Rayṭa bint al-Saffāḥ ( ar, ريطة بنت السفاح) was an
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
princess, daughter of first Abbasid caliph
al-Saffah (), niece of second Abbasid caliph
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
() and the first wife of third Abbasid caliph
al-Mahdi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abb ...
().
Biography
Rayta was the daughter of al-Saffah from his famous wife
Umm Salama
Hind bint Abi Umayya ( ar, هِنْد بِنْت أَبِي أُمَيَّة, Hind ʾibnat ʾAbī ʾUmayya, 580 or 596 – 680 or 683), better known as Umm Salama ( ar, أُمّ سَلَمَة, link=no) or Hind al-Makhzūmiyah ( ar, هِنْد ...
, who belonged to
Makhzum
The Banu Makhzum () was one of the wealthy clans of the Quraysh. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the other two being the Banu Hashim (the tribe of the Islamic proph ...
clan of the
Quraysh
The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
. Her father was the first
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph, ruling from 750 to 754.
Rayta had an older maternal half-brother, Sa'id ibn Maslama, from her mother's first marriage to the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
prince
Maslama ibn Hisham
Maslama ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, مسلمة بن هشام بن عبد الملك, Maslama ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; died ), also known by his '' kunya'' Abu Shakir, was an Umayyad prince and commander.
His capture of the souther ...
. Sa'id was the grandson of the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
caliph
Hisham (). Sa'id became an
oral transmitter of historical tradition in the early Abbasid period.
Rayta was very young, when her father died. Al-Saffah's brother,
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
, took on the responsibility of establishing the Abbasid caliphate by holding on to power for nearly twenty-two years, from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754–775 CE).
[Sanders, P. (1990). The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids by MAS‘UDI. Translated and edited by Lunde Paul and Stone Caroline, Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1989 . Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 24(1), 50–51. doi:10.1017/S0026318400022549][ Axworthy, Michael (2008); ''A History of Iran''; Basic, USA; . p. 81.]
In 761, the Abbasid caliph
al-Mahdi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abb ...
married Rayta as his first wife after his return from Khurasan. She gave birth to two sons,
Ubaydallah and Ali.
[; .]
Rayta remained the most influential wife of al-Mahdi until his marriage to
al-Khayzuran bint Atta
Al-Khayzuran bint Atta ( ar, الخيزران بنت عطاء, al-ḵayzurān bint ʿaṭāʾ) (died 789) was the wife of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi and mother of both Caliphs Al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid. She ruled de facto from 775 to 789 during ...
, an Arab woman of Yemenite origin born in the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
. Al-Khayzuran convinced al-Mahdi to free and marry her, depriving Rayta of her privileges: she also convinced him to deprive his son by Rayta from the position of
heir to the throne
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
, and instead name her sons as heirs, despite the fact that the custom at that time did not allow for the sons of a slave to be named heirs. From that point on, she was the caliph's most influential wife.
Family
Rayta was related to the
Abbasid dynasty
The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids ( ar, بنو العباس, Banu al-ʿAbbās) were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-M ...
, the ruling house of the Caliphate both maternally and paternally. She was contemporary to several Abbasid caliphs, Abbasid princes and Princesses.
References
Sources
*
*
* Sanders, P. (1990). The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids by MAS‘UDI. Translated and edited by Lunde Paul and Stone Caroline, Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1989 ISBN 0 7103 0246 0.
Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 24(1), 50–51. doi:10.1017/S0026318400022549
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raitah bint al-Saffah
8th-century births
8th-century deaths
8th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate
Daughters of Abbasid caliphs
Wives of Abbasid caliphs
8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Arab princesses
8th-century Arabs