Mahd-i Ulyā ( fa, مهد علیا, meaning "Sublime Cradle" or ''the highest ranked cradle''), also transliterated as Mahd-e Olyā, was a common title for empress mother, mothers of Shahs, or crown princes, in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
during the
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
and
Qajar eras. It is also occasionally used in a similar context for the wife or the mother of a local ruler or a religious leader:
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Malek Jahan Khanom
Malek Jahan Khanom ( fa, ملک جهان خانم; 26 February 1805 – 2 April 1873) was the wife of Mohammad Shah Qajar of Persia and the mother of Naser al-Din Shah. She was the ''de facto'' regent of Persian Empire for one month, from 5 ...
, mother of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
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Gawhar Shad, wife of Shah Rukh
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Khayr al-Nisa Begum
Khayr al-Nisa Begum (Persian: خیرالنساء بیگم; known under the royal title Mahd-i Ulya (مهد علیا), "the highest-ranked cradle") (died 26 July 1579) was an Iranian Mazandarani princess from the Marashi dynasty, who was the wife ...
, wife of Shah Muhammad Khodabanda and mother of Shah Abbas I
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Fatimih, wife of Bahá'u'lláh
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Sultanum Begum
Sultanum Begum ( 1516 – 1593), also known as Kadam Ali Soltan Khanum, was the first wife and chief consort of the second Safavid king Tahmasp I. She was the mother of her husband's successor, Ismail II, and the mother of Mohammad Khodabanda, wh ...
( – 1593), Queen consort of Iran
{{disambig
Society of Iran
Safavid imperial harem
Qajar harem