The forgotten Queen of Babur: Bibi Mubaraka Yousafzai
Bibi Mubaraka Yousafzai, the daughter of Malik Shah Mansur and first cousin of Malik Ahmad Khan Yousafzai, became the wife of Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babar in 1519. Known as “Afghan Aghacha” in Gulbadan Begum’s Humayun Nama, she played a significant yet overlooked role in Babar’s life, introducing him to the politics, culture, and history of the Pakhtuns. Despite her contributions, her story remains largely ignored by historians, leaving a critical gap in our understanding of Babar’s court and the era’s intricate sociopolitical dynamics.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Himayatullah Yaqubi had been a Research Fellow at National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR), QAU, from 2006 to 2017. Presently, he is Assistant Professor at the Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He has also authored a book titled “Mughal-Afghan Relations in South Asia: History and Developments” (2015).
About the Moderator:
Having previously worked at NUST, Dilawar Hussain is presently serving as visiting faculty at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, where he teaches courses on constitutional and parliamentary history of Pakistan. He has worked as a research fellow at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His areas of specialization include parliamentary, political, constitutional and electoral history of Pakistan.