Surur (''fl.'' 1193), was a

qiyan (, ; singular , , ) were a social class of women, trained as entertainers, which existed in the pre-modern Islamic world. The term has been used for women who were both free, including some of whom came from nobility, and non-free women. It ...

poet and musician, active in

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

Egypt. She was the royal slave concubine of Sultan

Al-Aziz Uthman Al-Malik Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salah Ad-Din Yusuf (1171 – 29 November 1198) was the second Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt. He was the second son of Saladin. Life Before his death, Saladin had divided his dominions amongst his kin: Al-A ...

(r. 1193–1198). Surur was described as a beautiful and accomplished singer. She was raised in slavery in Cairo, where she was instructed to read and write, study the Quran, literature and poetry, in order to become a qiyan-entertainer. During the reign of Sultan

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

(r.1171–1193), she came to know the heir to the throne, Prince al-Aziz 'Uthman, who was attracted to Surur but did not purchase her during his fathers lifetime, since he feared his father would disapprove. During that time period, Surur and the Prince corresponded with each other. When Al-Aziz Uthman became Sultan in 1193, he purchased Surur for the

Ayyubid harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic servants, and other unmarried female re ...

, and made her his concubine. She was described as the favorite slave concubine of the Sultan. Her position was temporarily undermined when the sultan took a liking to another slave concubine, Uluf, but he returned to Surur when he tired of Uluf. In Classical Arabic literature, she is included in ''Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār'' by

Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari (), commonly known as Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari or Ibn Faḍl Allāh al-‘Umārī (1301 – 1349) was an Arab historian born in Damascus. His major works include ''at-Taʾrīf bi-al-muṣ� ...

(1301–1349), in the main work describing famous slave singers of history.Yasemin Gökpinar: ''Der ṭarab der Sängersklavinnen: Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār von Ibn Faḍlallāh al-ʿUmarī (gest. 749/1349): Textkritische Edition des 10. Kapitels Ahl ʿilm al-mūsīqī mit kommentierter Übersetzung'', Ergon Verlag, Baden-Baden 2021, S. 260–263.

References

{{Reflist Qiyan Slave concubines 12th-century slaves 12th-century musicians Slaves from the Ayyubid Sultanate 12th-century Egyptian people 12th-century women musicians Concubines of Egyptian rulers Ayyubid dynasty Medieval Egyptian women