Bega Begum

Bega Begum (c. 1511 – 17 January 1582) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 26 December 1530 to 17 May 1540 and 22 June 1555 to 27 January 1556 as the first wife and chief consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun. She was known as Zan-i-Kalan being the first wife of Humayun and was also known as Haji Begum after she performed the Hajj pilgrimage.

Bega Begum began the tradition of commissioning monuments in the Mughal Empire when she had her husband's mausoleum commissioned in the late 16th century, Humayun's Tomb at Delhi. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that decisively influenced the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture.