Zeenat Mahal
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Zeenat Mahal
| title = Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
Begum Sahiba
| image = Zinat_Mahal_Begum.png
| caption = Zeenat Mahal's supposed only known photograph, possibly the only photograph that exists of any Mughal empress
| succession = Padshah Begum
| reign = 19 November 1840 – 14 September 1857
| predecessor = Badshah Begum
| successor = position abolished
| birth_date = 1823
| birth_place =
| death_date = 17 July {{death year and age |1886|1823}}
| death_place = Rangoon, British Burma
| burial_place = Near the Mazar of Bahadur Shah, No. 6 Theatre Road, Yangon, Myanmar
| consort = yes
| spouse = {{marriage|Bahadur Shah II|1840|1862}}
| issue = Mirza Jawan Bakht
| full name =
| house = Timurid
| father =
| mother =
}}
Zeenat Mahal (1823 – 17 July 1886) was the only{{cn|date=March 2025}} wife and de facto regent of the Mughal Kingdom on behalf of her husband, the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Biography
Zeenat Mahal married Bahadur Shah II at Delhi on 19 November 1840 and had a son with him, Mirza Jawan Bakht.
She greatly influenced the emperor and, after the death of crown prince Mirza Dara Bakht, she began promoting her son Mirza Jawan Bakht as heir to the throne over the Emperor's remaining eldest son Mirza Fath-ul-Mulk Bahadur. But due to the primogeniture policy of the British, this was not accepted.{{Cite book |title=A concise history of modern India |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara Daly |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |author2=Metcalf, Thomas R. |isbn=9781139526494 |edition=3rd |location=Cambridge, England |oclc=808342004}} She was suspected of poisoning the British Resident in Delhi, Thomas Metcalfe, in 1853 for meddling too much in palace affairs.[https://web.archive.org/web/20041106184026/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500720200.htm The Hindu : A case of Delhi poisoning?]
She resided at her own haveli, Zeenat Mahal, in Lal Kuan, old Delhi.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-sad-plight-of-zeenat-mahal/article2543190.ece|title = The sad plight of Zeenat Mahal|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 16 October 2011|last1 = Smith|first1 = R. v.}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.milligazette.com/news/3228-the-ruined-haveli-of-zeenat-mahal|title = The ruined haveli of Zeenat Mahal}}
=1857 rebellion=
During the Indian rebellion of 1857, she kept her son out of contact with the rebels in an attempt to secure the throne for him. With the British victory, the emperor's two other sons were shot for supporting the rebels; however, her son did not become heir. In 1858, her husband was deposed by the British, bringing the Mughal empire to an end, and she was exiled to Rangoon with her husband. After her husband's death in 1862, the British banned anyone from claiming the title of Emperor in an attempt to dissolve the monarchy.
=Death=
She died on 17 July 1886.{{cn|date=June 2020}} Another source says that she "died more than 20 years after her husband."{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-sad-plight-of-zeenat-mahal/article2543190.ece|title=The sad plight of Zeenat Mahal|newspaper=The Hindu|date=16 October 2011|last1=Smith|first1=R. v.}} She was buried in her husband's tomb in Yangon's Dagon Township near the Shwedagon Pagoda. The site later became known as Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah.{{cite news|url=http://india.nydailynews.com/article/ebf03b644bbe4df65effb9e958c49f71/pm-to-pay-homage-to-last-mughal-emperor|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712214710/http://india.nydailynews.com/article/ebf03b644bbe4df65effb9e958c49f71/pm-to-pay-homage-to-last-mughal-emperor|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 12, 2012|title=PM to pay homage to last Mughal emperor|date=27 May 2012|work=Daily News|access-date=27 May 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kapadia.com/Dargah/zafrdarg.html|title=Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah|author=Sattar Kapadia|publisher=kapadia.com|access-date=12 January 2014|archive-date=25 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025201846/http://www.kapadia.com/Dargah/zafrdarg.html|url-status=dead}}
The grandchild of her and Bahadur Shah II is also buried alongside the couple. After remaining lost for many decades, the tomb was discovered during a restoration exercise in 1991.{{cite news |title=PM visits Bahadur Shah Zafar's memorial in Myanmar|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pm-visits-bahadur-shah-zafars-memorial-in-myanmar/1004750.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013005233/http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pm-visits-bahadur-shah-zafars-memorial-in-myanmar/1004750.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |publisher=CNN-IBN |date=May 29, 2012 }}
Gallery
File:Marriage certificate of the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837-57) to Zinat Mahal Begam, on 18 November 1840.jpg|Kabin-name (Marriage Certificate) of Bahadur Shah and Zeenat Mahal
File:Portrait of Begum Sahiba Zeenat Mahal (probably Delhi, mid 19th century).jpg|Begum Sahiba Zeenat Mahal in European dress
File:Zinat mahal.jpg|A portraiture of Zeenat Mahal
File:Zeenat Mahal, wife of Bahadur Shah II.jpg|A portraiture of Zeenat Mahal
File:Zinat Mahal.jpg|A portraiture of Zeenat Mahal
File:Upper Floor of Mazar of Bahadur Shah Zafar.jpg|Zeenat Mahal's tomb in Yangon
File:Zeenat Mahal at Lal Kuan in Old Delhi.jpg|Zeenat Mahal's haveli at Lal Kuan in Old Delhi
File:Begum Zinat Mahal Sahiba image in War Memorial Museum in Red fort 02.jpg|Zinat Mahal image in War Memorial Museum in Red fort
See also
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
{{commonscat-inline}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140106123417/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/watch-prime-minister-at-bahadur-shah-zafars-dargah/263010-2.html The Prime Minister at Bahadur Shah Zafar's Dargah (Video)] at CNN-IBN, May 30, 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinat Mahal}}
Category:Mughal royal consorts