Consorts of the Caliphs is a seventh/thirteenth-century compilation of anecdotes about thirty-eight women who were, as the title suggests, consorts to those in power, most of them concubines of the early Abbasid caliphs and wives of latter-day caliphs and sultans. This slim but illuminating volume is one of the few surviving texts by Ibn al-Sa'i (d. 674/1276). Ibn al-Sa'i was a prolific Baghdadi scholar who chronicled the academic and political elites of his city, and whose career straddled the final years of the Abbasid dynasty and the period following the cataclysmic Mongol invasion of 656/1258. In this work, Ibn al-Sa'i is keen to forge a connection between the munificent wives of his time and the storied lovers of the so-called golden age of Baghdad. Thus, from the earlier period, we find Harun al-Rashid pining for his brother's beautiful slave, Ghadir, and the artistry of such musical and literary celebrities as 'Arib and Fadl, who bested the male poets and singers of their day. From times closer to Ibn al-Sa'i's own-when Abbasid authority was trying to reassert itself and Baghdad was again a major center of intellectual and religious activity-we meet women such as Banafsha, who endowed law colleges, had bridges built, and provisioned pilgrims bound for Mecca; slave women whose funeral services were led by caliphs; and noble Saljuq princesses from Afghanistan. Informed by the author's own sources, his insider knowledge, and well-known literary materials, these singular biographical sketches, though delivered episodically, bring the belletristic culture of the Baghdad court to life, particularly in the personal narratives and poetry of culture heroines otherwise lost to history. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.
Letter from the General Editor iiiAbbreviations xForeword xiPreface xvAcknowledgments xviIntroduction xviiiMaps xxviNote on the Edition xxxiNote on the Translation xxxivNotes to the Front Matter xlConsorts of the Caliphs 1?ammadah bint ?Isa 4Ghadir 6?Inan, daughter of ?Abd Allah 10Gha?i? 20Haylanah 22?Arib al-Ma?muniyyah 24Bid?ah al-Kabirah 32Buran 38Mu?nisah al-Ma?muniyyah 54Qurrat al-?Ayn 56Faridah 58Is?aq al-Andalusiyyah 60Fa?l al-Sha?irah al-Yamamiyyah 64Bunan 74Ma?bubah 76Nashib al-Mutawakkiliyyah 84Fa?imah 86Faridah 88Nabt 90Khallafah 94?irar 96Qa?r al-Nada 98Khamrah 100?I?mah Khatun 104Mah-i Mulk 106Khatun 108Banafsha al-Rumiyyah 110Sharaf Khatun al-Turkiyyah 114Saljuqi Khatun 116Shahan 120Dawlah 124?ayat Khatun 126Bab Jawhar 128Qabi?ah 130Sitt al-Nisa? 134Sarirah al-Ra?iqiyyah 138Khatun al-Safariyyah 140Khatun 142Zubaydah 144Notes 147The Abbasid Caliphs 154The Early Saljuqs 156Chronology of Women Featured in Consorts of the Caliphs 157Glossary of Names 159Glossary of Places 185Glossary of Realia 191Bibliography 196Further Reading 201Index of Qur?anic Verses 205Index of Arabic Verses 206Index 211About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 222About the Typefaces 223About the Editor and Translators 224
