Begum Samru: A Rare Female Ruler
Abstract
Begum Samru, also referred to as Seban or Nisabegum, was an influential figure in 18thcentury Mughal politics. She had a unique and notable relationship with the Mughal empire. Owing to her exceptional rise to power and intelligence, she played a significant role in Mughal affairs and was recognized as an important political personality of her time
Full text
247 £ßÚõmkU P¸zuµ[P® : Œ©Põ»z uªÇõ#Ĩ @£õUSPÒ £UP® öu. v. C¢xUPÀ¿›, |õPº÷PõÂÀ Begum Samru: A Rare Female Ruler S. Shojin Research Scholar, Registration No. 22113151081002 Department of History, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Dr. Rachel C. Raj Ph.D. Guide, Assistant Professor, Department of History Muslim Arts College, Thiruvithancode Abstract Begum Samru, also referred to as Seban or Nisabegum, was an influential figure in 18thcentury Mughal politics. She had a unique and notable relationship with the Mughal empire. Owing to her exceptional rise to power and intelligence, she played a significant role in Mughal affairs and was recognized as an important political personality of her time. Keywords: Regional Empires, Authority, Middle Ground, Nobles, Treasury, Administration References 1. Richard Ackoor – Begum Samru, Natshkerltent: Queen of Sardhana, Indian History, March 16, 2017, p. 3. 2. Dr. Preethi Sharma – The Army of Begum Samru, International Journal of Historical Studies, Vol. 2, Issue 6, 2015, pp. 64–67. 3. Rajgopal Singh Verma – The Begum Herald: Sardhana and the Legacy of Begum Samru, 2022, p. 109. ©»º: 10 ]Ó¨¤uÌ: 1 ©õu®: AU@hõ£º Á¸h®: 2025 P-ISSN: 2454-3993 E-ISSN: 2582-2810 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.17255999
248 £ßÚõmkU P¸zuµ[P® : Œ©Põ»z uªÇõ#Ĩ @£õUSPÒ £UP® öu. v. C¢xUPÀ¿›, |õPº÷PõÂÀ Kº A›¯ ö£s Bm]¯õ͵õP ÷£P®\õ®¸ ÷\õ. ÷åõâß Bµõ#a] ©õnÁº, £vÄGs. 22113151081002 Áµ»õØÖzxøÓ, öu.v. C¢xPÀ¿›, |õPº÷PõÂÀ ©÷Úõß©o¯® _¢uµÚõº £ÀPø»UPÇP® •øÚÁº ÷µa\À ]. µõä ÁÈPõmi, Eu¨ ÷£µõ]›¯º Áµ»õØÖzxøÓ, •ì¼® Pø» PÀ¿›, v¸Âuõ[÷Põk B#Äa_¸UP® 18 B® ¡ØÓõsiß J¸ ö\ÀÁõUSªUP |£µõP, •P»õ¯ Aµ]¯¼À ÷£P®\®¸åõ÷£P® AÀ»x ö\¨Aß&{\õ÷£P® GßÖ AøÇUP¨£mhõº. •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zxhß AÁº J¸ _Áõµì¯©õÚ EÓøÁU öPõsi¸¢uõº, SÔ¨£õP AvPõµzvØS uÛzxÁ©õÚ E¯ºÄ ©ØÖ® ¦zv\õ¼zuÚ® Põµn©õP, •P»õ¯ ÂÁPõµ[PÎÀ AÁº J¸ •UQ¯©õÚ |£µõP Põn¨£mhõº. vÓÄa ö\õØPÒ: ¤µõ¢v¯zvÀ, \õ®µõä¯zvß, \Põ¨uzvß, |k{ø», E¯µkUQÚ¸hß, P¸Å»zøu, ÷PõÍzvØSÒ •ßÝøµ ÷£P®\õ®¸, L£ºéõÚõ1 •u¼À, Á^Pµ©õÚ ÷uõØÓ® öPõsh J¸ ö£s©o, ¤ßÚº ÁõÀhº öµ#ß íõºm ÷\õ®¨÷µ GÝ® J¸ T¼¨£øh AvPõ›°ß ©øÚ¯õÚõº, Bµ®£zvÀ •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zvÀ £o¯õØÔÚõº, BÚõÀ CÖv°À uÚx ö\õ¢u PmhøÍø¯ {ÖÂÚõº. AÁµx ©µnzvØS¨ ¤ÓS, AÁµx £µ¢u Avºèhzøu²® CµõqÁzøu²® ö£ØÓõº. ªPÄ® SÔ¨¤hzuUP ©ØÖ® EÓÂÚº öuÎÂßø© AÁøÍ J¸ \UvÁõ#¢u Bm]¯õ͵õPÄ® CµõqÁz uø»ÁµõPÄ® E¸ÁõUQ¯x. \ºuÚõ ©õPõn® ¤µõ¢v¯zvÀ J¸ {ø»¨£õmøh EÒÍhUQ¯ CµõqÁ ©ØÖ® {ºÁõP PmhøÍ CÁµõÀ ¤Ó¨¤UP¨£mhx. AÁº •P»õ¯ Aµ\ £µ®£øµ°À ¤ÓUPÂÀø» GßÓõ¾®, ÷£P® \õ®¸ Auß ÃÌa]°ß ÷£õx •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zxhß öuõhº¦ öPõshõº. ]» ÷|µ[PÎÀ ]» •P»õ¯ Bm]¯õͺPøÍ AÁº Bu›zuõº, ÷©¾® AÁµx {ø»¨£õk •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zvß Aµ]¯À ©ØÖ® CµõqÁzxhß Cøn¢x Põn¨£mhx. v¸©n•® •P»õ¯ EÓÄPЮ ÁõÀhº öµ#ßíõºm ÷\õ®¨÷µÄhÚõÚ ÷£P®\õ®¸Âß v¸©n® ©ØÖ® ¤Ó I÷µõ¨¤¯ T¼¨£øh°Úº ©ØÖ® C¢v¯ ¤µ¦UPÐhÚõÚ AÁµx Akzukzu EÓÄPÒ •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zvØSÒ £À÷ÁÖ ¤›ÄPÐhß TmhoPøÍ E¸ÁõUP Eu¯x. •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zvß ÃÌa]¯øh¢u BskPÎÀ AÁÒ •UQ¯zxÁ® ö£ØÓõÒ. AÁº J¸ •P»õ¯ CÍÁµ] AÀ» GßÓõ¾®, AÁµx Aµ]¯À TmhoPÒ Põµn©õP •P»õ¯ºPÐhß AÁÐUS Á¾ÁõÚ öuõhº¦ C¸¢ux.
249 £ßÚõmkU P¸zuµ[P® : Œ©Põ»z uªÇõ#Ĩ @£õUSPÒ £UP® öu. v. C¢xUPÀ¿›, |õPº÷PõÂÀ •PÀ öuõhº£õÚ Aµ]¯À £[S ÷£P®\ºuõÚõ ¤µõ¢v¯ {ºÁõPzvÀ J¸ £uÂø¯U öPõsi¸¢uõº, AÁµx £[S ö£¸®£õ¾® •P»õ¯¨ ÷£µµ]ß ÃÌa]²hß ¤ßÛ¨¤øn¢xÒÍx. •P»õ¯ \Põ¨uzvß ÃÌa]°ß÷£õx, ÷£µµ]ß £» ¤µ÷u\[PÒ ©ØÖ® CµõqÁ A»SPÒ ¤µõ¢v¯ AvPõµ[PÍõÀ øP¯P¨£kzu¨£mhÚ. ÷£P®, uÚx CµõqÁ ¦zv\õ¼zuÚzøu¨ £¯ß£kzv, J¸ SÔ¨¤hzuUP ¤µõ¢v¯ õµõP BÚõº, ]» ÷|µ[PÎÀ •P»õ¯ |»ßPÐUS ÷\øÁ ö\#uõº AÀ»x |k{ø» ÁQzuõº. •P»õ¯ºPÐUPõÚ BuµÄ •P»õ¯ ÷£µµ\º •u»õ® £Pyºåõ, ÷£µµ]ß Pmk¨£õmøhz uUPøÁzxU öPõÒÁuØPõÚ uÚx ÷£õµõmh[PÎÀ ]UQU öPõshõº. ÷£P®\õ®¸ ]» \©¯[PÎÀ •P»õ¯ Aµ\ Sk®£zxhß ußøÚ CønzxU öPõsk, uÚx CµõqÁ BuµøÁ ÁÇ[QÚõº. •P»õ¯ Bøn¯®©[Pz öuõh[Q¯ ÷£õx®, }v©ßÓzvÀ AÁµx