This
is story of “Rags to riches”of a dancing slave concubine.
Arabian
Nights conjure up images of romantic love stories of slave girls’ rags to
riches journeys of the heart. It was not
only Al-Khayzuran’s physical beauty – slender and graceful as a reed – but also
her intelligence, wit and sense of humor that conquered the heart and mind of
Caliph Al-Mahdi in the mid-8th century.
Harun al-Rashid (r.
786-809), arguably one of the greatest of the Abbasid caliphs, is well known to
many historians and history enthusiasts for his deeds and for presiding over
the “golden age” of the Abbasid caliphate.
However, his mother, Khayzuran, does not
lay as much claim to fame as her illustrious son, despite the fact that she was
the power behind his throne (while she lived) and that of his father and
brother before him.
During her life and career Khayzuran rose from the status of slave to becoming the caliph, al-Mahdi’s (r.775-785, third Abbasid Caliph)
favorite concubine, and then his legal wife and a queen in her own
right who wielded an immense amount of political power and whose
wealth was second only to that of her husband’s in the entire
caliphate.
This achievement was impressive not only because Khayzuran was
able to elevate herself from slavery to royalty, but also because she did it
during an era when social mobility, for both men and women, was very limited or
in most cases impossible.
None
of the women of the Abbasid caliphate have gone down in history quite like
Al-Khayzuran. She was a slave who captured the heart of the Caliph Al-Mahdi.
The third Abbasid Caliph,
who reigned from 775 to his death in 785.Al-Mahdi who proceeded to break all
conventions of the Abbasid dynasty by freeing her and making her his wife.
Al-Khayzuran
was sold by her family into slavery, either as a mean of reducing the financial
burden on the family or to pay familial debts.
Al-Khayzuran became the slave of an unnamed Arab who purchased
her from the Yemen region and sold her to the ruling caliph Al-Mansur for his son
Al-Mahdi during his pilgrimage to Mecca.
Khayzuran rose from the status of slave to that of queen mother.
She was the power behind the throne of three caliphs and had a major, albeit
hidden, impact on the politics of the caliphate as well as the private affairs
of the court.
The name Khayzuran
means “bamboo“and
symbolizes “both beauty and
suppleness, and also a
deceptive fragility“.Moreover,
Khayzuran was known for
her diligence and
intelligence, and later for
being the shadow ruler
throughout three reigns.
In former times, the so-called “jaryats” were slave girls and
through their roles within the harem acquired a great knowledge of artistic
skills and intellectual knowledge by which they could entertain a man.
When she died choking on a pomegranate seed, the story goes that Yazid was so
affected by her death that he refused to see anyone for a week. He neglected
his duties and died not long after.
Jaryats
like Khayzuran rose to the top of the harem and amassed a great amount of
wealth and power, only second to the caliphe, during a period when most women
had little power.
She had such an influence on him that
she was able to convince him to name her sons, Musa al-Hadi and Harun
al-Rashid, his heirs and make her his legitimate wife.
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Khayzuran
also ran numerous enterprises and factories. On her pilgrimages to Mecca, she
was generous and charitable with the poor, purchased the house of the Prophet
(PBUH), turned it into a mosque, and dug drinking water wells. (Adam Ali)
At
al-Mahdi’s untimely death, Khayzuran took control of the situation and ensured
a smooth transition of power to her older son Musa al-Hadi.
She
took control of the government along with her allies, stopped a military mutiny
by paying the restive soldiers their overdue salaries from the royal treasury,
had all the dignitaries, military officers, and court officials swear
allegiance to her son in absentia, and held everything together until al-Hadi,
who was governing one of the provinces returned to Baghdad.
Despite all that she had done for her son, Khayzuran and
al-Hadi had a falling out shortly after he assumed power. The new young caliph
did not want to be controlled by his mother and tried to limit her power and to
confine her away from the public sphere.
Al-Hadi’s reign lasted a little over a year. He died at the
age of 24 and several historians believe that it was a frustrated and fearful
Khayzuran who was the architect of his death.
Some accounts state that she had some of
her pretty female slaves smother al-Hadi with cushions while sitting on them.
Al-Tabari aslo claims that al-Hadi tried to have his mother killed by sending
her poisoned food and that Khayzuran’s actions were retaliatory.
Harun al-Rashid was
the next caliph on the throne. Being his mother’s favorite, he was more than
happy to share the power with her. Khayzuran was at the peak of her power
during the early part of Harun’s reign and the last part of her life.
At
her death, Harun mourned her publicly and without shame, when he, as the
caliph, was supposed to show restraint and moderation in such matters.
The
greatest of the Abbasid caliphs had shown no shame for sharing power and
seeking counsel from his mother during the first half of his reign and now he
would not feel any shame mourning her either.
As
great and mighty a man as he was, he nevertheless accompanied his mother’s
casket barefoot to the burial site. He then said the funeral prayer and went
down into her tomb one more time to pay his respect and say his farewell before
leaving the cemetery.
Khayzuran
was an exceptional and extraordinary woman. She rose from the status of slave
to that of queen mother through her strong will, determination, intelligence,
wisdom, perseverance, and ruthlessness.
She was the power behind the throne of
three caliphs and had a major, albeit hidden, impact on the politics of the
caliphate as well as the private affairs of the court.
The
only factor limiting her was the fact that she had to exercise her will and
power through men(her sons and husband) and could not seize the throne for herself and
rule in her own right,
Although
she had to exercise her will and power through men (her sons and husband) and
could not seize the throne for herself, she remained a fundamental ruling
party.
The End
