Khayzuran: Romance of a Dancing Slave Became Abbasid Caliphate Queen of The Ruler Al-Mahdi

 

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.

 

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

Shaghab: Sad end of a dancing concubine who became the dominant Queen of the Abbasid Empire Caliph Ahmad al Mutadid?

Al-Mu’tadid bi-llah was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 892 until his death in 902.

On the night the Caliph dined at his governor's house, he was captivated by a beautiful Rumiyya slave of a slender body and dark complexions serving his daughter. The next day, the Caliph purchased the slave girl and she was brought to the Abbasid harem. The Caliph named her Naem, meaning 'the soft one'.

 

Caliph Ahmad al Mutadid had inherited his father’s virtuous qualities and his mother, the Byzantine slave Dirar's ambition. An elegant but strict ruler nearing his mid-30s, Ahmad never married but kept numerous slave lovers.

 

Naem became his favorite, but after a few weeks, he turned his attention to other women. She started stirring up problems with hopes that he would return to her.

 

Her riot caused the Caliph to change her name to Shaghab.This increased after she gave birth to a son, Prince Jafar, becoming um walad ‘mother of a prince’.

 

The Caliph ordered her to withdraw to her quarters and raise her son. Shaghab’s problems were endless but the more she tried, the more he drifted away.

 

She secretly killed the Caliph's lovers. Ladies started dropping like flies in the dark corridors of the Abbasid palace.

 

The Caliph soon married the beautiful Princess of Egypt, Qatr al Nada (Arabic for dewdrop) in one of the most expensive weddings in history.

 

The happy marriage did not last long. The Princess was killed under mysterious circumstances and all fingers were pointed toward Shaghab.

 

Shaghab’s new competitor at court was a slave concubine called Duraira. The caliph went so far as to build her a private pool. Feeling jealous, Shaghab leaked this information to the indecent poet Ibn Bassam.

 

The Caliph became a subject of public mockery, but he did not abandon his lover. Eventually, Shaghab had her murdered.

 

Then the Caliph fell madly in love with another concubine called Fitna.

 

He was attached to her more after she gave birth to his favorite son Muhammad. Ahmad had always hated Shaghab and despised her son.

 

He was about to kill the young boy when he once saw him sharing food with the servants’ children. In this dark court, Shaghab continued to protect Jafar against conspiracies.

The young boy grew up in a ruthless environment, watching his mother humiliated by his father, and witnessing her pain and suffering. When Fitna died, Shaghab raised Muhammad like her own.

 

By Spring 902, the Caliph got gravely ill. It was an open secret that he was poisoned.

 

Everyone at court was in turmoil. When the news of his death finally arrived, his 24-year-old son Ali succeeded him. The young man, however, was of sickly disposition since childhood.

 

He was ill for much of his reign. When his situation deteriorated, Shaghab, now a freedwoman, formed a secret alliance with an ambitious, charismatic, and well-cultured Arab official Ali Ibn al Furat.

 

When it became clear that the Caliph was dying, Ibn al Furat with intelligence and eloquence, convinced the vizier to set aside the experience of Abbasid prince Abdullah ibn Al Mutaz and nominated the 13-year-old Jafar.

 

The plan worked and the underaged prince was placed on the Abbasid throne. The following year, a group of administrators plotted a coup to dethrone the new caliph. Jafar was deposed.

Working with Ibn al Furat, Shaghab spent high sums on men and leaders who quickly stopped this coup attempt. The former vizier was arrested and Ibn al Furat was appointed Head of Ministers.

Shaghab assumed the role of the Queen Mother, ruling the Caliphate on behalf of her son with utmost power for nearly two decades.

 

Throughout his reign, Shaghab was Jafar Al Muqtadir’s advisor, providing him with political advice. Al Muqtadir reigned as a distant caliph, protected by barriers and staff, almost inaccessible. His court displayed Arab power through ceremonial pomp and grandeur.

 

When Byzantine envoys arrived in Baghdad, they had to go through a series of physical and psychological barriers. The vizier Ibn al Furat along with court attendants orchestrated these meetings.

 

The influence of Shaghab was mirrored in the Abbasid harem. Soon, her court was filled with Byzantine attendants. As a Queen, Shaghab lived in utmost luxury which was reflected in the Abbasid court’s opulence.

Her economic power and enormous wealth were based on the vast agricultural estates she owned. Shaghab ran a parallel bureaucracy with secretaries devoted to both civil and military affairs.

 

She was also a trendsetter, wearing the most beautiful outfits made of the very best fabrics and rarest gems and pearls.

 

No person in the Empire could match her prestige, wealth, and power. She supported the reign through her financial contributions. With time, Jafar grew up to become a handsome, young man, with a beautiful white face, a healthy body, and of calm nature.

 

He spent his time in leisure and turned to his mother and mentor Ibn al Furat for the affairs of the Caliphate.

  

Political turmoil overshadowed the Caliphate since the start of Al Muqtadir’s reign. A secret network was forming in North Africa under an Arab dynasty that would be known as the Fatimids.

 

Within a few years, the first rival Caliphate in Abbasid history was established in Egypt. After that, the Umayyads in Al Andalus announced their own Caliphate.

 

The existence of 3 Arab Caliphates heavily destabilized the Muslim world. The neighboring Byzantine Empire was ruled by an infant child dominated by his scandalous mother.

The war between the Romans and Arabs was chronic on the Easter borders. Both empires attacked and raided each other.

 

Shaghab and Jafar were struggling with domestic rebellions. During this period, Baghdad saw the rising star of Al Hallaj, one of the most influential figures during Al Muqtadir’s reign.

 

Al Hallaj was in favor of the caliph’s mother, yet his teachings aroused many suspicious comments in the Muslim sphere. When Al Hallaj took advantage of the conflicting state in the Caliphate to support a rebel movement, he was sent to prison.

Execution of AL Hallaj

 

Al Hallaj’s trial, which lasted for 7 months, was the cause célèbre of its time. Shaghab intervened against the minister board but the Caliph approved his execution.

 

Things did not settle down for long. The year 924 which became known as the “Year of Destruction”, witnessed the Qarmatians' attack on the Hajj caravan moving from Mecca to Baghdad.

 

Shaghab ordered half a million dinars of her own to be transferred to the public treasury for the troops. She prepared soldiers and arms and successfully defeated the Qarmatian rebels. She also intervened in resolving the financial crisis that afflicted the Caliphate’s finances which suffered a large deficit.

 

But matters were tense between Shaghab and Ibn al Furat, whose increasing power was enough to facilitate a coup against the caliph. After a cunning plot, Ibn al Furat was arrested, trialed, tortured, and executed in July of the same year. 

 

The severe economic constraint only brought more disobedience from the army.

 

Al Muqtadir demanded help from his mother who was ill and refused to aid him. The Caliph went out and met the rebellions but was violently killed by their swords.

 

Her adopted son Muhammad al Qaher was enthroned. The new ungrateful Caliph did not remember the kindness of his stepmother who raised him with her son and saved him from death and banishment when Jafar became Caliph.

 

He blamed her for the death of his mother Fitna and his first decision was to abuse his late half-brother’s family. Shaghab and her former agent Um Musa were arrested.

Shaghab was brought to trial where the judges read the charges aloud.

 

Nothing like it had ever happened in the Caliphate before. The new Caliph asked Shaghab to disclose the location of her hidden wealth. She refused the claims saying that any money she owned would have been used to save her son.

 

Shaghab spent her last days in prison and died of excessive torture. Not so long after, the people turned against Muhammad. When he refused to abdicate, a staged coup blinded him and cast him into prison.

 

The end