Would like to see Shah Jehan and Emperor Akbar's too!

Me too !! : )

Wauw!!!

WOW!

How fabulous is that!

Marriage Certificate? Which one? He married multiple times (at least two are famous) and fathered many through concubines as well.

This lavish certificate records the marriage of the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837-57) to Zinat Mahal Begam in India on 18 November 1840.

Nawab Zeenat Mahal was from the family of Nawab Quli Khan, and was the daughter of Nawab Shamsher Ud Daulah. She had a house near what was known as the Lal or Red Well. Zeenat Mahal had a son Prince Jawan Bakht and she stayed throughout with Bahadur Shah Zafar in Yangoon during his period of exile from India. Prior to the events of 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar tried his best to ensure that after his death Zeenat Mahal and her son Prince Jawan Bakht would not be treated badly. The English reassured him that they would be looked after, however, due to the events of the War of Independence these undertakings were no longer upheld and Zeenat Mahal and her son both died and were buried in Myanmar. http://www.kapadia.com/zeenatmahal.html

The haveli where Zeenat Mahal, the favourite queen of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, lived, is now being used as a big iron market; some families have also built their homes there. The old opulence has gone. The haveli belonging to the Englishman, James Skinner, in Gali Qasim Jaan had a courtyard in which he kept elephants and horses. http://www.india-seminar.com/2002/515/515%20satish%20jacob.htm

Thanks for the wonderful clarification. This is terrific!

the question is, why would an emperor need a certificate?

Excellent question !! Did not see it that way. : ) Maybe its an Islamic requirement.....marriage registry of sorts.

rules for the king? i was under the illusion that only the hindu tradition required even a king to follow set expectations of the scriptures :)

Marriage in most traditions is a contract. The nikahnama is probably the documented version of the contract.

Arun : Interesting poser by Shashi. Does the concept of 'divorce' exist in Hinduism ? Islam has 'talaq'...would that be the reason for having a 'nikahnama' too.....beginning and end , so to speak. I dont think Hinduism has a concept of marriage registry also.

the tradition of india has held the sacred fire as the primary witness, and the society at large is the witness. that is why all the rituals are done - be it groom going around town on horseback, relatives coming from far and wide, they all are witnesses. the provision of divorce was there, in the sense it was allowed. wife would leave husband with or without his fault. such provisions are seen in chANkaya's arthashAstra dna many shlokas and saying refer to how even wife leaves in poverty!

Shashi: But did it involve alimony (or return of mehr)?

But...did divorce ever exist in practice among Hindus? I have never heard of a case in history or mythology.

You are right - divorce as a legal procedure- even I am not aware of such a provision in our mythos.- its worth finding out!