nisa likely had only limited skills in Persian or Indo-Persian cultural traditions. These factors may explain why her marriage to Aurangzeb in late 1638 barely registers in the Mughal chronicles from the period. Strategic versus lineal reasons seem to have informed this marriage: Rajauri sat astride the main road in and out of Kashmir, a region that had become the main Mughal summer retreat since its conquest in the 1590s.

The relationship between Dilras Banu and Rahmat al-Nisa was complicated and tension filled. Despite Dilras Banu’s senior status, Rahmat al-Nisa was the first to have a son, Muhammad Sultan (b. 1639), which immediately raised her stature. Toward the end of 1642 both women were pregnant again. Unfortunately for Dilras Banu, she had another girl: Zinat al-Nisa. A couple of weeks later Rahmat al-Nisa had a second son, named Mu‘azzam (later Emperor Bahadur Shah I/Shah ‘Alam I). Pointing to deep fissures in Aurangzeb’s princely harem, his wives gave birth in different cities – Dilras Banu in Aurangabad, and Rahmat al-Nisa in Burhanpur. Aurangzeb’s exact whereabouts during these weeks are unknown, but he may well have toggled between the two cities.

As the mother of two boys, Rahmat al-Nisa would have now achieved near-equal status with Dilras Banu. The latter, however, remained dominant in Aurangzeb’s harem by virtue of her higher lineage – many years later, Emperor ‘Alamgir described Dilras Banu as extremely “imperious” toward others – and Aurangzeb’s greater affection for her. Despite Rahmat al-Nisas’s proven ability to bear sons and Dilras Banu’s failure to produce any prior to the 1650s (women were believed to play a determining role in the child’s sex), the former had no more children after 1647, when she gave birth to a girl named Badr al-Nisa. From this moment on, the reproductive focus within Aurangzeb’s harem seems to have been exclusively on Dilras Banu. Although Aurangzeb married a third time in 1651 – his concubine Aurangabadi Mahal (d. 1688) – he had no children with her while Dilras Banu was alive. In the meantime, Dilras Banu had another daughter (Zubdat al-Nisa, in 1651), then two long-awaited sons, A‘zam (b. 1653) and Akbar (b. 1657). The latter’s birth suggests Dilras Banu’s power. In 1657, Dilras Banu was already 35 years old, past her childbearing prime by the standards of the time. She died shortly after Akbar’s birth from pregnancy-related complications.

Our knowledge of other aspects of Aurangzeb’s princely harem is limited to stray archival references. This silence can be explained by Aurangzeb’s status as the third son, whom few expected to ascend the Mughal throne, as well as his absence from the Mughal court for most of his adult princely life. But there is another factor at play: a general reticence on the part of Mughal historians and royal women to say much about a royal’s private affairs. Despite the lacunae, we can glean some insights into Aurangzeb’s relationship to the women in his life. We know, for instance, that he did not always take his entire harem with him when he travelled. Danger, difficult geography, the need to manage pregnancies, tensions between his wives, and the challenge of maintaining purdah (seclusion) while travelling offer a partial explanation. Yet, no matter where Aurangzeb went, he always travelled with some high-ranking women. Their function, it seems, was to serve his personal and political needs as well as monitor his activities to prevent unwanted affairs or other actions that might jeopardise their standing, the power vested in his harem, or the dynasty’s reputation. Who got to accompany Aurangzeb in his travels likely was subject to negotiations between him and senior figures in his harem. The importance of their presence sometimes breaks through the walls of archival silence.

During the 1638 Baglana campaign, for example, unnamed women attached to Aurangzeb’s harem helped negotiate a surrender agreement with their female counterparts on the other side. Fourteen years later, in 1652, Dilras Banu was with Aurangzeb when he besieged the Safavid-held fortress of Qandahar for the second time. The princess’s presence is attested in an official princely report (nishan) that commends her for “superlative deeds” (karha-ye afzal) and notes a princely gift of rare musk perfume. Although what Dilras Banu did to justify her reward is not stated, it could not have been for an internal household matter, which would not have been considered noteworthy or appropriate for a public-facing princely communication. Most likely, it involved a political act linked to the Mughal war effort. Female involvement in a military campaign comes up again in 1656 when a group of unnamed senior women in Aurangzeb’s harem were at the forefront of surrender negotiations, this time with female representatives of the sultan of Golkonda. Thanks to their efforts, Aurangzeb’s oldest son, Muhammad Sultan, was married to the sultan’s daughter and a rich tribute payment was agreed. This settlement set Aurangzeb up politically and financially to contest the Mughal throne a year later. His harem representatives almost certainly had an eye on this coming storm as they negotiated with Golkonda.

Every Mughal prince aspired to a cohesive and ordered harem. Aurangzeb was no different. A dysfunctional harem threatened domestic unhappiness, harem-based networks, and allowed enemies to claim that a prince who could not manage his own household surely could not run an empire. The archival record offers us fleeting glimpses of how Aurangzeb tried to keep his harem together and on his side. Like princes before him, he emphasised contact with harem residents. This included, judging by a series of records from November 1637, regularly scheduled, twice-a-day small-scale meetings with combinations of high-ranking women, once after 12 pm and one in the evening. Aurangzeb’s harem regularly joined him on hunts and sightseeing trips, including one to the Ellora Caves in the early 1650s. Extravagant gift-giving was another way he maintained his connection to his most senior female dependents. Even as he complained incessantly to Shah Jahan and Jahanara about his dire financial straits, he spent indulgently on his family. In a 1655 document, for example, Aurangzeb commends a certain Muhammad Nisar (a merchant or imperial agent?) for procuring gifts for unnamed harem members, including a headband, a jewel-encrusted Quran stand, a set of ivory toothpicks, a silver lamp, and an enamelled plate that together cost just over Rs. 12,500. A significant amount, even for a Mughal prince, it speaks to Aurangzeb’s desire to reward the most important women in his life. Kindness to his children was likely another way of pleasing his wives. On at least one occasion, for example, Aurangzeb gifted two elephants originally destined for the imperial court to his children.

Aurangzeb seems to have worked hard to manage rivalries between his senior wives, often by separating them into distinct establishments. Based on where royal births happened and other fragmentary information, we know that in December 1639 Dilras Banu was in Daulatabad, while Rahmat al-Nisa was in Mathura; in October 1643 Dilras Banu was in Aurangabad and Rahmat al-Nisa was in Burhanpur; in November 1647 Dilras Banu was in Lahore, whereas Rahmat al-Nisa was in Shahjahanabad (Delhi); in 1653 Dilras Banu was in Burhanpur but Rahmat al-Nisa was back in Aurangabad. In 1654, and again in 1656, Dilras Banu and Rahmat al-Nisa lived apart, in Aurangabad and Daulatabad respectively. The cost of sustaining two households must have been considerable, but Aurangzeb was clearly willing to pay it to prevent his harem from tearing itself apart and losing its focus on his political future. Judging by the role the senior women played in various princely campaigns, he was at least partially successful in his efforts.

Note: The original publication contains attributions/citations in the footnotes, which have been omitted from this excerpt.

Excerpted with permission from Aurangzeb ‘Alamgir and the Mughal Empire: A History Retold, Munis D. Faruqui, Juggernaut.