Tajlu Khanum
| Tajlu Khanum | |
|---|---|
 Likely depiction of Tajlu Khanum, Shah Ismail's first Queen, and Shah Tahmasp's mother. Painted circa 1531.[1] | |
| Principal consort of the Safavid Shah | |
| Tenure | 1504–1524 |
| Born | c. 1485 |
| Died | 1540 (aged 54–55) Shiraz |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Ismail I |
| Issue | Tahmasp I Bahram Mirza Safavi Parikhan Khanum Mahinbanu Khanum |
| Tribe | Mawsillu |
| Father | Mihmad beg Mawsillu |
Tajlu Khanum (Persian: تاجلو خانم) or Tajli Begum (تاجلی بیگم), also known by her title of Shah-Begi Khanum (شاه بگی خانم), was a Turkoman princess from the Mawsillu tribe of the Aq Qoyunlu confederation. She was the principal wife of Shah Ismail, and the mother of Tahmasp I.[2]
Family
[edit]While Italian writer Angiolello and Iranian historian Manuchihr Parsaʹdust agree that she was a granddaughter of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Yaqub (r. 1478–1490) via a daughter, John Woods proposed her paternal lineage as Mihmad Beg being her father and Amir Hamza being her grandfather.[3] Jean Aubin on the other hand, proposed Bakr Beg Mawsillu as her maternal grandfather.[4] She also had a sister named Beksi Khanum.[5]
Marriage
[edit]According to Angiolello and Ramusio, the Safavid shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) married Tajlu Khanum after defeating the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Murad ibn Ya'qub in 1503, but according to the Safavid-period historians such as Budaq Monshi Qazvini, she was the wife of the Afrasiyabid ruler Kiya Husayn II, who had during the dissolution of the Aq Qoyunlu confederation expanded his rule from western Mazandaran into parts of Persian Iraq. Ismail I invaded the latter's territories and put an end to his rule in 1504, where he afterwards took Tajlu Khanum into his harem.
She became Ismail's most beloved wife. She was a very beautiful, intelligent, and warlike woman, which is why Shah Ismail loved her and wrote great poems for her. Tajlu was the only wife of the king who was skilled in swordsmanship and always accompanied her husband in his battles. She gave birth to two sons, Tahmasp Mirza and Bahram Mirza Safavi, and two daughters, Parikhan Khanum and Mahinbanu Khanum.
Her supposed capture at Battle of Chaldiran was a major source of controversy among historians of Iran and Ottoman Empire.[6] While Ottoman sources wrote that she was captured during battle and even conversed with Selim I, according to Safavid sources she was lost but found by Mirza Shah Hossein, who because of this rose to the rank of wakil in Safavid court.[7] According to Roger Savory, it was Behruza Khanum, another wife of Ismail I who was captured and apparently later remarried.
Legacy
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Tajlu Khanum financed the Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom in 1519, commissioning the Golden Iwan (with its muqarnas golden ceiling) and rebuilding the Golden Dome. She dedicated the Golden Iwan to Shah Ismail with an inscription in light blue mosaic over the pinnacle of the arch, which gives Shah Ismail's name and laudatory attributes such as "the upholder of justice", "the guardian of the empire" and even "the Guide (Mahdi)", a title normally reserved to God and the twelfth Shi'i imam.[8][9] She also built her husband Shah Ismail's tomb in Ardabil after his death in 1524, right next to the tomb of the Safavid ancestor Shayk Safi.[8][9] She then supported Tahmasp Mirza's elevation to the throne in 1524.
She was ultimately banished to Shiraz in 1540 because of treason by Tahmasp's son. She later died and was buried in the Bibi Dokhtaran mausoleum. Other accounts report that she was buried at Ardabil close to her husband.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Soudavar, Abolala (1992). Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection. New York: Rizzoli. p. 154. ISBN 978-0847816606.
(...) the noble woman at the far right, presumably Shah Tahmasb's mother.
- ^ Ze’evi, Dror (5 December 2024). Queens Around the World, 1520–1620: A Century of Female Power. Springer Nature. p. 100. ISBN 978-3-031-58634-7.
Tajlu was a princess from the Mawsillu, one of the great tribes comprising the Aq Qoyunlu confederation
- ^ Woods, John E. (1999). The Aqquyunlu : clan, confederation, empire (Rev. and expanded ed.). Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 0-585-12956-8. OCLC 44966081.
- ^ Aubin, Jean (1988). "L'avènement des Safavides reconsideré". Moyen-Orient & Océan Indien. 5. ISSN 0764-5562.
- ^ Ruggles, D. Fairchild (2000-08-03). Women, Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies. SUNY Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7914-4469-6.
- ^ Savory, Roger (2003). Tajlu Khanum: Was She Captured by the Ottomans at the Battle of Chaldiran?. Jeremiás, Éva M. Piliscsaba: The Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. pp. 217–232. ISBN 963-86359-0-8. OCLC 59719983.
- ^ Roemer, H.R. (1986). "The Safavid period". The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Timurid and Safavid periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9780521200943.
- ^ a b c d Rivzi, Kishmar (2015). "CHAPTER 14 THE INCARNATE SHRINE Shi'ism and the Cult of Kingship in Early Safavid Iran". SAINTS AND SACRED MATTER The Cult of Relics in Byzantium and Beyond (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. pp. 209–303. ISBN 978-0-88402-406-4.
- ^ a b c Canby, Sheila R. (2009). Shah ʻAbbas : the remaking of Iran. London : British Museum Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-7141-2456-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Soudavar, Abolala (1992). Art of the Persian courts : selections from the Art and History Trust Collection. New York : Rizzoli. pp. 170–173. ISBN 978-0-8478-1660-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Sources
[edit]- Bosworth, C. E. (1984). "ĀL-E AFRĀSĪĀB". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7. London u.a.: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 742–743. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20.
- Savory, Roger (1998). "ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6. pp. 628–636.
- Newman, Andrew J. (2008). Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B. Tauris. pp. 1–281. ISBN 9780857716613.