Hazrat Mahal: The Rebel Begam of Awadh
Hazrat Mahal: The Rebel Begam of Awadh
Couldn't load pickup availability
Worldwide Delivery
30 Days Easy Return
Secure Payment
- Author: Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
Product Description
BEGAM HAZRAT MAHAL (c. 1820–1879) is an elusive figure in Indian history – her origins and destiny have remained shrouded in ambiguity. The daughter of a slave – likely of African ancestry – and a domestic servant, her birth name is unknown. What is known is that she entered Prince Wajid Ali Shah’s Pari Khana as a courtesan and was renamed thrice before emerging as Hazrat Mahal, one of his many wives. She gave birth to the prince’s son Birjis Qadr in 1844 and, after Wajid Ali inherited the throne, briefly enjoyed the position of a favourite. By the end of the decade, however, the two were divorced. In 1856, the East India Company annexed Awadh and deposed Wajid Ali Shah. The takeover was sudden and brutal, igniting fear and dissatisfaction among the people. At the same time, the events now known as the First War of Independence were stirring across India. With Wajid Ali exiled and eventually imprisoned in Calcutta, thirteen-year-old Birjis Qadr became the royal figurehead of Awadh’s rebel opposition and his mother, the begam, its de facto leader. Hazrat Mahal appeared immune to prejudice in her attempts to unite the fragmented rebels: powerful landowners, nawabi elite, religious leaders, enraged soldiers and citizenry. Despite her lack of education and experience, she devised military strategy, dealing with two, sometimes three, groups of soldiers with conflicting ideas, and negotiated with an unimaginably powerful enemy, the East India Company itself. And at the centre of her brief rule is one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of British India: the siege of the Lucknow Residency. Drawing from decades of meticulous research and previously undiscovered archival material – Indian and British – acclaimed historian Rosie Llewellyn-Jones rescues this ruler from obscurity and renders the complexities of nineteenth-century Awadh through the story of its fiercest, most unlikely leader. Read more
Customers also viewed
System Design Interview: An Insider’s Guide – 2 Volume Set by Alex Xu
The Mirror of Infinite Endings: The highly anticipated return to the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling Once Upon a Broken Heart series and the epic love story of Jacks and Evangeline
Psychology (7th Edition) | Pearson | NEP 2020 Aligned | By Saundra K. Ciccarelli, J. Noland White & Girishwar Misra
Maa Amma Anadha | ?? ???? ???? | Telugu Novel by GANA
Mahaprastanam - (Telugu)
Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Box Set 2 Vol. 22-30 - Complete Collection Series 8 Books Collection Set (Jujutsu Kaisen books box set Vol 22-30) By Gege Akutami
Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Box Set (Vol. 0-30) - Complete Collection Series 31 Books Collection Set (Jujutsu Kaisen books box set Vol 0-30) By Gege Akutami
Ayodhya Cherina Krishna - Telugu Novel
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Death: An Inside Story
The Laws of the Spirit World
Cims India Medical Reference Book for B.Pharm/M.Pharm Students and Medical Representatives
Bratva Bride (Bratva Series)
Ncert Biology Text Book for Class 11 and 12 (Set of 2 Books)
Pathoma
Plant Biotechnology, Fourth Edition, B.D. Singh, Academic Textbook
Plant-Based India: Nourishing Recipes Rooted in Tradition
Place: Intimate Encounters with Cities
Plague: A Very Short Introduction: Malfunctions of Technologies, Organizations, and Society
Collections
View all-
Bestselling Books Collection
Explore our top-selling books loved by readers worldwide. This collection features the...
-
Most Ordered
Explore the Most Ordered books at UniversalReads. Featuring top-rated titles across fiction,...
-
Children's Books
Discover the best Children’s Books at UniversalReads. From bedtime stories to early...
-
Arts & Photography
Discover inspiring Arts & Photography books at UniversalReads. From painting guides to...
