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Lubana bint Ali ibn al-Mahdi (Template:Lang-ar) was an Abbasid princess and wife of Caliph al-Amin. She was the daughter of Ali ibn al-Mahdi.

Biography

Lubana was the daughter of Abbasid prince Ali ibn al-Mahdi and Granddaughter of al-Mahdi.

Al-Amin is recorded as having two wives, Arib bint al-Ma'muniyyah, and Lubana bint Ali ibn al-Mahdi (who was noted for her exceptional beauty). However, Al-Amin died before the consummation of his marriage to Lubanah; her attested poetry includes a lament for his death: 'Oh hero lying dead in the open, betrayed by his commanders and guards. I cry over you not for the loss of my comfort and companionship, but for your spear, your horse and your dreams. I cry over my lord who widowed me before our wedding night'.

Death of al-Amin

Muhammad al-Amin had an elder half-brother, Abdallah, the future al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833), who had been born in September 786. However, Abdallah's mother was a Persian slave concubine, and his pure Abbasid lineage gave Muhammad seniority over his half-brother. Indeed, he was the only Abbasid caliph to claim such descent. Already in 792, Harun had Muhammad receive the oath of allegiance (bay'ah) with the name of al-Amīn ("The Trustworthy"), effectively marking him out as his main heir, while Abdallah was named second heir, under the name al-Maʾmūn ("The Trusted One") until 799. After ruling peacefully for two years, the relations between two half-brother worsened. A conflict arose between the brothers al-Amin and Abdallah al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Caliphate. Abdallah al-Ma'mun, who was the governor of Khorasan. He send his army toward Baghdad.

When Al-Ma'mun's army pushed into the city, al-Amin sought to negotiate safe passage out. Tahir (General of al-Ma'mun) reluctantly agreed on the condition al-Amin turn over his sceptre, seal and other symbols of office. Al-Amin tried to leave on a boat, apparently with these symbols, rejecting warnings to wait. However, Tahir noticed the boat, and Al-Amin was thrown into the water, swam to shore, was captured and then brought to a room, where he was executed. His head was placed on the Anbar Gate. Al-Tabari (v. 31 pp. 197–202) quotes Tahir's letter to al-Ma'mun informing him of al-Amin's capture and execution and the state of peace resulting in Baghdad.

Very little is known about Lubana bint Ali ibn al-Mahdi after Al-Amin's death in 813.

Caliphs related to her

The Caliphs who were related to her are:

Sources

• Rekaya, M. (1991). "al-Maʾmūn". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 331–339. ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3.
• Gabrieli, F. (1960). "al-Amīn". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 437–438. OCLC 495469456.

References

1. Classical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology, ed. and trans. by Abdullah al-Udhari (London: Saqi Books, 1999), p. 120; ISBN 086356-047-4.
2. Guthrie, Shirley (2013-08-01). Arab Women in the Middle Ages: Private Lives and Public Roles. ISBN 9780863567643.
3. ^ Gabrieli 1960, p. 437.
4. ^ Rekaya 1991, p. 331.

• 8th-century births
• 9th-century deaths
• Wives of Abbasid caliphs
• Abbasids
• 9th-century people of the Abbasid Caliphate
• 9th-century Arabs