Maridah bint Shabib (Arabic: ماردة بنت شبيب, d. 820s) was the favourite Umm walad of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid and mother of eighth Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim.[2]

Maridah bint Shabib
ماردة بنت شبيب
Umm walad of the Abbasid caliph
Period796 – 809
BornKufa, Abbasid Caliphate
Died820s
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Burial
Baghdad
SpouseHarun al-Rashid
Children
Names
Umm Muhammad Maridah bint Shabib
ReligionIslam

Biography

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Maridah entered the Harem probably in 793/795. She was raised in the Abbasid household before kept her as concubine. Maridah was a slave and she belonged to a Muslim family, other members of her family were also slaves.[citation needed]

Marida was born in Kufah, but her family hailed from Soghdia, and she is usually considered to have been of Turkic origin.[3]

Maridah's father was Shabib.[4] She was a Sogdian, and was born in Kufah. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun by Zubaidah. She had five children. These were Abu Ishaq (future Caliph Al-Mu'tasim), Abu Isma'il, Umm Habib, and two others whose names are unknown. She was Harun's favourite concubine.[5]

Her son, Muhammad, the future al-Mu'tasim, was born in the Khuld ("Eternity") Palace in Baghdad, but the exact date is unclear: according to the historian al-Tabari (839–923), his birth was placed either in Sha'ban AH 180 (October 796 CE), or in AH 179 (Spring 796 CE or earlier).[6][7]

Maridah was the only Umm walad of Harun al-Rashid, who gave birth to his five children no other Umm walad had this prestige.[citation needed]

Maridah lived most of her life in the Caliph's Harem. Her sons were not in the line of succession as Harun al-Rashid kept his eldest sons as heirs. However, Maridah's elder son Abu Ishaq became caliph after his half-brother al-Mamun's death. Al-Mamun nominated Abu Ishaq as his successor on his death bed.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Masudi 2010, p. 222.
  2. ^ Bosworth 1993, p. 776.
  3. ^ Kennedy 2006, pp. 173, 213.
  4. ^ Meadows Of Gold. Taylor & Francis. 2013. p. 462. ISBN 978-1-136-14522-3.
  5. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 141–42.
  6. ^ Bosworth 1991, pp. 208–209.
  7. ^ Masudi 2010, pp. 222, 231.

Sources

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