Begum Samru was the head of a professionally trained mercenary army, inherited from her European mercenary husband, Walter Reinhardt Sombre.
18 Facts About Begum Samru
2.
Begum Samru is regarded as the only Catholic ruler in India, as she ruled the principality of Sardhana in 18th- and 19th-century India.
3.
Begum Samru's inheritance was assessed as approximately 55.5 million gold marks in 1923 and 18 billion deutsch marks in 1953.
4.
Begum Samru's inheritance continues to be disputed to this day.
5.
Begum Samru was of slight stature, fair complexion and distinguished by exceptional leadership abilities of an uncommon order.
6.
Walter Reinhardt Sombre, a European mercenary, then 45 years old, came to the red light area and fell for the charms of Farzana, then a girl of 14, says Johan Lall in his "Begum Samru - Faded Portrait in a Gilded Frame".
7.
The Begum favoured the Frenchman and when, in 1793, the rumour spread that she had married him, her troops mutinied.
8.
Begum Samru's lover died of a self-inflicted wound to the head.
9.
Begum Samru's army occupied the left of the Maratha line at the battle of Assaye and hers was the only part of the Mahratta force that was not driven in disarray from the battle field.
10.
Begum Samru died at Sardhana in January 1837 at the age of 85, bequeathing the greater part of her property to David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, who descended from Walter Reinhardt Sombre, from his first wife.
11.
Begum Samru built palaces at Sardhana, Chandni Chowk in Delhi and Jharsa.
12.
Begum Samru built a palace for herself between Badshahpur and Jharsa.
13.
Begum Samru claimed the offering to Sitla Mata temple of Gurugram during the Chaitra month and the revenue from the offerings given to the deity for rest of the month was distributed among the prominent Jat families of the area.
14.
Begum Samru did so because the Begum had saved Delhi from an invasion by a force of 30,000 Sikhs, under Baghel Singh in 1783.
15.
Begum Samru's palatial building still stands in Chandni Chowk, New Delhi.
16.
Begum Samru died on 27 January 1836 at the age of 82 or 83 and was buried under the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces which she had built.
17.
The Begum Samru is depicted as a prominent noble lady in TV drama series Beecham House first aired June 2019.
18.
Begum Samru appears as the antagonist in the British colonial author William Browne Hockley's short story "The Natch".