Sultanum Begum

Sultanum Begum ((c. 1516 – 1593), also known as Kadam Ali Soltan Khanum, was the first wife and chief consort of the second Safavid king Tahmasp I. She was the mother of her husband's successor, Ismail II, and the mother of Mohammad Khodabanda, who reigned from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587.

Life
Sultanum Begum was the daughter of Isa Beg Mawsillu of the Aq Quyunlu. Like Tahmasp's mother Tajlu Khanum, Sultanum belonged to the Turcoman Mawsillu tribe and was a maternal third cousin of her husband. Musa Soltan, governor of Azerbaijan was his brother. Begum had two children during her marriage.

Sultanum Begum rose to become the harem's leader after Tajlu Khanum's exile to Shiraz in 1540. She had an independent royal court and her vizier was Khwaja Ibrahim Khalil. She also gained the honorific title of Mahd-i Ulya.

Reign of her sons
She mainted her strong position during the reign of Ismail II as her tribe, Mawsillu, also supported him. She was alive during her son Mohammad Khodabanda's and grandson Abbas I's reigns.