Galin Khanom

Galin Khanum (b.1831/1832; Persian: گلین خانم) was the first legal wife and royal consort of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar and the mother of his first crown prince, Sultan Mahmoud Mirza. She was the daughter of Ahmad Ali Mirza, the nineteenth son of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar and Zibachehr Khanum, a Georgian woman. At the age of fourteen, she married Naser al-Din Shah and bore him four children.

Biography

Born as Umm Salama, Galin Khanum was the granddaughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar and married her cousin, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. She is reported to have been among the prominent calligraphers of the Qajar era, artistically active during the 19th century. She excelled particularly in the Naskh script, and several of her works survive today. Besides calligraphy, she also possessed a talent for poetry. Her poetic name, under which she gained fame, was "Esmat Qajar." Due to her extensive knowledge in various fields, she was frequently consulted by the court princes.

She had four children with her husband:

• Fakhr ol-Moluk
• Soltan Mahmoud Mirza
• Afsar al-Dowleh
• Soltan Mohammad Mirza

In popular culture

• Portrayed by Fatemeh Goudarzi in the film 1999 The Truumphant Warrior
• Portrayed by Samira Hasanpour in the TV series 2023—2022 Jeyran