Mahd-i Ulya (, meaning "Sublime Cradle" or
the highest ranked cradle), also transliterated as
Mahd-e Olya, was a common title for empress mother, mothers of Shahs, or crown princes, in
Iran during the
Safavid and
Qajar eras. It is also occasionally used in a similar context for the wife or the mother of a local ruler or a religious leader: