Maridah bint Shabib

Maridah bint Shabib was the favourite Umm walad of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid and mother of eighth Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim.

Biography

Maridah entered the Abbasid harem probably in 793/795. She was raised in the Abbasid household before kept her as concubine. Maridah was a slave and she belonged to a Muslim family, other members of her family were also slaves.
Maridah's father was Shabib. She was a Sogdian, and was born in Kufah. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun by Zubaidah. She had five children. These were Abu Ishaq, Abu Isma'il, Umm Habib, and two others whose names are unknown. She was Harun's favourite concubine.
Her son, Muhammad, the future al-Mu'tasim, was born in the Khuld ("Eternity") Palace in Baghdad, but the exact date is unclear: according to the historian al-Tabari, his birth was placed either in Sha'ban AH 180, or in AH 179.
Maridah was the only Umm walad of Harun al-Rashid, who gave birth to his five children no other Umm walad had this prestige.
Maridah lived most of her life in the Caliph's Harem. Her sons were not in the line of succession as Harun al-Rashid kept his eldest sons as heirs. However, Maridah's elder son Abu Ishaq became caliph after his half-brother al-Mamun's death. Al-Mamun nominated Abu Ishaq as his successor on his death bed.