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Library of Arabic Literature
Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad
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 H/1276 AD). 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 H/1258 AD.
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 Fa'l, 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.
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 Fa'l, 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.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionIslam
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 16, 2021
Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sai, translated from the Arabic by Shawkat M. Toorawa, provides a fascinating glimpse into the words and deeds of the consorts of caliphs over a five-hundred-year period. The earliest consort is Hammadah Bint Isa, the wife of Caliph Mansur (she died around 780 C.E.); the latest is Shahan, the consort of Caliph al-Muntasir (she died around 1254 C.E).
Ibn al Sai was a literary scholar, historian, and librarian. Born in Baghdad, his dates are 1197-1276 C.E. With unfettered access to official archives of the caliphate, Ibn al Sai wrote history books of which only few fragments have survived. Consorts of the Caliphs is his only work to survive in its entirety.
To compile this work, Ibn al Sai poured over archives and meticulously recorded the chain of oral transmission to authenticate his biographical research concerning each of the 39 women included in his work. There are anecdotes about the women, their personal narratives, poems, and charitable donations. The exorbitant amounts paid to purchase them are recorded, as are the precious gems and copious gold coins they received when called upon to compose a pleasing impromptu poem.
Consorts were referred to as wives, concubines, or slaves. But these were not slaves in the traditional sense. These women were well-respected and loved. Some were wealthy, owning palaces and wielding enormous influence with the caliphs and their sons. They were accomplished poets and singers. Many frequently surpassed their male counterparts in impromptu competitions in poetry and singing, earning the respect of the court. Some endowed law colleges; established lending libraries from their personal collection; funded the building of bridges and the reparation of infrastructure; and gave generously to the needy, especially women and children. Their deaths were mourned; their funeral services were frequently led by caliphs.
These brief biographical sketches shatter stereotypes and challenge the notion that the consorts of the caliphs were one homogenous, sexually exploited group of women. They were intelligent, articulate, resourceful, influential, witty, accomplished, talented, respected, generous, and loved. They had distinct personalities and assumed a variety of roles in the caliphs’ courts. To read about them and to hear them speak in their own voices through their poems going back 1,200 years is nothing short of fascinating. And what makes this work even more astonishing is that nearly 1,000 years ago, an Iraqi male scholar recognized their importance and diligently and methodically conducted and documented research to preserve their legacy for posterity.
This scholarly edition, produced by the editors of the Library of Arabic Literature, includes an introduction explaining methodology, maps, family trees of the caliphs, footnotes, a thorough index, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Highly recommended as an invaluable resource for shining a light on the consorts of the Abbasid caliphs.
My book reviews can also be found at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
Ibn al Sai was a literary scholar, historian, and librarian. Born in Baghdad, his dates are 1197-1276 C.E. With unfettered access to official archives of the caliphate, Ibn al Sai wrote history books of which only few fragments have survived. Consorts of the Caliphs is his only work to survive in its entirety.
To compile this work, Ibn al Sai poured over archives and meticulously recorded the chain of oral transmission to authenticate his biographical research concerning each of the 39 women included in his work. There are anecdotes about the women, their personal narratives, poems, and charitable donations. The exorbitant amounts paid to purchase them are recorded, as are the precious gems and copious gold coins they received when called upon to compose a pleasing impromptu poem.
Consorts were referred to as wives, concubines, or slaves. But these were not slaves in the traditional sense. These women were well-respected and loved. Some were wealthy, owning palaces and wielding enormous influence with the caliphs and their sons. They were accomplished poets and singers. Many frequently surpassed their male counterparts in impromptu competitions in poetry and singing, earning the respect of the court. Some endowed law colleges; established lending libraries from their personal collection; funded the building of bridges and the reparation of infrastructure; and gave generously to the needy, especially women and children. Their deaths were mourned; their funeral services were frequently led by caliphs.
These brief biographical sketches shatter stereotypes and challenge the notion that the consorts of the caliphs were one homogenous, sexually exploited group of women. They were intelligent, articulate, resourceful, influential, witty, accomplished, talented, respected, generous, and loved. They had distinct personalities and assumed a variety of roles in the caliphs’ courts. To read about them and to hear them speak in their own voices through their poems going back 1,200 years is nothing short of fascinating. And what makes this work even more astonishing is that nearly 1,000 years ago, an Iraqi male scholar recognized their importance and diligently and methodically conducted and documented research to preserve their legacy for posterity.
This scholarly edition, produced by the editors of the Library of Arabic Literature, includes an introduction explaining methodology, maps, family trees of the caliphs, footnotes, a thorough index, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Highly recommended as an invaluable resource for shining a light on the consorts of the Abbasid caliphs.
My book reviews can also be found at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
November 6, 2016
Ibn Al-Sai is a true champion of women profiling 39 women who impressed the caliphs of Baghdad and made an impression on Arabic literature. We are indebted to Al-Sai who promised to record the consorts of the caliphs and went further to include the consorts of commanders and viziers as well. By recording the who's who of the consorts, Ibn Al- Sai paints a picture of a poetic Baghdad, a magical Baghdad that was a major intellectual center of learning.
We get to know the men who ruled Baghdad by way of the women who loved them. Loving men so much that two of them created the law colleges of Nizamiyyah and Mustansiriyyah to educate them. One even had a public library of valuable books built at her mausoleum where books could be lent against a deposit.
Ibn Al-Sai, himself a librarian, captures a rather incredible era in time, and of the 39 women whose poetic voices will be remembered in poems.
"She wrote "Ja'far in musk on her cheek,
how lovely that streak where the musk left its mark!
On her face she wrote just one line,
but she etched many more on my heart"
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February 21, 2023read for middle eastern women's history
so interesting and honestly fun to read
so interesting and honestly fun to read
September 22, 2019
Ibn al-Sai's biographies of prominent women are both discrete and unified. I had no idea there were so many roles, relations, and personalities to be discovered within the concubines of Abassid caliphs! This translation is excellent and the extensive footnotes are super friendly to the non-expert English reader! I read this for my history class on women in the Middle East and I can't wait for our discussion on how ideas like "slavery" are hard to translate into different historical contexts.
November 26, 2021
While it's impressive we have books from XIII century about the lives of these so often silenced by history women, I don't feel like I have got a chance to know them, to learn who they truly were.
I almost dropped the book due to unfamiliar structure, but, hey, at the end of the day, these crazy transmission chains were nice quirk :). I guess such was an academic apparatus of the time in al-Sai's country.
I almost dropped the book due to unfamiliar structure, but, hey, at the end of the day, these crazy transmission chains were nice quirk :). I guess such was an academic apparatus of the time in al-Sai's country.
March 23, 2018
هذا كتاب علي بن أنجب ابن الساعي، جهات الأئمة الخلفاء من الحرائر والإماء. وهي طبعة محققة ومترجمة، كل صفحة بالعربية يقابلها ترجمتها الإنجليزية. والمقدمة ووصف النسخ باللغة الإنجليزية. وليس في الكتاب إلا القليل مما لم ينقل عن مؤلفات أخرى منشورة.
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April 29, 2016909.09767 I13 2015
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews