Imperial Household In Mughal

Imperial household is the household of royals and elite families, basically it covers the living arena of the ladies and the court of the emperor. The imperial household during Mughal was the ‘harem’ which frequently used to define the domestic world of the Mughals. The term harem is originated from Persian which means the sacred place where the committing of any sin is forbidden. Harbans Mukhia defined harem as an immense fortified playground for carrying out one man’s sexual fantasies, with hundreds of women of all shape and size. Colors and ethnic group at his back and call. The harem mainly consisted of emperor wives, his female relatives, foster-mother, step-mother, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, aunt, concubines, female slaves, eunuchs

while during the time of summers ice cold water was also supplied to the imperial household. The Maywa Khanah gave fruits to the household. Rikab Khanah or the bakery was responsible for supplying bread. The royal karkhanas gave the imperial women delightful dresses, adornments or ornaments and household and fancy items. Their lives were governed by strict rules of purdah. The emperor was the only adult male with unhindered access to the harem.From the study of records or chronical the historians stated that the harems of Babur and Humayun were modest in size. But from the reign of Akbar's the number of women in the imperial harem gradually rises, as polygamy was practiced on a wide scale, especially among the ruling groups. The marriage was the way of attaining political relationship and foreign alliances. The gift of territory or land was often accompanied by the gift of daughter in marriage.Akbar's harem had around 5000 ladies who were having a decent apartment of their own with balconies and gardens, and also looked after by number of maids as stated by Abu’l Fazl. The groups of concubines of Jehangir, Shahjahan and the Aurangzeb were also additionally vast. The harem had a hierarchy,where the first lady of the realm was usually the emperor’s mother and not his chief queen as per the

Mughal court etiquettes were largely based on the principles of above mentioned empire. However, later innovation and evolution took place under the various rulers. According to Harbans Mukhia, “many of the court rituals and norms of conduct, especially the notion of the visible imperial majesty and grandeur, are of Iranian provenance, traceable to the Sasanid court. Among those replicated in the Mughal court were the prostration before the emperor or his throne; kissing his feet or any other limb, the hand in particular; several forms of salutation by bending from the waist downward and the custom of distribution of gifts, titles and offices on special occasion such as royal birthdays, or festival like New year, all of these have a chequered history but can be traced to the Sasanians”. Though the court rules were flexible and evolving, Mughals had a strict policy regarding the etiquettes sometimes the concession was granted by the king as there were several kind of observance but severe punishments were also given. As mentioned about the hierarchy in the household of the Mughal, special respect were given and within the hierarchy there was the age relationship and gender were the important factors, where there was the custom of bending their knees in front of the elders during the reign of