Dilras Banu Begum
first wife and chief consort of Emperor Aurangzeb
(Rabia) Dilras Banu Begum (Urdu pronunciation: [dɪlrəs ˈbaːnuː ˈbeːgəm]; c. 1622 – 8 October 1657) was the first wife and chief consort of Emperor Aurangzeb after Marriage she changed her name from Rabia to Dilras , the sixth Mughal emperor. She is also known by her posthumous title, Rabia-ud-Durrani ("Rabia of the Age"). The Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad, which bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal (the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother Mumtaz Mahal), was commissioned by her husband to act as her final resting place.
Dilras was a member of the Safavid dynasty of Persia and was the daughter of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi (titled Shahnawaz Khan), a descendant of Shah Ismail I, who served as the viceroy of Gujarat. She married Prince Muhi-ud-din (later known as 'Aurangzeb' upon his accession) in 1637 and bore him five children, including: Muhammad Azam Shah (the heir apparent anointed by Aurangzeb), who temporarily succeeded his father as Mughal emperor, the gifted poet Princess Zeb-un-Nissa (Aurangzeb's favourite daughter), Princess Zinat-un-Nissa (titled Padshah Begum), and Sultan Muhammad Akbar, the Emperor's best-loved son.
Dilras died possibly of puerperal fever in 1657, a month after giving birth to her fifth child, Muhammad Akbar, and just a year before her husband ascended the throne after a fratricidal war of succession.
Family and lineage
(Rabia) Dilras Banu Begum was a member of the prominent Safavid dynasty, the ruling dynasty of Persia and one of its most significant ruling dynasties. She was the daughter of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi (titled Shahnawaz Khan and popularly known as Mirza Deccan) whose great-grandfather was a son of Shah Ismail I Safavi, the founder of the Safavid dynasty. Shahnawaz Khan was the viceroy of Gujarat and a powerful, high ranking grandee at the Mughal court.
The public source identifies “Dilras Banu Begum” as first wife and chief consort of Emperor Aurangzeb. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dilras, Banu and Begum.
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