| Tajlu Khanum | |
|---|---|
| Principal consort of theSafavid Shah | |
| Tenure | 1504–1524 |
| Successor | Sultanum Begum |
| 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) orTajli Begum (تاجلی بیگم), also known by her title ofShah-Begi Khanum (شاه بگی خانم), was aTurkoman princess from theMawsillu tribe and mother ofTahmasp I.
While Italian writerAngiolello and Iranian historian Manuchihr Parsaʹdust agree that she was a granddaughter of theAq Qoyunlu rulerYaqub (r. 1478–1490) via a daughter,John Woods proposed her paternal lineage as Mihmad Beg being her father and Amir Hamza being her grandfather.[1] Jean Aubin on the other hand, proposed Bakr Beg Mawsillu as her maternal grandfather.[2] She also had a sister named Beksi Khanum.[3]
According toAngiolello andRamusio, theSafavidshahIsmail 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 asBudaq Monshi Qazvini, she was the wife of theAfrasiyabid rulerKiya Husayn II, who had during the dissolution of the Aq Qoyunlu confederation expanded his rule from westernMazandaran into parts ofPersian Iraq. Ismail I invaded the latter's territories and put an end to his rule in 1504, where he afterwards took Tajlu Khanum into hisharem. 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 bore him two sons,Tahmasp Mirza andBahram Mirza Safavi, and two daughters,Parikhan Khanum andMahinbanu Khanum.
Her supposed capture atBattle of Chaldiran was a major source of controversy among historians ofIran andOttoman Empire.[4] While Ottoman sources wrote that she was captured during battle and even conversed withSelim I, according to Safavid sources she was lost but found byMirza Shah Hossein, who because of this rose to the rank ofwakil in Safavid court.[5] According to Roger Savory, it wasBehruza Khanum, another wife of Ismail I who was captured and apparently later remarried.
Tajlu financed shrine ofFatima al-Masuma inQom in 1519, supportedTahmasp Mirza's elevation to throne in 1524. But was banished toShiraz in 1540 because of treason by his son. She later died and buried inBibi Dokhtaran mausoleum.