Malek Jahan Khanom

Malek Jahan Khanom
Mahd-e Olia
Regent of Iran
Regency	5 September – 5 October 1848
Predecessor	Mohammad Shah Qajar
Successor	Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Premier	Haji Mirza Aqasi
Queen consort of Iran
Tenure	23 October 1834 – 5 September 1848
Born	Malek Jahan Khanom Qajar Qovanlou Amirsoleimani (1805-02-26)26 February 1805 Tehran, Sublime State of Iran
Died	2 April 1873(1873-04-02) (aged 68) Tehran, Sublime State of Iran
Spouse	Mohammad Shah Qajar
Issue	Malek Mirza Mahmoud Mirza Naser al-Din Shah Keshvar Khanom Ezzat ed-Dowleh (Maleknesa Khanom)
Names Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia
House	Amirsoleimani
Dynasty	Qajar dynasty
Father	Amir Mohammad Ghassem Khan Qajar Qovanlou Amirsoleimani
Mother	Princess Begom Jan Khanom Qajar
Religion	Shia Islam

Malek Jahan Khanom (Persian: ملک‌جهان خانم; 26 February 1805 – 2 April 1873) was the wife of Mohammad Shah Qajar and the mother of Naser al-Din Shah. She was the de facto regent of Iran for one month, from 5 September until 5 October in 1848, between the death of her husband and the accession of her son.

Life

Early life

Malek Jahan Khanom was an Iranian princess of the Qajar dynasty by both birth and marriage. By birth, being the daughter of Amir Mohammad Qassem Khan Qajar Qovanlou Amirsoleimani 'Amir Kabir' and Princess Begom Jan Khanom Qajar, she was the granddaughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Her paternal grandfather was the powerful Qajar commander Amir Soleyman Khan Qajar Qovanlou 'Amir Kabir' 'Nezam od-Doleh' 'Etezad od-Doleh' and her paternal grandmother was a princess of the Zand dynasty. She was the aunt of Prince Majd ed-Dowleh Qajar-Qovanlu Amirsoleimani and great-aunt of Malake Turan Amirsoleimani.

Marriage

Malek Jahan Khanom (middle), Naser al-Din Shah (her son, the fourth Shah of the Qajar dynasty, left), and Ezzat ed-Dowleh (her daughter, right). The photo was taken before 1874.

An illuminated marriage contract of Malik Jahan Khanum, grand-daughter of Fath Ali Shah to Mirza Muhammad Hassan, Persia, Qajar, dated 1833-4

She was married at a young age to her cousin, Mohammad Shah (reign 1834–1848). Her husband married about fifteen women during his lifetime, but she was one of his earliest wives. She held prestige within the harem for several reasons: because of her seniority among the Shah's wives; because she was a member of the family by birth and therefore well-networked and well-versed in their ways; because she bore her husband as many as five children (two of whom reached adulthood) and most of all because she was the mother of the crown prince.

Her only surviving son, Naser al-Din Shah, would succeed his father to the Iranian throne. Her title Mehd-i-aulia or Mehd-e-olia means "Sublime Cradle" and this title was generally bestowed on the mother of the heir apparent.

Widowhood

As widow, she was the de facto regent of Iran for one month, from 5 September until 5 October in 1848, between the death of her husband and the accession to the throne of her son.

As queen mother, she exerted considerable political influence during the reign of her son from 1848 until her death in 1873. She is described as a strong personality and politically gifted. Strongly rooted in family and clan networks, she tended to favour and support the Qajar nobility rather than merited commoners, partly also perhaps because members of the Qajar family and clan had much better access to her as compared to outsiders.

External links

• Media related to Mahd-e Olia at Wikimedia Commons