Bibi Mubaraka Yusufzai, known as the Afghan Aghacha, was the first lady of Zahir-ud-Din Babur, founder and the first emperor of the Mughal Empire. She was the daughter of Malak Shah Mansur, a notable chieftain of the Yusufzai tribe. Her grandfather Malak Suleman Shah was the chief of the Yusufzais during the reign of Mirza Ulagh Beg in Kabul.

Bibi Mubaraka had been a very intriguing figure in the history of the Mughal-Pakhtun relationship. There is a little record available about her role that is ever mentioned in history books. Her claim to fame seems to be that she was one of Babur’s ten wives. It was under her supervision that Humayun shifted Babur’s remains to be buried in Kabul. She lived through Babur’s reign and died early in Humayun’s reign on June 17, 1631.

After firmly establishing his position in Kabul, Babur summoned the Yusufzai chief Malak Ahmad Khan, settled at that time in Swat. A rumour spread among the Kabul inhabitants that he would be murdered in the court. But Malak Ahmad, after a diplomatic session with Babur, returned safely to his tribe in Swat. The Yusufzais had established themselves firmly with relatively sound financial and military backing. From the very start Babur was mindful of their power and strategic position in Swat.

Pir Muazzam Shah and a number of other writers have given a detailed account of Babur’s marriage with Bibi Mubaraka. According to these sources, once he disguised himself as fakir (beggar) and went out to acquaint himself with the situation of the Yusufzais. It was the occasion of the Baqar Eid and there was a gathering at the house of Shah Mansur; situated on the back of Maura Hill (presently the place is called the Throne of Shah Mansur).

Babur sat among the crowd in the courtyard. At that very moment Bibi Mubaraka sent cooked meat folded between bread stripes to Babur. Her fascinating beauty attracted him and thus Babur requested the tribal elder for having a matrimonial alliance with the Yusufzais. This story has been repudiated by many scholars because of its weak historical assertion. If it was so then Babur would certainly have narrated it in Baburnama.

Whatever the truth behind that significant bond, one may call it a ‘marriage of convenience’ because it created a direct link between Babur and the Yusufzais and thus he kept himself in touch with the day-to-day happenings in the frontier region. The marriage gave Babur an intimate connection with the tribe and a sort of guarantee of protection from the usual forays of the Yusufzais and its sub-clans. The element of romance in the whole story has no strong base. The marriage was concluded just to gain political, strategic and diplomatic advantages by both the sides.

The date of the marriage, according to Gul Badan Begum’s Humayun Nama, was Sunday, 30 January, 1519. Tawus Khan, a brother of Malak Shah Mansur, carried Bibi Mubaraka along with the Yusufzai tribute to the camp of Babur. A brother of Bibi Mubaraka, Mir Jamal, entered in the services of Babur and accompanied him in the famous battle of Panipat and rose to high status under Humayun and Akbar. It must have been largely due to her dominating role that Babur learned so much of the Pakhtun customs, traditions, tribal nomenclature, and the accurate names of all the places he has given in his memoirs. Babur has mentioned no details of her life more than his great respect for that Yusufzai lady. She had no children from Babur; the reason probably was that some Mughal ladies mixed in her diet ingredients that made her infertile. Like a traditional Pakhtun bride she gave respect to Babur and always remained with him throughout his eventful life.

Some writers have mentioned the role of Shaikh Malli because he wanted to save his tribe from the brutality of the Mughals as the memories of the murder of their 700 malaks by Ulugh Beg were still alive in their memories. In return, Babur never interfered in their internal affairs. The Yusufzais’ alliance made it possible for Babur to safely cross the borderland and crush the forces of Ibrahim Lodhi in Panipat. The fact of the matter and the political dynamics of the wedding, however, are not properly evaluated by these scholars.

The Yusufzai alliance with Babur was not a permanent union. Throughout the Mughal era, the tribe never made any compromise on the Mughal intrusions in the Pakhtuns’ areas. In the case of Babur, the options with the Yusufzai malaks were either to face the Mughal savagery or to work out a policy of diplomatic engagement. And choosing the latter option demonstrated the political wisdom of Malak Ahmad Khan.

Majority of writers have also overlooked the dynamics of the internal disunity between the Lodhi nobles at the Delhi court. In fact, Babur dealt all the Pakhtun tribes, chiefs, nobles, governors and malaks separately and interestingly at the end most of them reduced to submission. Malak Hamza Khan, a chief of Gigyani in Peshawar, discretely visited the court of Babur at Kabul and allied himself with the Mughals against the wishes of other tribes. Moreover, the tribe of Dalazak also joined Babur much before the marriage of Bibi Mubaraka.

In his next march, Babur briefly stayed in the vicinity of Hashtnagar where skirmishes occurred with Mohmand tribe. He went to Shahbazgarhi, then proceeded further for a hunting expedition of wild buffalos in the vicinity of the present day Swabi. The place probably was Yaqubi, a town situated nowadays in the Razzar Tehsil of Swabi district. At Peshawar, he gave precious gifts to a number of Dalazak and other tribal malaks for their services which they rendered in support of Mughal expeditions.

Despite his marriage with Bibi Mubaraka, Babur was not satisfied with the attitude of the Yusufzai malaks. Their military strength and strategic location in the hills always haunted him. Despite all his methods and mechanism, he was not sure of their cooperation. There was no formal agreement that was concluded between the two sides as mentioned by William Erskine.

Some historians have argued that although the Yusufzais established matrimonial relations with Babur, they were compelled to pay taxes or tributes. In fact, there is no proof that the Yusufzai ever paid tribute or taxes to Babur or any other Mughal emperor. Malak Ahmad Khan did not have any trust in Babur and suspicions existed on both the sides. Babur even tried to create mistrust between Malak Ahmad Khan and Malak Shah Mansur but his efforts in this regard did not succeed.