Shahrbānū was allegedly one of the wives of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam and grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the mother of his successor, Ali ibn Husayn. She was reportedly a Sassanid princess, a daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid emperor of Persia. Shahrbanu has also been referred to with several other names by different writers, such as: Shaharbānawayh, Shāhzanān, Shāhjahān, Jahānshāh, Salāma, Salāfa, Ghazāla, and Sādira.
Shrine of Shahrbanu in Rey, Iran
Husayn ibn Ali was an Alid political and religious leader. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima, as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn is regarded as the third Imam in Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali al-Sajjad. Being the grandson of the prophet, he is the member of the ahl al-bayt. He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the event of the mubahala. Muhammad described him and his brother, Hasan, as the leaders of the youth of Paradise.
Calligraphic seal featuring Husayn's name, on display in the Hagia Sophia
The calligraphy of the names of ahl al-kisa and two hadiths of Muhammad on the cloth, probably belonging to Iran or Central Asia
Battle of Karbala, Iranian painting, oil on canvas, 19th century from the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam
The Battle of Karbala By Iranian painter Mohammad Modabber
