Mahinbanu Sultan (1519-1562) was the little daughter of Shah

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

of Persia (r. 1524–1576) and

Tajlu Khanum Tajlu Khanum ( fa, تاجلو خانم) or Tajli Begum (), also known by her title of Shah-Begi Khanum (), was a Turkoman princess from the Mawsillu tribe and principal consort of Ismail I. Family While Italian writer Angiolello and Irania ...

. She was the youngest sister of Shah Tahmasb. She had a big influence during the reign of her brother, and acted as his political adviser.

Biography

Mahinbanu was born in 1519 in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. She lost her father at the age of five and was given a higher education in the court. She was very interested in politics and

introduced her well to it. After her mother's death in 1540, Mahinbanu was chosen as the only advisor to her brother, Shah Tahmasb. During her brother's reign, Mahinbanu was known as the greatest lady of the

Safavid Empire 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 ...

. She never married and dedicated his whole life to the government of her father and brother, but after the death of

Bahram Mirza Bahram Mirza Moezz-od-Dowleh Qajar ( fa, بهرام میرزا معزالدوله قاجار; 1806- 1882) was the second son of Abbas Mirza who was the youngest son of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar. He was an educated and erudite man expert on many subjec ...

, she took care of his three children named Sultan Hossein Mirza,

Ibrahim Mirza Prince Ibrahim Mirza, Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā, in full Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Ibrahim Mirza ( fa, ابوالفتح سلطان ابراهیم میرزا) (April 1540 – 23 February 1577) was a Persian prince of the Safavid dynasty, who was a favo ...

and

Badi-al Zaman Mirza Safavi Badi-al Zaman Mirza Safavi was a Safavid prince, who was the son of prominent military leader Bahram Mirza Safavi, who was the youngest son of Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid empire. Badi-al Zaman had two brothers named Ibrahim Mirza and Su ...

took charge and brought them up, then at his request the two younger sons of Bahram Mirza married the two older daughters of Shah Tahmasb and Mahinbanu. After that she was given the title of "Sultana". Mahinbanu Sultan finally died in 1562 at the age of 43 in

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

and was buried in her father's tomb in

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

according to her will.

Policy

Mahinbanu Sultan was in politics for 22 years from the time of her mother's death until her death. She always corresponded with

Hurrem Sultan Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label=Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottom ...

and the reason for them was the many Ottoman attacks on

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and Prince Bayezid becoming a refugee in

, and after Hurrem's death, these correspondences continued with Hurrem's daughter Mihrima Sultan, mutual gifts were always exchanged among these correspondences, the most famous of which is the Iranian carpet that was given to Hurrem Sultan. She also corresponded with

Hamida Banu Begum Hamida Banu Begum ( 1527 – 29 August 1604), was the queen consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar.Gurkanian court.

Beliefs

She dedicated her jewelry to Imam Zaman and

Imam Reza Ali ibn Musa al-Rida ( ar, عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُوسَىٰ ٱلرِّضَا, Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the e ...

References

{{Reflist * Hani Khafipour. The Foundations of Safavid State: fealty, patronage, and ideals of authority (1501-1576). — Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago, 2013. — P. 254. 16th-century births 16th-century deaths 16th-century Iranian women Safavid princesses