Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
Mariam-uz-Zamani (lit. 'Mary of the Age'); (c. 1542 – 19 May 1623), commonly known by the misnomer Jodha Bai, was the principal Hindu wife and one of the three chief consorts of the third Mughal Emperor, Akbar. She was the favorite Queen consort of Akbar and was the longest-serving Hindu Empress of the Mughal Empire with a tenure of forty-three years (1562 –1605).Born a Rajput princess in 1542, she was married to Akbar by her father, Raja Bharmal of Amber due to political exigencies. Her marriage to Akbar led to a gradual shift in the latter's religious and social policies. She is widely regarded in modern Indian historiography as exemplifying both Akbar's and the Mughals' tolerance of religious differences and their inclusive policies within an expanding multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire. In subsequent centuries, she has been referred to with several other names, including Jodha bai, Heer Kunwari, Hira Kunwari, and Harkha Bai. She was an extremely beautiful woman recorded to possess uncommon beauty, widely known for both, her grace and intellect. Akbar once publicly called her 'a piece of the moon'. She was the mother of Akbar's eldest surviving son and eventual successor, Jahangir, and grandmother of Shah Jahan.

She was a senior-ranking wife of Akbar who in words of Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, commanded a high rank in the imperial harem. As recorded by Henry Beveridge, she was head of the Hindu harem of Akbar. Several medieval historical chronicles, written during the reign of Emperor Akbar namely 'Tarikh-I-Farishta' and 'Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh', by Abdul Qadir Badayuni, a courtier in Akbar's court states Mariam-uz-Zamani to be the favorite and most influential consort of Akbar. The Empress held a prodigious influence in the matters of the court during Akbar's reign and was often consulted by Akbar in important matters. She was an intelligent, a very amiable, kind, secular, and a virtuous woman.