Sholapuri Begum
Sholapuri Begum, mid 18th cent., Mughal lady. A daughter of Jan Nisar Akhtar, a grandee of Aurangzeb, she was married to Qamar-ud-Din, the wazir of Emperor Muhammad Shah (d. 1748) and exercised great influence over the chief queen, Udham Bai. Her son, Intizam-ud-Daula, who was also the wazir for 15 months in 1753-54 had recklessly promised two crores to the Afghan invader, Ahmad Shah Abdali, in 1757, and when it was demanded, he pointed out to his mother. The widowed begum was threatened with torture and she fainted. When she recovered she pointed to the room where the treasure was buried. The floors of her mansion were dug up by the Afghan soldiery (4 February 1757) and enormous gold and jewellery were found, and seized.