ö\ÀÁõUS ©ØÖ® ¤µ÷u\[PÎß {ºÁõP® ©v¨¤h¨£mhx. •P»õ¯ }v©ßÓzvÀ ÷£P® \®¸ Cµshõ®åõ B»® ÷£õßÓ ÷£µµ\ºPÐhß Eøµ¯õi¯uõÀ, ÷£P®\õ®¸ •P»õ¯ }v©ßÓzvØSÒ A[RPõµ® ö£ØÓõº. AÁÒ AÁ›h® |®£P©õÚ |m¦ øÁzv¸¢uuõÀ, \ºuõÚõ «uõÚ uÚx Bm]ø¯ EÖv¨£kzvÚõß. AÁµx ö\ÀÁ®, {ø»£õk ©ØÖ® CµõqÁU Pmk¨£õk BQ¯øÁ }v©ßÓ Aµ]¯¼À AÁøµ J¸ •UQ¯ |£µõP ©õØÔÚ. \ºuõÚõÂÀ EÒÍ AÁµx }v©ßÓ® C¢v¯&I÷µõ¨¤¯ P»õa\õµ® ©ØÖ® Cµõá u¢vµzvß ø©¯©õP C¸¢ux. •P»õ¯ E¯µkUQÚ¸hß Á¾ÁõÚ P»õa\õµ ©ØÖ® {ºÁõP EÓÄPøÍU öPõsi¸¢uuõÀ, AÁº CÖv°À Pø»PÎß ¦µÁ»µõÚõº, AÁº uÚx ö\õ¢u E›ø©°À J¸ Bm]¯õ͵õP ©õØÓ¨£mhõº. ©µ¦ ©ØÖ® ö\ÀÁõUS J¸ •P»õ¯ Bm]¯õͺ ÷|µi¯õP AÀ», ÷£P®\õ®¸Âß E¯ºÄ 18 B® ¡ØÓõsiÀ •P»õ¯ \Uv°ß •Ô¢u ußø©ø¯U SÔUQÓx, ÷©¾® AÁµx Aµ]¯À |PºÄPÒ SøÓ¢x Á¸® •P»õ¯ ©zv¯ AvPõµzuõÀ Gg]°¸US® öÁØÔhzøu {µ¨£ Eu¯x. CµõqÁ¨£øhPÐUS PmhøÍ°k® ©ØÖ® ¤µ÷u\[PøÍ {ºÁQUS® ]» ö£sPÎÀ AÁº J¸ÁµõP C¸¢uõº. Cx AÁµx Bm]°ß uÛzxÁ©õÚ A®\zøu öÁΣkzv¯x. •P»õ¯¨ ÷£õºPÎÀ CµõqÁ¨ £[S 1788 •uÀ1789 Áøµ |h¢u ÷£õ›ß ÷£õx S»õ®Põvº, ÷µõîÀ»õ2 öhÀ¼°ß Pmk¨£õmøhU øP¨£ØÔ, •P»õ¯ P¸Å»zøu öPõÒøͯizx, Cµshõ® åõ B»®&ß PsPøÍ S¸hõUQÚõº. ©Põzâ ]si¯õÄhß ÷£P•® Cøn¢x ÷£µµ\øµ Âk¨£uØPõP GvºuõUSuø» |hzvÚõº. C¢u uõUSu¼ß CÖv°À S»õ® Põvº yUQ¼h¨£mhõº, A¨£Svø¯ v¸®£ øP¨£ØÖÁvÀ ÷£P® •UQ¯ £[S ÁQzuõº. ©µõmi¯ºPÒ, 3 ÷µõîÀ»õ ©ØÖ® ¤›miè BQ¯ÁºPÐUS Cøh°»õÚ AvPõµ¨ ÷£õµõmhzvß ÷£õx ìvµz ußø©ø¯ £µõ©›UP AÁº EuÂÚõº. ÷£P® öÁÆ÷ÁÖ ¤›ÄPÐUS Cøh°À ö\À»Ä®, ]» \©¯[PÎÀ B[Q÷»¯ºPÐhß £UP £»©õPÄ®, ]»
250 £ßÚõmkU P¸zuµ[P® : Œ©Põ»z uªÇõ#Ĩ @£õUSPÒ £UP® öu. v. C¢xUPÀ¿›, |õPº÷PõÂÀ \©¯[PÎÀ C¢v¯ Bm]¯õͺPøÍ Bu›UPÄ® £» ÁÈ•øÓPøÍ øP¯õshõº. ¤›miè ö\ÀÁõUS AvP›zu ÷£õv¾® AÁº uÚx _u¢vµzøuz uUPøÁzxU öPõshõº. •iÄøµ •P»õ¯ ÷£µµ\ºPÐhÚõÚ ÷£P®\õ®¸Âß EÓÄ, ÷uøÁ ©ØÖ® ‰÷»õ£õ¯ ^µø©¨¦PÎß ÂøÍÁõS®. AÁº J¸ ÷|µi •P»õ¯ Áõ›_ AÀ»x E¯º©mh EÖ¨¤Úº AÀ» GßÓõ¾®, •P»õ¯ \õ®µõä¯zvØPõÚ ÃÌa]°ß ÷£õx AÁµx Aµ]¯À ©ØÖ® CµõqÁ ö\ÀÁõUS Põµn©õP •P»õ¯U ÷PõÍzvØSÒ AÁµx {ø» ©ÖUP •i¯õuuõP C¸¢ux. xøn¡Ø£mi¯À 1. ›a\õuõUTº, ÷£P®\®¸, |õma÷PºÒm÷hsm S°ß BL¨ \ºuõÚõ, Csi¯ßÄ ö©ßCßîìh›, ©õºa 16, 2017, £.3. 2. •øÚÁº. ¨Ÿv\º©õ, uBºª BL¨ ÷£P® \®¸, International Journal of Novel Research in Humanity and Social Sciences Vol. 2, Issue 6, pp: (64 & 67), Month: November&December 2015. 3. µõä÷Põ£õÀ][Áº©õ, u÷£P® íü¹Àm \ºuõÚõ, GáõÛ BL¨ £º\õÚõk ÷£P® \®¸, 2022, £.109.