Qiyān

(, ; 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 has been suggested that "the geisha of Japan are perhaps the most comparable form of socially institutionalized female companionship and entertainment for male patrons, although, of course, the differences are also myriad".

Historically, the flourished under the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, and in Al-Andalus.

Terminology

is often rendered in English as or , but these translations do not reflect the fact that might be of any age, and were skilled entertainers whose training extended well beyond singing, including for example, dancing, composing music and verse, reciting historical or literary anecdotes (), calligraphy, or shadow play. Other translations include ,Matthew S. Gordon, 'Introduction: Producing Songs and Sons', in ''Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History'', ed. by Matthew S. Gordon and Kathryn A. Hain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), pp. 1-8 (pp. 5-6); . , or simply .

In some sources, were a subset of (, ; singular , ), and often more specifically a subset of (, ; singular , ). are thus at times referred to as (, ) or as (, ; singular , ). Many were free women. One of them was even an Abbasid princess, Ulayya bint al-Mahdi.

The term originates as a feminine form of the pre-Islamic term (), whose meaning was . The meaning of extended to include manual labourers generally, and then focused more specifically on people paid for their work, and then more specifically again . From here, its feminine form came to have the meaning of a female performer of various arts, in a specific role.

Characteristics and history

Like other enslaved women in the Islamicate world, were legally sexually available to their owners. They were often associated in literature with licentiousness, and sexuality was an important part of their appeal, but they do not seem to have been sex workers.

However, there were also common who performed for the public in common houses; these were brothels in some cases.

It is not clear how early the institution of the emerged, but certainly flourished during the Abbasid period. According to Matthew S. Gordon, "it is not yet clear to what extent courtesans graced regional courts and elite households at other points of Islamic history".

Ibrahim al-Mawsili (742–804 CE) is reported to have claimed that his father was the first to train light-skinned, beautiful girls as , raising their price, whereas previously had been drawn from among girls viewed as less beautiful, and with darker skin, although it is not certain that these claims were accurate. One social phenomenon that can be seen as a successor to the is the Egyptian , courtesans or female entertainers in medieval Egypt, educated to sing and recite classical poetry and to discourse wittily.

Because of their social prominence, comprise one of the most richly recorded sections of pre-modern Islamicate female society, particularly female slaves, making them important to the history of slavery in the Muslim world. Moreover, a significant proportion of medieval Arabic female poets whose work survives today were . For a few , it is possible to give quite a full biography. Important medieval sources of include a treatise by al-Jahiz (776–868/869 CE), Abu Tayyib al-Washsha's ( ), and anecdotes included in sources such as the () and () by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (897–967 CE), () by ibn al-Sāʿī, and () by al-Suyuti (). Many of these sources recount the repartee of prominent , though there are hints that in less wealthy households were used by their owners to attract gifts. In the 'Abbasid period, were often educated in the cities of Basra, Ta'if, and Medina.

Decline

The institution of declined with the waning fortunes of the Abbasid Caliphate. The initial fracture of the Abbasids did not have immediate impact. The did not take sides in political disputes. However, political instability led to fiscal mismanagement, and during the Abbasids' heyday, the finances were mismanaged. Further, the new class of Turkish soldiers demanded better pay, leading to the emptying of the treasury; the resulting austerity meant artistic activity could not be funded, and thus flourish, as it had previously. In addition, soldiers extorted money from citizens perceived as rich, which made ostentatious behavior risky.

Al-Andalus

It seems that for the first century or so in al-Andalus, were brought west after being trained in Medina or Baghdad, or were trained by artists from the east. It seems that by the 11th century, with the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba, tended to be trained in Córdoba rather than imported after training. It seems that while female singers still existed, enslaved ones were no longer found in al-Andalus in the 14th century CE.

Qiyan-slave-girls were initially imported to al-Andalus from Medina.Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History. (2017). Storbritannien: Oxford University Press. p. 102
Qiyan slave-girls are noted to have been first imported to al-Andalus during the reign of al-Hakam I (r. 796–822).Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History. (2017). Storbritannien: Oxford University Press. p. 104
However, qiyan soon started to be trained in Cordoba and from 1013 in Seville; it is however unknown if the tradition was preserved in the Emirate of Granada.
Qiyan-slaves were selected to be trained for this function as children, and underwent a long training to fit the demands.
The qiyan-slaves were not secluded from men in harem as free women or slave concubines, but in contrast performed for male guests — sometimes from behind a screen and sometimes visible — and are the perhaps most well documented of all female slaves.Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History. (2017). Storbritannien: Oxford University Press. p. 100
While trained qiyan-slaves were sexually available to their enslaver, they were not categorized or sold as concubines and, with their training, were the most expensive female slaves.

Famous

* Atika bint Shuhda ( c. 800)
* Azza al-Mayla (7th-century - d. 705)
* Inan bint Abdallah (, 841)
* Djamila (, 720)
* '' Abu al-Husn and His Slave-Girl Tawaddud'', a fictional qayna in a medieval Arabic narrative
* Dananir al Barmakiyya (, 810s)
* Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, daughter of the caliph Al-Mahdi ( 825)
* Arib al-Ma'muniyya (, CE 797–890)
* Shāriyah (, )
* Farida (singer) (born )
* Fadl al-Sha'irah (, 871 CE)
* Hababa (حبابة; d. 724)
* Ubayda (fl. c. 830)
* Alam al-Malika (died 1130)
* Nazhun al-Garnatiya bint al-Qulaiʽiya (fl. 12th-century)
* Al-Karakiya (fl. 13th-century)

References

Citations

Sources

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*

Further reading

* Hekmat Dirbas, "Naming of Slave-girls in Arabic: A Survey of Medieval and Modern Sources", ''Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik'', 69 (2019), 26–38, ,

{{Medieval Perso-Arab music

Sexual slavery
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Arabic-language women poets
Arabic-language poets
Slaves of the medieval Islamic world

Slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate