قبيحة أم المعتز
قبيحة أم المعتز
Al-Mu'tazz's Byzantine umm-walad; she refused him money to buy the Turks and 'barked her soul', so they deposed him. Hiding then surfacing in Ramadan, she gave Salih ibn Wasif 1.3 million dinars and baskets of emeralds, pearls and rubies valued at two million — 'she exposed her son to death over fifty thousand, holding this?' He took it all and exiled her to Mecca until al-Mu'tamid's reign; she died 264 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Qabiha, mother of al-Mu'tazz, a Roman-born umm walad. According to al-Suyuti in "Tarikh al-Khulafa", she withheld money from her son that he meant to spend on the Turks, and they deposed him. She then disappeared, reappeared in Ramadan, and gave Salih ibn Wasif a great sum. He took all of it and banished her to Mecca until al-Mu'tamid came to power and returned her. She died in 264 AH. 2
al-Mas'udi's account
al-Mas'udi reports that on the night of al-Mutawakkil's killing she sent him a robe of honour that contained a red shirt and a silk mantle. He tore the mantle and told her servant to keep it, so that it might serve as his shroud. 3
The gender field in the museum's data is recorded as "male", which is probably an error and needs review.
Sources
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p. 557-559
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p.557-559
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p.506
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “قبيحة أم المعتز”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/qabiha/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-16.