Mumtaz Mahal (1593- 1631)

Mumtaz Mahal ("Jewel of the Palace") is the woman whose mausoleum is popularly known as Taj Mahal, arguably the most famous symbol to royal love in the world. Located in Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Taj Mahal was built by her husband Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor.

Originally named Arjumand Bano Begum, Mumtaz Mahal (name given to her by Shah Jahan) was the daughter of Asaf Khan, elder brother of Nur Jehan, wife of Mughal emperor Jehangir, father of Shah Jahan. Apart from her stunning beauty, Mumtaz was a kind hearted lady, also known as a patron of men of letters.

In 1612, Shah Jahan married Arjumand Bano who was his third wife, but his favorite. She bore him 14 children, though most of them died in infancy. Mumtaz died on June 17, 1631 in Burhanpur in childbirth at the age of 39. In order to immortalize the name of Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan ordered the building of Taj Mahal.

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Matangini Hazra

Matangini Hazra was a woman revolutionary and brave freedom fighter who fought for the independence of India from the British and laid down her life for it. She was from a small village called Hogla located near Tamluk, the headquarters of the Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. Hazra was born on October 19, 1870. Matangini Hazra was one of the protagonists of the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar (Tamralipta National Government), a parallel government established during the Quit India Movement. Matangini Hazra was shot dead by the police in front of the Tamluk Police Station on 29 September 1942. Matangini Hazra was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, Bengali for old lady Gandhi. The famed Hazra Road in Kolkata is also named after her.

Muhammad Shah Rangila

Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, died in 1707. Muhammad Shah became Mughal emperor in 1719. During the interregnum, Bahadur Shah I , Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud-Daula ascended the Mughal throne. Jahandar Shah was murdered on the orders of Farrukhsiyar who had the support of the two powerful Mughal nobles Sayyid Abdullah and his brother Sayyid Husain Ali at that time. They are famous in history as Sayyid brothers, the King-makers. In 1719, Farrukhsiyar were murdered in utter disregard of a Mughal emperor by Sayyid brothers. Rafi-ud-Darajat died of consumption in a few months. Rafi-ud-Daula was addicted to opium and died in 4 months. Sayyid brothers now chose Raushan Akhtar, a son of Jahan Shah (the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I), to be the emperor. Raushan Akhtar ascended the throne under the title of Muhamamd Shah in September 1719. In the beginning Muhammad Shah was a puppet in the hands of Sayyid brothers who soon began to lose their gri...

Minhaj-us-Siraj: Author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri

Minhaj-ud-din Abu Uraar bin Siraj-ud-din al-Juzjani, popularly known as Minhaj-us-Siraj, was a medieval historian who was patronized by Slave Sultan Nasir-ud-din Mahmud to whom he had dedicated his magnum opus Tabaqat-i-Nasiri . Since Siraj held the high office of the Chief Qazi of Delhi to which he was appointed by Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, it is natural that Tabaqat-i-Nasiri gives a first hand account of the historical events from the conquest of Delhi by Muhammad of Ghur up to the year 1260 AD. Siraj was temporarily removed from the post of Chief Qazi from 1253 to 1255 when a section of nobles induced the Sultan to send his prime minister Balban into exile. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri has been translated into English by Raverty . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This page was last edited on 24 July 2021

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