Mahd-i Ulya

Mahd-i Ulyā (Persian: 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 during the Safavid 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:

• Khayr al-Nisa Begum, wife of Shah Muhammad Khodabanda and mother of Shah Abbas I
• Malek Jahan Khanom, mother of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
• Fatimih, wife of Bahá'u'lláh