This thesis is a study of two major figures among the royal Safavid women in the sixteenth century, with a special focus on their political activities and style of leadership. I examine the socio-political careers of Pari Khan Khanum (955-985/1548-1578) and Mahd-i 'Ulya (d.987/1579) in connection with family and dynastic politics as well as the power struggle and factionalism among the qizilbash tribes. A detailed analysis of these powerful female political figures of the Safavid court leads one to conclude that first, royal women faced particularly complex social and personal restrictions, but nonetheless some managed - through their privileged status as upper-class women with access to education, wealth, and social and family networks - to advance their careers in politics. Second, these women were subject to the political rules and games of their time but faced additional impediments, for they competed with other women such as co-wives, sisters-in-law and others for social recognition and influence, at times leading to the ruthless elimination of female and male rivals. Third, Safavid women came to play an active role in shaping central political decisions and the succession of sovereigns. This reflects not merely gendered semi-nomadic Turcoman roles but also urban Iranian-Islamic transitional traditions which are comparable to Ottoman and 'Abbasid counterparts.

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