Bhagamati (Hyder Mahal), also known as Bhagyawati,[1] was a queen of Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, in whose honour Hyderabad was supposedly named.
[3][4] Bhagmati was born in 'Chichlam' (a location yet to be identified with certainty) to a Hindu family; she was a local nautch-girl.
[3] Qutb Shah met her whilst out for a ride, fell so deeply in love that he constructed the Purana Pul bridge to ensure he could meet with her regularly, and entered into a marriage.
[4] After she converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal, the city was renamed Hyderabad.
[3] Furthermore, no tomb was built over her last remains unlike other leading female figures of the court; no inscription or coin of that period mentions her name.