Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

58 Queens and Courtesans
order to take her with him when travelling: 'A witness recounts that
he saw al-Mahdi advancing with his armies when he visited Basra,
with the chief of police in front and between them Banuqa wearing
a black cloak, dressed as a young boy with a sword by her side. And
her breasts could be seen pointing beneath her clothes.' Another
describes Banuqa as 'dark-haired, slender, and very pretty'. Banuqa
died very young, and al-Mahdi was inconsolable. The whole court
and all the high dignitaries were obliged to render their condolences
to him according to strict protocol - to such a point that the religious
authorities began to find that it was a bit too much for a woman.
Her death, even if she was a princess, should have been treated
with the greatest discretion, especially since she was the daughter
of a jarya. 25
At the time of Khayzuran, Islam was at its apogee as a religious
and military empire. It continued to expand and conquer other
nations. Harun al-Rashid was a great conqueror, like his father,
whom he accompanied to battle from the age of 15. At the age of
17, in year 165, he won a great victory, crossing the snow-covered
mountains of the Byzantine Empire and besieging Constantinople.
The Byzantine queen-regent was forced to sign a three-year truce
that was extremely advantageous for Baghdad. One of the conditions
was that the queen had to give him 'guides' to lead him back
over the mountains to Baghdad. He succeeded in persuading the
95,700 men of his army, inspired by his enthusiasm and courage,
to dare the crossing 'along hazardous routes that frightened the
Muslims'. 26
His many conquests led to the enslavement of great portions of
the conquered peoples, and the palaces swarmed with jawari, who
brought with them their own culture and exoticism. There were
Persians, Kurds, Romans, Armenians, Ethiopians, Sudanese,
Hindus, and Berbers. Harun al-Rashid had a thousand jawari. Al-
Mutawakkil (232/847-247/861) had four thousand. 27 The harems
became places of the greatest luxury where the most beautiful
women of the world played their cultural differences and mastery
of diverse skills and knowledge like winning cards for seducing
caliphs and viziers. In order to seduce these men, it was not enough
just to bat one's eyelashes. One had to dazzle them in the fields
that fascinated them - astrology, mathematics, fiqh, and history.
On top of these came poetry and song. Pretty girls who got lost in
serious conversations had no chance to be noticed, and even less
chance to last; and the favourites, who knew this very well, surrounded
themselves with competent teachers. In order to retain the