Maham Anga was the wet nurse of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and often referred as his foster mother as she took care of young Akbar, as his own mother, Hamida Banu Begum

Hamida Banu Begum

Hamida Banu Begam, Maryam Makani was a wife of the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the mother of Mughal Emperor , Akbar...

 was mostly away, with his father, Humayun

Humayun

Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...

 was in exile, throughout Akbar's growing years. She was the de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

 regent of the Mughal state after the exclusion of Bairam Khan

Bairam Khan

Bairam Khan also Bayram Khan was a important military commander, general of the Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at the court of the Mughal emperors Humayun and Akbar.-Background:...

 in 1560 to Akbar's assumption of full power in 1562, shortly before her death.

The period is referred to by some historians as "the Petticoat Government", suggesting that the 'foster mother cohort' attempted to keep Akbar as a puppet ruler after Bairam Khan's death. An alternative perspective is that this regency was considerably less oppressive than that of Bairam Khan, and ended in considerably less destruction than the Uzbeg Revolt of 1564-7.

Maham Anga was the mother of Adham Khan

Adham Khan

Adham Khan was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, he thus became the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani.-Conquest of Malwa:...

, Akbar's

Akbar the Great

Akbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...

 foster brother, and his violent execution for the murder of Ataga Khan

Ataga Khan

Shamsuddin Muhammad Atgah Khan , also known as Khan-e-Kalan Shamsu'd-Din Muhammad Khan Atgah Khan, held important positions in the court, including that of wakil to which he was appointed in November 1561,much to displeasure of Maham Anga, whose son Adham Khan, eventually murdered him in 1562...

, Akbar’s favourite general Shams-ud-Din, at the hands of the young Emperor himself no less in November, 1561, profoundly affected her. She famously commented 'You have done well' to Akbar when he broke the news to her; she died shortly afterwards.

Her tomb and that of her son, known as Aadam Khan's Tomb, was built by Akbar, and popularly named Bhul-bulaiyan, owing to the labyrinth in its structure, lies north of the Qutub Minar

Qutub Minar

Qutub Minar also Qutb Minar, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Delhi, India. The Qutub Minar is constructed with red sandstone and marble, and is the tallest minaret in India, with a height of 72.5 meters , contains 379 stairs to reach the top, and the diameter of base is 14.3 meters...

 in Mehrauli

Mehrauli

Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in the South West district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is located close to Gurgaon.-History:...

.

Khairul Manazil

She also built a mosque, 'Khairul Manazil' ca 1561 CE. It later served as a madarsa, and now stands opposite, Purana Qila, Delhi on Mathura Road, south east to Sher Shah Gate.

It was here that A slave tried to kill Akbar, after his return from hunting and moving towards Nizamuddin Dargah

Nizamuddin Dargah

Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah of one of the world's most famous Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya. Situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi, the dargah is visited by thousands of Muslims every week, and sees a fair share of Hindus, Christians and people from other religions...

, but the arrow hit a soldier in his entourage instead, who was hurt, albeit not gravely.