Taj al-Dawlah

Taj Odala (Persian: تاج‌الدوله), born as Khojasta Jahanbani, was a member of Qajar dynasty, royal consort and wife of Naseraddin Shah Qajar of Iran.^[1]

She, possibly born 1834/1833, was the daughter of prince Seyfullah Mirza Jahanbani. Naseraddin Shah's second legal and permanent wife, she was the mother of prince Moinaddin Mirza, heir to the throne until his death at the age of 7, as well as princess Ismat Odala.

She got selected and proposed by the royal family high-ranks in 1848 to marry the new Shah of Iran, who was also considered her distant cousin, just months after his ascend to the throne in Tehran. She was the first ever permanent wife Naseraddin Shah married after he became the monarch, (having already another wife, Galin Khatun, whom he married to when he still was a prince).

After Naser's assassination and reformation of the royal harem in 1896 when she was in her 60s, she left the palace and got married again.

She gave Naseraddin Shah a son, named prince Moin, although there being an elder son already, Mahmoud Mirza, son of Galin Khatun who was also the crown prince at the time.

As Mahmoud died in early 1852, meaning that Moin was the next prince in line since he was the eldest legitimate surviving now, Taj Odala's efforts and protection led to him being named the crown prince in 1853 during an official ceremony with statesmen and ambassadors being present as expected. Taj Odala's relationship and closeness with the Shah is said to been partially affected because of the presence of Shah's mistress, Jeyran; Meaning that her being the mother of the heir didn't necessarily guarantee ultimate influence as one of the Shah's consorts and over the Shah himself. Although she's said to still have been highly respected by the Shah and supported by his mother.

Moin remained the crown prince for close to 4 years, until he died in October 1856, at the exact same night in which Naseraddin Shah received the news of Herat being successfully occupied by Qajar troops.

Taj Odala spent a time of relative stillness and did not interfere in political and throne matters after Moin's death as much as before. She did give birth to a daughter after her son's death, princess Ismat Odala And dedicated her time raising her, as well as being a companion to Shah's mother, Mahd Olia.

She also raised and took care of two of other children of Naseraddin Shah, who had lost their mother, for them to grow and marry.

She ended up remarrying after Naseraddin Shah's death to a noble wealthy man and died some time after her daughter.

She's portrayed by Rana Azadivar in the Iranian 2022 show Jeyran, a historical drama-fiction.