Sara al-Qutiyya (; ) or Sara the Goth (fl. 8th century) was a

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

noblewoman, who was the grand-daughter of king

Wittiza Wittiza (''Witiza'', ''Witica'', ''Witicha'', ''Vitiza'', or ''Witiges''; 687 – probably 710) was the king of the Visigoths from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Egica, until 702 or 703. Joint rule Early in his reign, Egica m ...

. After the death of her father she travelled to

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

from

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

and successfully petitioned the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph

Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...

to restore lands to her family that had been appropriated by her uncle. The historian Ibn al-Qutiyya was her great-grandson.

Biography

Sara al-Qutiyya was born to a noble family; her father was Olmund ca">:ca:Olmund">ca a son of

the Visigothic king. When he died, Sara, along with her two younger brothers, inherited the family's lands around

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. However, Olmund's brother, Artobas, who had inherited land-holdings in Cordoba, appropriated Sara and her brother's inheritance. In order to challenge the occupation of her inherited lands in the Seville region, Sara al-Qutiyya had a ship constructed and travelled with her brothers to

to petition the

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. As a result of her petition, orders were sent to the governor of Al-Andalus, Abu'l-Khattar al-Husam ibn Darar al-Kalbi, to reinstate their Seville land-holdings to her and her brothers. Whilst at court, Sara met the future

Abd al-Rahman I Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (; 7 March 731 – 30 September 788), commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, ...

, who reportedly "gave her special treatment and innumerable attentions". During this time, the caliph Hisham also arranged for her to marry a man called Isā Ibn Muzāḥim, with whom she had two sons: Ibrahim and Ishaq. After Isā Ibn Muzāḥim died in 138H (755/756), Abd al-Rahman I advised Sara to remarry, this time to Umayr ibn Sa'id, a member of the

Lakhmid The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...

dynasty. They had a son called Habib, whose son, Ibrahim bin Hajjaj al-Lakhmi, later became governor of Seville.

Legacy

Sara al-Qutiyya's sons established several significant dynasties in the generations after her death. The historian Ibn al-Qutiyya was one of her descendants, writing a history of the

caliphate and including his great-grandmother's life in it. In 2018, the Spanish-language broadcaster

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

recorded a documentary on her.

Historiography

The story of Sara al-Qutiyya appears in the ''History of the Conquest of al-Andalus'' by Ibn al-Qutiyya and also in a biography of Ibn al-Qutiyya by

Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān (; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian of Kurdish origin who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedi ...

. As Visigothic royalty, Sara al-Qutiyya would have been a Christian. Her marriages to Muslim men have been seen by historians such as Mary Elizabeth Perry and Ilan Vit-Suzan, as emblematic of the

Islamization The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

of the Christian Visigothic elite of Al-Andalus. However the medievalist

Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born 2 September 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Brown ...

regards Sara as a "mythical ancestor" rather than a historical individual.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Qutiyya, Sara 8th-century people from al-Andalus 8th-century women Visigothic women Women from al-Andalus People from Seville Women from the Umayyad Caliphate Medieval landowners