Arwa al-Sulayhi
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Arwa bint Ahmad bin Muhammed bin Al-Qasim al-Sulayhi—also known as Sayyida Hurra and the Little Queen of Sheba—was the ruler, first through her two husbands and then alone, of Yemen for over 50 years, from 1067 until her death in 1138. She was the greatest of the rulers of the Sulayhid Dynasty and was also the first woman to be accorded the prestigious title of hujja in Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam.
[edit] Early life
She was born in 1048 in Haraz, which was the heartland of Isma’ilism in Yemen. She was the niece of the then ruler of Yemen, Ali al-Suleihi. Orphaned at a young age she was brought up in the palace at Sana'a under the tutorship of the formidable Asma al-Suleihi, co-ruler with, and wife of, Ali al-Suleihi. In 1066, at the age of 17 she married her cousin Ahmad al-Mukarram al-Suleihi, the city of Aden as her dowry.
She is said by the chroniclers of her time to be brave, devout and have an independent character. She was also seen as highly intelligent and well learned, having a great memory for poems, stories and historical events. She was very knowledgeable on the sciences of the Qur'an and the hadith. The chroniclers also mention her as being extremely beautiful.
[edit] Early Rule as Queen
Following the death of Ali al-Sulayhi in 1067 Arwa's husband Ahmad became the de jure ruler of Yemen, but he was unable to rule as he was bedridden due to his paralysis. He gave all of his power to Arwa, and she had her name mentioned in the khutba directly after the name of the Fatamid Caliph, al-Mustansir. One of her first actions was to move the capital from Sana'a to Jibla in order to be in a better position to destroy Sa'id ibn Najar and thus avenge her father-in-law's death. This she managed to do by luring him into a trap in 1088.
After the death of Ahmad, she was encouraged by Al-Mustansir to marry her late husband's cousin, Saba ibn Ahmad. This she reluctantly did in 1091 in order to remain in power, but she probably did not allow the marriage to be consummated. She continued to rule Yemen until Sabah died in 1101. From that time on she ruled alone.
[edit] Religious Position
Arwa was given the highest rank in the Yemen da'wa, that of hujja, by al-Mustansir in 1084. This was the first time that a woman had ever been given such a status in the whole history of Ismailism. Under Arwa Shi'a da'is were sent to western India. Owing to this action of hers an Imsa'ili community was established in Gujarat in the second half of the 11th century, which still survives there today.
In the 1094 Ismaili schism Arwa supported al-Musta'li to be the rightful successor to al-Mustansir. Due to the high opinion in which Arwa was held in Yemen and western India these two areas followed her in regarding al-Musta'li as the new Fatimid Caliph.
[edit] Building Works and Economic Policy
In Sana'a Arwa had the grand mosque expanded, and the road from the city to Samarra improved. In Jibla she had a new palace and the Queen Arwa Mosque constructed. She is also known to have built numerous schools throughout her realm.
She improved the economy, taking an interest in supporting agriculture.
[edit] Later Rule
In 1119 Najib ad-Dawla, an envoy of the Fatimid Caliph al-Amir, was sent to Yemen to take over her realm. Arwa however had the support of both the amirs and the people and she forced Najib to withdraw. This caused the relations between Arwa and the Caliph in Cairo to become estranged. This manifested itself when, on the death of al-Amir in 1130, she supported the candidacy of his infant son, at-Tayyib, as opposed to al-Amir's cousin, al-Hafiz, who was recognized as the rightful Caliph in Egypt and Syria. Through her support of al-Tayyib she became head of a new grouping in Ismaili Islam, which became known as the Tayyibiyya. Her enemies in Yemen in turn gave their backing to al-Hafiz but they were unable to remove Arwa from power. Later Arwa gave complete authority of the Tayyibiyya to adh-Dhu'ayb, thus separating it from the control of the Sulayhi state. This ensured the survival of the sect after the collapse of Sulayhid power.
[edit] Death and Reputation
Arwa remained in power until her death in 1138. She was buried in the mosque that she had had built at Jibla. Her tomb later became a place of pilgrimage. The Queen Arwa University in Sana'a is named after her.
[edit] Sources
1. Sayyida Hurra. "The Isma’ili Sulayhid Queen of Yemen by Farhad Daftary"; contained in the book Women in the Medieval Islamic World, edited by Gavin R. G. Hambly
2. Fatima Mernissi. The Forgotten Queens of Islam.
