Umm Muhammad bint Salih
Abbasid princess and one of Harun al-Rashid's Wife
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Biography
Umm Muḥammad bint Ṣāliḥ (Arabic: أم محمد بنت صالح) was an Abbasid princess, niece of third Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi and wife of caliph Harun al-Rashid.
Ancestry
Her full name was Umm Muhammad bint Salih al-Miskin ibn Abdallah al-Mansur.
Her grandmother was a concubine Qali-al Farrashah. She was a Greek, and was the mother of Al-Mansur's son Salih al-Miskin. Her father, Salih al-Miskin was one of the youngest sons of caliph Al-Mansur.
Biography
Umm Muhammad was the wife Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. He was also her half-cousin.
Umm Muhammad was the daughter of Salih al-Miskin and Umm Abdullah, the daughter of Isa ibn Ali. They married in November-December 803 in Al-Raqqah. She had been formerly been married to Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, who had repudiated her.
Her first husband Ibrahim was the half-brother of Harun al-Rashid. She married him in early 780s however, just a few years later Ibrahim separated from her. After her formal divorce from her first husband, Caliph Harun al-Rashid married her.
Umm Muhammad became the second wife of Harun al-Rashid from Abbasid house. His first wife Zubaidah bint Ja'far was also an Abbasid princess and granddaughter of al-Mansur.
She spent most her life after marriage with Al-Rashid at the Caliphal palace along with al-Rashid's other wives. She died in 810s.
Family
Umm Muhammad was related to Abbasid house both paternally and maternally. She was contemporary and related to several Abbasid caliphs, prince and princesses.
| No. | Abbasids | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Mahdi | Uncle and Father-in-law |
| 2 | Musa al-Hadi | Cousins and Brother-in-law |
| 3 | Harun al-Rashid | Husband |
| 4 | Al-Amin | Step-son |
| 5 | Al-Ma'mun | Step-son |
| 6 | Al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid | Step-son |
| 7 | Ali ibn Harun al-Rashid | Step-son |
| 8 | Sukaynah bint Harun al-Rashid | Step-daughter |
| 9 | Hamdunah bint Harun al-Rashid | Step-daughter |
| 10 | Fatimah bint Harun al-Rashid | Step-daughter |
| 11 | Isa ibn al-Mahdi | Cousin and Brother-in-law |
Sources
- Al-Tabari; Hugh Kennedy (1990). The History of al-Tabari Vol. 29: Al-Mansur and al-Mahdi A.D. 763-786/A.H. 146-169
- al-Tabari, Muhammad Ibn Yarir; Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1989). The History of al-Tabari Vol. 30: The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid A.D. 785-809/A.H. 169-193. Bibliotheca Persica. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-564-4.
- Abbott, Nabia (1946). Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn Al Rashīd. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-86356-031-6.