Buthaina bint al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad () was a poet of

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

. She was born in 1070 and was the daughter of

al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad al-Muʿtamid Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Lakhmī (; reigned c. 1069–1091, lived 1040–1095), also known as Abbad III, was the third and last ruler of the Taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus, as well as a renowned poet. He was the final ruler ...

, ruler of the

Taifa of Seville The Taifa of Seville ( ''Ta'ifat-u Ishbiliyyah'') was an Arab kingdom which was ruled by the Abbadid dynasty. It was established in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain and Portugal. It gained independence from the Calipha ...

, and his consort

Al-Rumaikiyya E'etemad al-Rumaikiyya () was an Andalusian poet, consort of Emir Al-Mu'tamid of Seville. She is believed to have been born between 1045 and 1047. Biography She was of humble origin and was servant (slave) to a Moor of Seville named Jachach ...

, an Andalusian poet. One of her poems, "Listen to my words", is about being sold into slavery after her father was overthrown. After the initial fall of her father's rule, Buthaina had escaped, but was ambushed and enslaved. The man who bought her did not recognize her, and gave her to his son. Buthaina revealed who she was to the son (possibly because he wanted to have sex and she refused) and stated that they must marry. The son agreed, and sent a letter to Buthaina's father requesting permission to marry her. Buthaina wrote a poem which she sent to her father alongside the letter, explaining the situation - describing the son as kind and honourable - and asking for her father's blessing, which he gave.

References

1070 births Arabic-language women poets Arabic-language poets 11th-century women writers Women poets from al-Andalus Poets from al-Andalus Abbadid dynasty 11th-century Arab people 12th-century slaves Slaves in al-Andalus Year of death unknown {{poet-stub