Born: 5 October 1643, India
Died: 7 May 1721
Country most active: India
Also known as: زینت النساء بیگم
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Zinat-un-Nissa Begum was a Mughal princess and the second daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb and his consort, Dilras Banu Begum. Her father granted her the title of Padshah Begum and she was often referred to as the “Jewel among Women.”
Zinat-un-Nissa’s mother, Dilras Banu Begum, was a princess from the Safavid dynasty of Persia, and her grandfather was the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. Zinat-un-Nissa had a deep understanding of Islamic doctrines and received education from private tutors. She chose to remain unmarried.
Zinat-un-Nissa supported her step-brother, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, and secured his pardon from their father despite opposition from her full brother, Azam Shah. She served as her father’s confidante during his later years and managed his household in the Deccan for a quarter-century until his death in 1707. She continued to be respected by his successors.
Zinat-un-Nissa is known for commissioning the construction of fourteen caravanserais and inns along the highway connecting Awadh with Bengal. She also funded the creation of Zeenat-ul-Masajid (“Ornament of Mosques”) around 1700, located by the riverside wall of the Red Fort in Delhi, where she was buried. She used her dowry for the mosque’s construction.