Fatehpur Sikri - A Search For The Truth Part 5

Continued From: http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/11/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-4.html

The siege of Chitor provides another incident involving women and Akbar. After the fall of the king of Chitor, the honour of the Rajput families were protected in which women, young girls and boys were sacrificed in fire so that, they could escape the hellish experience of Akbar’s harem. The emperor’s troops scoured through the city and found that, two women, the queen’s sister and the fiancée of the Chitor king were unharmed as they had been shielded by a beam which had fallen over them. The women were instantly taken from Chitor to the Mughal Emperor’s harem. 

The Portuguese chronicles as well as Abu fazl’s records indicate that, the emperor allowed himself ample liberty when it came to wives and concubines. It is recorded by many independent witnesses that, when the Jesuit priest Aquaviva remonstrated the emperor for having a large harem, the emperor excused himself and distributed his wives and concubines amongst his nobles. The nobles were given the liberty to choose the women they required. Akbar did this in order to guile Aquaviva into believing that Akbar was ready to embrace Christianity while, his real intention was to learn information about the Portuguese and their ports so that, he could destroy them.

The above incidents show that, Akbar had no regard for women. To him they were like exotic animals locked up in his harem to serve him. It is hard to imagine that such a man would have been sensitive enough to build his wife a palace to satisfy her believes.  Moreover, the record state that his Hindu wife converted to Islam and was called as Miriam Ul zamani. The chronicles do not mention much about her. The only queen who was mentioned to have been favoured by the emperor was Salima Sultana Begum the former wife of Bairam Khan. It is hence, highly improbable that, the largest of the harem complexes would have been allocated to one Hindu princess while the smaller buildings were the residents of Akbar’s other female relatives, wives and concubines.

Akbar carefully monitored and controlled the women in his harem. He devised a system of internal administration and the organization . The women were divided into sections, each under a female commandant. A strict eye was kept on the expenditure. Eunuchs were employed to guard the harem.

Continued On:  http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/11/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-6.html