Sultanum Begum

Sultanum Begum (Persian: سلطانم بیگم; (c. 1516 – 1593), also known as Kadam Ali Soltan Khanum,^[1] was the first wife and chief consort^[2] of the second Safavid king Tahmasp I. She was the mother of her husband's successor, Ismail II, and the mother of Mohammad Khodabanda, who reigned from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587.

Sultanum Begum
Chief consort of the Safavid Shah
Tenure	23 May 1524 – 25 May 1576
Born	c. 1516
Died	c. 1593(1593-00-00) (aged 76–77) Qazvin, Persia
Burial	Imam Reza shrine, Mashhad
Spouse	Tahmasp I
Issue	Mohammad Khodabanda Ismail II Gawhar Sultan Begum
House	Mawsillu (by birth) Safavid (by marriage)
Father	Isa bey Mawsillu
Religion	Islam

Life

Woman with a spray of flowers, Safavid, circa 1575 CE

Sultanum Begum was the daughter of Isa Beg Mawsillu.^[1] Like Tahmasp's mother Tajlu Khanum, Sultanum belonged to the Turcoman Mawsillu tribe of the Aq Qoyunlu, and was a maternal third cousin of her husband.^[3][4] Musa Soltan, governor of Azerbaijan was his brother. Begum had two children during her marriage.^[2]

Sultanum Begum rose to become the leader of the safavid harem after Tajlu Khanum's exile to Shiraz in 1540. She had an independent royal court and her vizier was Khwaja Ibrahim Khalil. She also gained the honorific title of Mahd-i Ulya.^[2]

Reign of her sons

She mainted her strong position during the reign of Ismail II as her tribe, Mawsillu, also supported him. She was alive during her son Mohammad Khodabanda's and grandson Abbas I's reigns.

Sources

• Soudavar, Abolala (1992). Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection. New York: Rizzoli. p. 154. ISBN 978-0847816606.