India’s forgotten power broker—what was her secret?
PRIYANKA BORPUJARI /
National Geographic
Begum Samru was the supreme commander of 3,000 troops, including at least a hundred European mercenaries, in 18th-century northern India. She held court, wore a turban, smoked a hookah, converted from Islam to Catholicism, and dubbed herself Joanna, after Joan of Arc. Yet, she is largely forgotten today.