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Sara al-Qutiyya ( ar, سارة القوطية; es, Sara la Goda) or Sara the Goth (fl. 8th century) was a
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
noblewoman, who was the grand-daughter of king
Wittiza
Wittiza (''Witiza'', ''Witica'', ''Witicha'', ''Vitiza'', or ''Witiges''; 687 – probably 710) was the Visigothic King of Hispania from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Egica, until 702 or 703.
Joint rule
Early in his reign, Ergi ...
. After the death of her father she travelled to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
from
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
and successfully petitioned
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administra ...
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.html"_;"title=":ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca">:ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca_a_son_of_
ca.html"_;"title=":ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca">:ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca_a_son_of_Wittiza">Wittizia_the_Visigothic_king.
_When_he_died,_Sara,_along_with_her_two_younger_brothers_inherited_the_family's_lands_around_Seville._However,_Olmund's_brother,_Artobas,_who_had_inherited_land-holdings_in_ca.html"_;"title=":ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca">:ca:Olmund.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca_a_son_of_Wittiza">Wittizia_the_Visigothic_king.
_When_he_died,_Sara,_along_with_her_two_younger_brothers_inherited_the_family's_lands_around_Seville._However,_Olmund's_brother,_Artobas,_who_had_inherited_land-holdings_in_Emirate_of_Córdoba">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_Damascus_
)),_is_an_adjective_which_means_"spacious".
,__motto____________________=_
,__image_flag_______________=_Flag_of_Damascus.svg
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,_...
_to_petition_the_Caliphate.html" "title="Emirate_of_Córdoba.html" ;"title="Wittiza.html" ;"title=":ca:Olmund">ca.html" ;"title=":ca:Olmund.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca">:ca:Olmund.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:ca:Olmund">ca a son of Wittiza">Wittizia the Visigothic king. When he died, Sara, along with her two younger brothers inherited the family's lands around Seville. However, Olmund's brother, Artobas, who had inherited land-holdings in Emirate of Córdoba">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 Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
to petition the Caliphate">caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
,
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administra ...
.
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, 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 Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arabs, Arab kingdom in Sawad , Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as ...
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
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 ...
caliphate and including his great-grandmother's life in it.
In 2018, the Spanish-language broadcaster
RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...
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) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
. As Visigothic royalty, Sara al-Qutiyya would have been a Christian. Her marriages to Muslim men are seen by historians, such as Mary Elizabeth Perry, or Ilan Vit-Suzan, as emblematic of the
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
of the Christian Visigothic elite of Al-Andalus. However the medievalist
Roger Collins
Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 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 Al-Andalus people
8th-century women
Visigothic women
Women of Al-Andalus
People from Seville
Women from the Umayyad Caliphate