Umm Musa al-Hashimiyya () (9th-century - ''fl.'' 923) was a courtier of the

Abbasid harem The harem of the caliphs of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) in Baghdad was composed of their mothers, wives, slave concubines, female relatives and slave servants (women and eunuchs), occupying a secluded portion of the Abbasid house ...

during the reign of Caliph

Al-Muqtadir Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...

( r. 908–929). Umm Musa is known as one of the most powerful of the women in the office of qahramana (stewardess), which was the most powerful office of the women in the Abbasid harem.

Life

She was a member of a minor branch of the Hashemite family.El Cheikh, Nadia Maria. “Revisiting the Abbasid Harems.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40326869. Accessed 27 Mar. 2021. In 911, the Caliph appointed her to the office of qahramana, or personal agent of the mother of

Shaghab Shaghab () (died 933) was the mother of the eighteenth Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir (), and wielded a considerable influence over state affairs during the reign of her son. She was commonly referred to only as Umm al-Muqtadir (mother of al-Muqtadir) ...

, mother of Al-Muqtadir. She replaced her predecessor, Qahramana Fatima, who drowned in the Tigris when her boat was caught in a storm. She was responsible for the purse of the harem, and managed the costs of the harem women, staff and the princes, and she was credited for having reduced the cost of the harem by 45.000 dinars a month.El Cheikh, Nadia Maria. “Revisiting the Abbasid Harems.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40326869. Accessed 27 Mar. 2021. She became the center of a major patronage network. Marilyn Booth:
Harem Histories: Envisioning Places and Living Spaces
' She was engaged as an intermediary by various supplicants who wished to seek contact with Caliph and his mother for both political and financial reasons, thus indirectly causing many political events. In 912 for example, vizier

Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Furat (; 855 – 18 July 924) was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate who served three times as vizier under Caliph al-Muqtadir. Ali emerged into prominence as an able fiscal admini ...

was arrested and deposed after Umm Musa informed the Caliph of a plot on the assignment by Muhammed b. Khaqan.El Cheikh, Nadia Maria. “Revisiting the Abbasid Harems.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40326869. Accessed 27 Mar. 2021. She recommended Ibn ab Bach as vizier to the Caliph with the help of his mother, and had an argument with the Caliph when he appointed another man instead.El Cheikh, Nadia Maria. “Revisiting the Abbasid Harems.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40326869. Accessed 27 Mar. 2021. She managed to have vizier Ali b. Isa deposed by allying with the Caliph mother.El Cheikh, Nadia Maria. “Revisiting the Abbasid Harems.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40326869. Accessed 27 Mar. 2021. Her plotting for her favourites, the corruption of her family, and her hostility towards the "good vizier"

Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā ibn Dā'ūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ (Dayr Qunna, 859 – Baghdad, 1 August 946), was an official of the court of the Abbasid Caliphate. Descended from a family with long history of service in the Abbasid government, he rose to power i ...

, who was dismissed due to her machinations in 917, are underlined in the chronicles of the period. In 914, she managed to have her brother Ahmand appointed ''naqib''. When she married her niece to Abu'l-Abbas, a grandson of

al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

(r. 847–861), her rivals were quick to accuse her of aspiring to overthrow the Caliph and place her nephew on the throne. The Caliph's mother accused her of planning to depose the Caliph and replace him with her son-in-law or grandson with the help of the fortune and contacts she had secured. In 922/3, she was arrested and replaced by Thumal, who tortured Umm Musa, her brother, and her sister, until they had revealed where her treasure—reportedly valued at one million

gold dinar The gold dinar () is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Latin word denarius, which was ...

s—was hidden. She was deposed from her position because of disloyalty.

References

{{Reflist, 33em
Classes of Ladies: Writing Feminist History through Biography in Fin-de
10th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate 10th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century births Year of birth unknown 10th-century deaths 9th-century slaves Slaves in the Abbasid Caliphate Courtiers from the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid harem House slaves 10th-century slaves Women slaves in the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid qahramana