Subh
She is described as originating from the Christian territories north of the Iberian Peninsula, often linked to Navarre. Her byname, al-Baškunsiyya, is most commonly interpreted as meaning “the Basque woman,” suggesting a Basque origin. Her birth name may have been Aurora; however, she is known by the Arabic name Subh. Several medieval Arabic sources describe Subh as a beautiful woman with light-colored hair, often understood as reddish or strawberry-blond, a feature that stood out in the Andalusi context.
There are indeed two main historical traditions about Subh’s arrival in Córdoba. According to the first version, she was taken during one of the many frontier incursions between al-Andalus and the Christian north. Like many captives, she entered the Caliphal court of Córdoba as a slave. She converted to Islam, received an Arabic education, and rose within the harem through intelligence and favor. A second version claims that Subh was sent to Córdoba deliberately as a diplomatic gift by Queen Toda Aznárez of Pamplona, as part of a broader strategy to reinforce alliances and secure political favor. Rather than arriving as a war captive, Subh would have entered the harem through elite diplomatic channels.
The question of how Subh first attracted the attention of al-Hakam II has generated one of the most enduring legends of Andalusi history. Most contemporary and near-contemporary Arabic sources suggest that Subh distinguished herself within the harem through her intelligence, education, and force of character, rather than through any unusual or theatrical behavior. Al-Hakam II was an erudite ruler, deeply devoted to scholarship, administration, and the cultivation of knowledge. Subh’s ability to converse intelligently, understand court politics, and navigate the refined culture of the palace appears to have been the principal reason she gained his attention and favor. A much later and more sensational account claims that al-Hakam II was homosexual and largely uninterested in women, and that Subh therefore dressed as a young man to attract him, adopting the male name Jaʿfar. In the Caliph's harem of Córdoba, Subh became the favorite concubine and then the wife of the Caliph al-Hakam. Subh gave her husband two sons: Abd al-Rahman and Hisham.
In the later years of his reign, the Caliph lost interest of the routine management of political affairs, and reportedly left it to his favorite wife, Subh. To fill this task, she expressed the need for a secretary, and in 966, Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (also known as Almanzor) was appointed to this post.
There were rumors that Almanzor became her lover and that this was the reason why she was to give him such influence in the affairs of state, and their alleged relationship became the subject of satirical poems and libelous rhymes. The Caliph reportedly alluded to the matter once when he remarked that Almanzor apparently was remarkable influence in the minds of the harem, but apparently the Caliph never saw a reason to take any action. Whether they actually were lovers or not have never been confirmed, but it is a fact that Almanzor became a trusted collaborator to whom she trusted completely in her political work.
In 976, Caliph al-Hakam died and was succeeded by Subh’s minor son, the eleven-year old Caliph Hisham II, under the regency of Subh, the first minister Jafar al-Mushafi, and Almanzor, who became the administrator of the properties left to Subh by al-Hakam. It was only a matter of time before rivalries and alliances started to form between the three regents. Subh sought an alliance with Almanzor. They managed to eliminate the influence of the minister.
Reportedly, Subh provided Almanzor with the necessary funds to give him control of the army, by which he could secure the stability necessary for her son, a child, to be secured as Caliph with her as regent, after which she gave him much power in her government. Both were directly responsible of the Caliphate Government, until disputes got between them, leading into her exclusion from the rule. He then ousted Hisham II and confined him with Subh at their palace in the city of Azahra. Despite her defeat, Subh kept plotting and working on ways to restore the throne of her son until her final days.
Sources:
Ibtissam Bouachrine, Women and Islam: Myths, Apologies, and the Limits of Feminist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subh_of_Cordoba
The ancient East knew women leaders who were successful rulers of kingdoms, yet authority in Islamic history has been exclusively reserved f
