Jahanara Begum

Jahanara Begum
Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire
Begum aged 18, painting dated 1632
Padshah Begum
1st reign	17 June 1631 – 31 June 1658
Predecessor	Mumtaz Mahal
Successor	Roshanara Begum
2nd reign	1669 – 16 September 1681
Predecessor	Roshanara Begum
Successor	Zinat-un-Nissa
Born	23 March 1614[1] Ajmer, Mughal Empire
Died	16 September 1681(1681-09-16) (aged 67) Delhi, Mughal Empire
Burial	Nizamuddin Dargah, Delhi
Posthumous name Sahibat-uz-Zamani
House	Timurid
Father	Shah Jahan
Mother	Mumtaz Mahal
Religion	Sunni Islam

Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a princess of the Mughal Empire. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.

After Mumtaz Mahal's untimely death in 1631, the 17-year-old Jahanara was entrusted with the charge of the royal seal and conferred the title of Padshah Begum (First lady) of the Mughal Empire, despite the fact that her father had three surviving wives. She was Shah Jahan's favorite daughter and she wielded major political influence during her father's reign, and has been described as "the most powerful woman in the empire" at the time.^[2]

Jahanara was an ardent partisan of her brother, Dara Shikoh, and supported him as her father's chosen successor. During the war of succession which took place after Shah Jahan's illness in 1657, Jahanara sided with the heir-apparent Dara and joined her father in Agra Fort, where he had been placed under house arrest by Aurangzeb. A devoted daughter, she took care of Shah Jahan till his death in 1666. Later, Jahanara reconciled with Aurangzeb who gave her the title 'Empress of Princesses' and replaced her younger sister, Princess Roshanara Begum, as the First Lady.^[3] Jahanara died during Aurangzeb's reign. Jahanara wrote 'Munis al arwah' (Confidant of spirits) which is the biography of Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti.