The royal consorts of Iran were the consorts of the rulers of the various states and civilizations in Iran (Persia) from antiquity until the abolition of the Iranian monarchy in the Iranian Revolution (1979). Certain titles were used for the female ruler or royal consort in certain dynasties, including Banbishn for the Sassanids and Shahbanu for the Pahlavis.
Ancient Iran ( 727 BC–AD 651) Medes ( 727–550 BC)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesAryenisAstyages
Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesCassandaneCyrus IIPhaedymiaCambyses IIHistories of Herodotus, Book 3, 3.69AtossaCambyses II (disputed)Darius Ialso a sister of Cambyses II.ArtystoneDarius IBrosius, M. (1998): Woman in Ancient Persia, p. 60, 62.ParmysAmestrisXerxes IDamaspiaArtaxerxes IParysatisDarius IIStateiraArtaxerxes IIAmestrisalso a daughter of Artaxerxes II.AtossaArtaxerxes IIIStateiraDarius III
Hellenistic rule (331–129 BC)
Alexander's empire (331–305 BC)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesRoxanaAlexander IIIStateiraParysatisEurydicePhilip IIIPhotius, ibid.; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca, xviii. 39
Seleucid Empire (305–129 BC)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesApamaSeleucus I NicatorStratoniceSeleucus I NicatorAntiochus I SoterStrabo, Geography, xiv. 2; Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, s.v. "Stratoniceia"Laodice IAntiochus II TheosBromiley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D p.144Berenice SyraLaodice IISeleucus II CallinicusLaodice IIIAntiochus III the GreatG. Ramsey, “The Queen and the City: Royal Female Intervention and Patronage in Hellenistic Civic Communities,” Gender & History, Vol 23, No. 3, 2011: 517.Laodice IVSeleucus IV PhilopatorAntiochus IV EpiphanesLaodice VDemetrius I SoterCleopatra TheaAlexander BalasDemetrius II NicatorAntiochus VII SidetesCleopatra Thea by Chris BennettRhodoguneDemetrius II NicatorAssar, A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period, 165-91 BCE, 2006. pg 88-112.
Parthian Empire ( 250/247 BC–224 AD)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesRinnuMithridates IJ. Oelsner, “Recht im hellenistischen Babylon,” in Legal Documents of the Hellenistic World, ed. M. J. Geller and H. Maehler, London, 1995, pp. 106–148.AriazateGotarzes ILaodiceOrodes IIMusaPhraates IVlater a queen regnant in her own right.
Sasanian Empire (224 AD–651 AD)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesDenagArdashir Ialso a sister of Ardashir I.MurrodKhwarranzemArdashir I orShapur IShapurdukhtak IBahram IIShapurdukhtak IINarsehIfra HormizdHormizd IIYazdan-Friy ShapurShapur IIIShushandukhtYazdegerd IDenagYazdegerd IISambiceKavad Ialso a sister of Kavad I.MariaKhosrow IIShirinGordiyaBorandokhtKavad IIalso a sister of Kavad II; later a queen regnant in her own right.
Medieval Iran (651–1501)
Arab (caliphal) rule (638–861)
Rashidun Caliphate (638–661)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesZaynab bint Maz'unUmarMuhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.Atika bint ZaydHolmes Katz, M. (2013). Prayer in Islamic Thought and Practice, p. 191. New York: Cambridge University Press.Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn HishamUmm Kulthum bint AliNa'ila bint al-FurafisaUthmanUmama bint Abi al-AsAliUmm al-BaninAsma bint Umais
Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesMaysunMu'awiya I Umm Khalid Fakhita Yazid I Fakhitah Marwan I AtikahAbd al-Malik Umm al-Banin al-Walid I Fatima Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Umm Hakim Hisham Umm al-Hajjaj Yazid II
Abbasid Caliphate (749–861)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesUmm SalamaAl-SaffahArwaAl-MansurFatimahRaytaAl-MahdiAl-KhayzuranMernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. . LubabahAl-HadiZubaidahHarun al-RashidUmm Muhammad Abbasa LubanaAl-AminClassical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology, ed. and trans. by Abdullah al-Udhari (London: Saqi Books, 1999), p. 120; .Umm IsaAl-Ma'munBuran Faridah Al-Mutawakkil
Buyids (934–1062)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesSayyida ShirinFakhr al-Dawla
Turco-Mongol rule (1038–1508)
Seljuk Empire (1038–1194)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesAltun Jan KhatunTughrilTerken KhatunMalik-Shah IZubayda Khatunİslâm Ansiklopedisi, volume: 24, page: 93Taj al-Din KhatunMassignon, Louis (1982). The Passion of al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Vol. 2. Translated by Mason, Herbert. Princeton University Press, p. 162.Gohar KhatunMuhammad I TaparTerken KhatunAhmad Sanjar
Khwarazmian Empire (1097–1220/1221)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesTerken KhatunIl-ArslanTerken KhatunAla al-Din Tekish
Mongol Empire (1220–1259)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesBörteGenghis KhanKhulan KhatunYesugenYesuiIbaqa BekiSorghaghtani BekiToluiC.P. Atwood Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p. 512Möge KhatunÖgedei Khan Töregene KhatunThe journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253–55, p. 62Oghul QaimishGüyük KhanJames D. Ryan, "Mongol Khatuns" Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: an Encyclopedia, ed. John Block Frieman and Kristen Mossler Figg (Garland, 2000), p. 407.
Ilkhanate (1256–1388)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesDoquz KhatunHulagu KhanBuluqhan KhatunAbaqa KhanArghun KhanKököchinGhazanUljay Qutlugh KhatunAbu Sa'id Bahadur KhanBaghdad KhatunDilshad Khatun
Timurid Empire (1370–1458)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesSaray Mulk KhanumTimurGawhar ShadShah Rukh
Aq Qoyunlu (1465–1508)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesSeljuk Shah BegumUzun HasanDespina KhatunAynışah SultanAhmad Beg
Modern Iran (1501–1979)
Safavid Iran (1501–1722)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesTajlu KhanumIsmail IBehruzeh KhanumNewman, Andrew J. (2008). Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B. Tauris. pp. 1–281. ISBN 9780857716613.Sultanum BegumTahmasp ISultan-Agha KhanumKhayr al-Nisa BegumMohammad KhodabandaYakhan Begum Abbas IMartaTamar AmilakhoriAnna KhanumSafiNakihat KhanumAbbas II
Intermediate period (1722–1796) Afsharids (1736–1796)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesRazia BegumNaderMichael Axworthy, Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant
Qajar Iran (1789–1925)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesAsiye Khanum Ezzeddin QajarAgha MohammadMaryam KhanomAgha MohammadFath-AliBadr Jahan KhanomFath-AliAsiya Khanom DevelluBadralensa KhanumSonbol BajiTaj ol-DowlehGolbadan BajiAgha Baji JavanshirNaneh Khanom BarforoushNaneh Khanum OstadBegum KhanumMalek Jahan KhanomMohammadGalin KhanomNaser al-DinMo'ayeri, Dustali (1982). Some notes from private life of Nasser al-Din Shah. Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran. Taj al-DawlahShokouh al-SaltanehJeyranAnis al-DawlaAmina AqdasG. Nashat, "Amīna Aqdas," Encyclopædia Iranica, I/9, pp. 954-955, accessed on 30 December 2012.Khazen al-DawlahAmanat, Abbas (1997). Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1845118280.Monir al-SaltanehFatemeh Soltan BaghbanbashiTaj ol-MoloukMozaffar ad-DinWilliam Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, 5th edition, Westview, 2012, p. 100. Sarvar al-SaltanehMalekeh JahanMohammad AliBadr al-MoloukAhmad
Pahlavi Iran (1925–1979)
Portrait Name Monarch NotesTadj ol-Molouk RezaTuran AmirsoleimaniEsmat DowlatshahiFawzia bint FuadMohammad RezaSoraya Esfandiary-BakhtiaryFarah Diba
See also List of monarchs of Iran List of ancient Persians\ List of Iranian women royalty Monarchism in Iran Iranian National Jewels
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