Mahd-i Ulyā ( fa, مهد علیا, link=no, meaning "Sublime Cradle" or ''the highest ranked cradle''), also transliterated as Mahd-e Olyā, was a common title for empress
mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
, 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, and title of mothers of
Ottoman Sultans
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
like
Valide Sultan. It is also occasionally used in a similar context for the wife or the mother of a local ruler or a religious leader:
*
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
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدینشاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...
*
Gawhar Shad, wife of
Shah Rukh
*
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
Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...
*
Fatimih, wife of
Bahá'u'lláh
*
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
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 ...
*
Safiye Sultan
Safiye Sultan ( ota, صفیه سلطان; "''pure''" 1550 – 20 April 1619) was the Haseki Sultan (chief consort) of Murad III and Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Mehmed III and the grandmother of Sultans: Ahmed I and Mu ...
(
c. 1550 – after 20 April 1619), mother of Sultan
Mehmed III
{{disambig
Society of Iran
Safavid imperial harem
Qajar harem