Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (d. 1612)
Salima Sultan Begum (February 23, 1539 – 2 January 1613) was the third wife and one of the three chief consorts of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and the granddaughter of Babur.
Salima was the daughter of Akbar's paternal aunt, Gulrukh Begum, and her husband, the Viceroy of Kannauj, Nuruddin Muhammad Mirza. She was initially betrothed to Akbar's regent, Bairam Khan, by her maternal uncle, Humayun. The bride was probably a reward for the surpassing services done by Bairam for Humayun. The couple, who had a considerable age difference of approximately forty years, were married in 1557 after Akbar had succeeded Humayun as the third Mughal emperor. However, this brief union, which did not produce any children, lasted for only three years since Bairam Khan was assassinated by a band of Afghans in 1561. After his death, Salima was subsequently married to her first cousin, Akbar. She however remained childless in both her marriages, but she raised the second son of Akbar, Murad Mirza for the first few years.
Salima was a senior-ranking wife of Akbar and had much influence over her husband and his son, Jahangir. As stated by Henry Beveridge, she was entrusted with the charge of the Muslim harem of Akbar. She wielded major political influence in the Mughal court during her husband's reign as well as during his successor's (Jahangir) reign. Her name, however, appears in the histories as a reader, poet, who wrote under the pseudonym of Makhfi (lit. 'Hidden One') and as pleading with Akbar for Jahangir's forgiveness. She was known as the Khadija-uz-Zamani (lit. 'Khadija of the Age') for her wisdom.