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Though "Miriam's House" is generally regarded as the abode of Mariam Zâmâni, there is a great deal to support the view that the spacious palace known as Jodh Bai's Mahal, or Jahangiri Mahal, was really her residence. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest buildings in Fatehpur.
When he perished in an unfortunate expedition against some unruly Afghan tribes, Akbar's grief was for a long time inconsolable. The house which is named after him was originally enclosed within the precincts of the imperial zanana, and a covered way connected it with Jodh Bai's palace.
One of Jahangir's wives, a Hindu princess of Jodhpur, hence known as Jodh Bai, lived in this part of the palace, and the room on the west side of the quadrangle, surrounded by a number of oblong niches, is said to have been her temple, in which the images of Hanuman and other Hindu deities were kept.
A door in the west wall leads into the cloisters, which formerly connected Akbar's apartments with the Daftar Khana and with Jodh Bai's palace. THE KWÂBGÂH, or sleeping apartment, is a small pavilion on the roof. Originally the walls were entirely covered by fresco paintings, but only a few fragments now remain.
The fourth wife was famed for her beauty: she had been previously married to Abul Wásí. The fifth wife, mother of Jahángír, was a Jodhpur princess, Jodh Báei. As mother of the heir apparent, she held the first place in the harem. The sixth, seventh, and eighth wives were Muhammadans. In the matter of domestic legislation Akbar paid considerable attention to the mode of collecting revenue.
It is one of the most richly decorated of all the adjacent buildings, and next to Jodh Bai's palace, the largest of the imperial residences. As in so many other instances, the vague local tradition which assigns this palace to Rajah Birbal seems to be at fault.
Judging from the style of the frescoes, it would seem probable that this was not the residence of Mariam Zâmâni, but of one of Akbar's first two wives, whose connections were mostly with Persia. Jodh Bai's Palace.
For his first wife, Sultana Rakhina, who was also his first cousin, Akbar built the Jodh Bai palace, whilst over against it, in the beautiful "Golden House," dwelt his Rajput consort, Miriam-uz-Zemani, who bore him the future Emperor Jehanghir. Nor did he forget his favourite friends and counsellors.
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