Khayr al-Nisa Begum

Called Mahd-i Ulya - the highest-ranked cradle -, wife of the Shah Mohammed Khodabanda, Khayr al-Nisa Begum is a powerful political figure in her own right. She came to the Safavid court after her cousin Mir Sultan-Murad Khan had killed her father, and her desire for revenge has only just recently been slaked. The son of her father's killer, Mirza Khan, was seized by Khayr al-Nisa Begum's supporters as he was traveling to the capital and killed. She took revenge on the son as the father had already died, and with that her thirst for revenge was quenched. Her husband the Shah was weak-willed and a poor ruler whose sister Pari Khan Khanum tried to control him, but as she had insulted the Grand Vizier Mirza Salman and made an enemy out of him he managed to persuade the Shah and the Queen to have her strangled. Khayr al-Nisa Begum took control of and by appointing friends and relatives to important posts she built a network of support which keeps her informed of all political developments in the land. She aims to promote her eldest son Hamza Mirza's career but holds enough power to safely rule the country herself.