[10] Mariam-uz-Zamani was born a Rajput princess named Harkha Bai, the eldest daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amer.

[17] Alongside Empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, her granddaughter Bahar Banu Begum is also buried in the same mausoleum insinuating that she might have been her favourite.

Mariam-uz-Zamani's identity has been throughout centuries falsely inferred as Christian primarily on the pretext of her title, 'Mariam' and the absence of her background details from official Mughal chronicles giving rise to speculation about her race and religion.

Additionally Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, a chronicle written in the Mughal era, explicitly states Mariam-uz-Zamani as a daughter of Raja Bharmal, therefore putting end to the supposition of Mariam Zamani being a Christian.

It was not only that the painting in Sonahra Makan may have led to speculation of her as Christian but the name Maryam (Mary) has also led weight to the theory of "Christian wife" however Maryam is a common name among Muslims and Maryam-uz-Zamani (Mary of Age) was conferred upon her on the birth of her son, prince Salim.

Before the mutiny when the High Court was at Agra, the Government Press was situated in her mausoleum and the Native Christian school and Orphanage occupied a portion of the garden.

[23] Mariam-uz-Zamani laid out a large garden near the tomb of her husband[22] in Sikandra, which originally had an open baradari (pleasure pavilion) built during the reign of Sikander Lodi, in 1495 AD.

[15] The ground floor consists of some forty chambers, which bear faint traces of paintings on plastered walls.

The two corridors running from east to west and from north to south divide the structure into nine sections that are further subdivided into smaller compartments.

[13][15][14] The facades (exterior) of the building were reconstructed with red sandstone panels and a chhajja with the addition of duchhati (mezzanine floors) at the corners by the Mughals.

[24] The red sandstone facade and panels with a variety of decorative designs, such as floral patterns, tell a lot about the former splendor of this tomb.

There are chevron patterns in the nook shafts, wine vases within sunk niches, and geometrical floral designs gracing the piers between the arches.