Shahar Banu Begum
Shahar Banu Begum (c. 1663 – ?), also known as Padishah Bibi and Padshah Begum, was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire for a short time in 1707 as the third wife of Emperor Muhammad Azam Shah.
She was born in Bijapur as a princess of the Adil Shahi dynasty, the daughter of Ali Adil Shah II and Khurshida Khanum, and sister of Sikandar Adil Shah. Shahar was loved by the Bijapuri people, known for her beauty and intelligence, and she played a brave part in defending her kingdom in 1679 when she was married off for a political alliance.
After her father’s death in 1672, Bijapur faced a period of weak rule. The kingdom saw defections to the Mughal side, and Shahar was brought into the Mughal harem. To seal peace, a treaty arranged for her to marry the Mughal crown prince Muhammad Azam Shah, the eldest son of Aurangzeb. She left Bijapur on 1 July 1679, arrived at the Mughal court on 4 March 1680, and married Azam Shah on 26 July 1681. The wedding dowry was 500 dirhams.
Aurangzeb urged Shahar to help improve Bijapur’s relations with the Mughals against the Marathas, and she wrote to Sharza Khan on 18 July urging him to join the Mughals. There was no reply, and Bijapuri grandees secretly allied with the Marathas.
In 1707, after Aurangzeb’s death, Azam Shah briefly became emperor, making Shahar Banu the empress consort from 14 March to 8 June 1707.
Her later life is not well documented, and her death date remains unknown.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:04 (CET).