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Begum Joanna Nobilis Sombre (ca 1753–1836), popularly known as Begum Samru ((カシミール語:बेगम समरू (Devanagari), بیگم سمرو (Nastaleeq))) and also, as Begum Sumru,〔(Begum Sumru ) The Church of Basilica〕 (née Farzana Zeb un-Nissa) started her career as a Nautch (dancing) girl in 18th Century India, and eventually became the ruler of Sardhana, a small principality near Meerut.〔(Sardhana ) .〕 She was the head of a professionally trained mercenary army, inherited from her European mercenary husband, Walter Reinhardt Sombre. This mercenary army consisted of Europeans and Indians. She is also regarded as the only Catholic Ruler in India, as she ruled the Principality of Sardhana in 18th and 19th century India.〔(Sardhana Town ) The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 22, p. 105.〕 She died immensely rich. Her inheritance was assessed as approximately 55.5 million gold marks in 1923 and 18 billion deutsch marks in 1953. Her inheritance continues to be disputed to this day. An organisation named "Reinhards Erbengemeinschaft" still strives to resolve the inheritance issue. During her lifetime she had converted to Christianity from Islam.〔''The Indian Mutiny and the British Imagination'' by Gautam Chakravarty, Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-83274-8〕 ==Life== Begum Samru was of slight stature, fair complexion and distinguished by exceptional leadership abilities of an uncommon order. More than once, she headed her own troops in action. She was of Kashmiri descent.〔 "She was originally said to be a Kashmiri dancing girl named Farzana Zeb un-Nissa."〕 When she was in her early teens, she married (or started living with) a mercenary soldier Walter Reinhardt Sombre of Luxembourg, who was operating in India. Walter Reinhardt Sombre, a European mercenary, then 45-year-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". A soldier of fortune, Sombre moved from Lucknow to Rohilkhand (near Bareilly), then to Agra, Deeg and Bharatpur and back to the Doab. Farzana helped him in those times of intrigue and counter-intrigue. Farzana was courted by some of the European officers who were associated with her husband. Among them were Le Vassoult, a Frenchman, and George Thomas, an Irishman. The Begum favoured the Frenchman and when, in 1793, the rumour spread that she had married him, her troops mutinied. The couple sought to escape secretly by night - Le Vassoult on horseback and the Begum in a palanquin. Misinformed that Le Vassoult had been shot, she stabbed herself but survived. Her lover, however, died of a self-inflicted wound to the head. One version has it that she suggested a suicide pact but only nicked herself when the unsuspecting Le Vassoult shot himself dead. When Lord Gerard Lake met the Begum in 1802, in a fit of enthusiasm he gave her a hearty kiss, which appalled her troops. But with her customary tact, Begum Samru pacified them by saying that it was only "the kiss of the Padre to a repentant child". The Begum, though only 4½ feet tall, wore a turban and rode on horseback as she led her troops to battle. So invincible did she seem that the superstitious spread the word that she was a witch who could destroy her enemies just by throwing her cloak towards them. Her army occupied the left of the Mahratta 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. Having annihilated an advance by the 74th Highlanders and a picket detachment commanded by a Colonel Orrock, her army then withstood a cavalry charge from the British before marching from the field in good order. Throughout her life, she had only one friend, Begum Umdaa, who belonged to the other Jagirdar Family of Sardhana became her closest friend with time and fulfilled her relation till her death with Begum Samru. Even after Begum Umdaa was married, Begum Samru took out time to visit her to Meerut in good and bad. On the death of her husband Walter Reinhardt, she succeeded to his Principality yielding about £90,000 per annum, and on the introduction of British Rule in 1803 in North India, she managed to retain her possessions as an Independent Ruler. Her conduct in the internal management of her estate was highly commendable. Over time, she became powerful, ruling over a large area from Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh. On 7 May 1781, aged around forty, Begum Samru was baptized Joanna Nobilis, by a Roman Catholic priest. She 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.〔 Several stories and novels have been written based on her political and diplomatic astuteness and on crucial battles fought by troops directly commanded by her.〔(Profile ), natgeotraveller.in; accessed 28 August 2014.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Begum Samru」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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