Ladli Begum

Mihr-un-nissa Begum (; born 1605), also known as Banu Begum and Bahu Begum, and better known as Ladli Begum, was the daughter of Empress Nur Jahan and her first husband Sher Afgan of the Mughal Empire. She was the wife of Prince Shahryar Mirza, son of Emperor Jahangir. Early life Mehr-un-Nissa Khanum, daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg, also known as Itimad-ud-daula, was the mother of Mihr-un-nissa Begum. Mihr-un-nissa, better known as Ladli Begum, was the first cousin of Emperor Shah Jahan's wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, the daughter of Asaf Khan. After Sher Afgan's death in 1607, she and her mother were summoned to Agra by Jahangir for their protection and her mother served as lady-in-waiting to Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, the chief wife of the late Emperor Akbar, for almost two years. In 1611, her mother married Emperor Jahangir, and became known as Nur Jahan. In 1617, Nur Jahan planned to marry Mihr-un-Nissa to Prince Khusrau Mirza, Jahangir's eldest son, and to re-create him as the heir apparent, in place of Prince Khurram Mirza (future Emperor Shah Jahan). However, Khusrau declined their offer, because he loved his wife, the daughter of Mirza Aziz Koka, who had been with him through the long years of imprisonment and blindness. Marriage In 1616, Nur Jahan in order to secure her powers and influence in the Mughal court after the decline of her husband, Jahangir's health, offered the marriage proposal of her daughter to the Khusrau Mirza, the eldest son of Jahangir, with the affirmation of bringing him back to power. He was the first choice of Nur Jahan for the marriage of her daughter, Ladli Begum, as he was the favorite of common people who desperately wanted to see him on the throne. However, the Prince in an effort to uphold the fidelity to his chief wife refused the marriage proposal though his wife begged him to accept the proposal and subsequently, this proposal was passed onto Khurram Mirza who too refused this proposal having disliked the influence of Nur Jahan over his father and her powers in Mughal Court. The proposal of her marriage was finally passed to and accepted by Shahryar Mirza, the younger half-brother of Prince Khusrau and Prince Khurram.