She was the first Empress to be crowned in Iran since the Islamic invasion in the 7th century. The two Sassanian Empresses, Purandokht and Azarmidokht, circa 630 A.D., were the last two that carried the title before Farah Diba.
The Sasanian title for Shahbanu was bâmbişnân bâmbişn, meaning the Queen of Queens, borne by the monarch's principal wife, to distinguish her from the other queens in the royal household.
