Episode 2.8 - Arwa al-Sulayhi

Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi managed to rule Yemen as a regent and then as the official queen for over a half a century in total. In that time, she was a strong ruler and administrator, despite the fact that the time she lived, in addition to the culture, was unused to women in power. She became the patron for a branch of Islam that survives today thanks to her efforts.

Sources:

• Fatema Mernissi, The Forgotten Queen of Islam, 1993

• Dr Farhad Daftary, "Sayyida Hurra: The Isma'ili Sulayhid Queen of Yemen." Women in the Medieval Islamic World, 1998

Names Mentioned:

• Ali al-Sulayhi

• Asma

• Fatimid Caliphate

• Najahids

• Sulayhid Dynasty