Ghaliyya al-Wahhabiyya

Ghaliyya al-Wahhabiyya was an 18th-century Hanbali woman who led military resistance to prevent the Ottoman recapture of Mecca. She was given the title Amira, which is the female version of the title Emir, in recognition of her acts.[1]

Ghaliyya al-Wahhabiyya was a Bedouin from Tarba near Tai'f southeast of Mecca. In the early 18th-century, Mecca was under attack from the Ottoman Empire, and she formed a military resistance movement to defend Mecca against the Ottoman forces.[2] Among her enemies, she was rumored to have the power to make her Wahhibi forces invisible to the enemy by use of magic.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Fatima Mernissi, The Forgotten Queens of Islam, p. 20
  2. ↑ Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer: Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide
  3. ↑ Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer: Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide