Banafsha bint Abdullah al-Rumiyyah

Banafsha bint Abdullah al-Rumiyyah (Arabic: بنفشة بنت عبد الله الرمية) (died 1201) was a slave consort of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustadi (r. 1170–1180).[1]

Banafsha bint Abdullah al-Rumiyyah
بانفشة بنت عبد الله الرمية
Umm walad of the Abbasid caliph
Period1170 – 1180
Died1201
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Burial
Sheikh Maarouf Cemetery, Baghdad
SpouseAl-Mustadi
RelativesOne daughter
Al-Nasir (step-son)
Names
Sayyida Banafsha bint Abdullah al-Rumiyyah
FatherAbdullah al-Rumi
ReligionSunni Islam
Occupation
  • The founder of the Hanbali Banafsha School in Baghdad (1174).
  • She built a bridge between the Karkh and Al-Rusafa disctrics in Baghdad.

Her origin is termed to have been "Roman" or Rumiyya, that is to say of Greek origin from the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople. She was reportedly the daughter of Abdullah, a Greek.[2] She was a slave bought to the Harem of the Caliph. As was the custom she was compelled to convert to Islam and was given a new name.

She became Al-Mustadi's favourite concubine.[2] The Caliph manumitted her and married her. He had a palace built for her personal use in Baghdad.

Banafsha are described as loving and merciful. She did not give birth to a son, but she successfully supported her stepson Al-Nasir to the succession before his brother prince Hashem. Because of this, she was favored by Al-Nasir when he became Caliph in 1180.

It was impossible for her to leave the harem, but she became known for her donations and charitable projects, which was a common method for the secluded harem wives of the Caliphs to create a public name for themselves.[3] She died on 27 December 1201 and was buried in the mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun in Sheikh Maarouf Cemetery.[2]

She is known as the founder of the Hanbali Banafsha School in Baghdad (1174). She also built a bridge between the Karkh and Al-Rusafa districts in Baghdad.

References

  1. El-Hibri, T. (2021). The Abbasid Caliphate: A History. Cambridge University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-107-18324-7.
  2. al-Sāʿī, Ibn; Toorawa, Shawkat M.; Bray, Julia (2017). كتاب جهات الأئمة الخلفاء من الحرائر والإماء المسمى نساء الخلفاء: Women and the Court of Baghdad. Library of Arabic Literature. NYU Press. pp. 66–68. ISBN 978-1-4798-6679-3.
  3. Ibn al-Sāʽī, Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad, ed. by Shawkat M. Toorawa, trans. by the Editors of the Library of Arabic Literature (New York: New York University Press, 2015)
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