Read Sultana's Legacy Online

Authors: Lisa J. Yarde

Tags: #Fiction, #Historical

Sultana's Legacy

BOOK: Sultana's Legacy
11.73Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

 

Sultana’s Legacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa J. Yarde

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SULTANA’S LEGACY

Copyright © Lisa J. Yarde 2011

 

 

ISBN-10
1939138051

 

ISBN-13
978-1939138057

 

 

This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locations, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locations or events is entirely coincidental.

 

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the Author.

 

www.lisajyarde.com

 

 

Cover Artwork

Femme Orientale
, Jean Francois Portaels, 1877

File source: Creative Commons, Attributions License

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Jeanfrancois-portaels-Femme_Orientale.jpg

 

 

Background courtesy of Fotolia, Royalty-Free License

 

 

Cover arrangement, title font and Alhambra Press logo by Lance Ganey

www.freelanceganey.com

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Months of the Hijri Calendar

Characters

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 1

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 2

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 3

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 4

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 5

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 6

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 7

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 8

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 9

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 10

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 11

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 12

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 13

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 14

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 15

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 16

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 17

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 18

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 19

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 20

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 21

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 22

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 23

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 24

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 25

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 26

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 27

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 28

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 29

Sultana’s Legacy Chapter 30

Author’s Note

Islamic Regions and Modern Equivalents

Glossary

About the Author

 

Dedication

 

 

To Jeanne, who inspired my love of historical fiction and honors me with her friendship.

 

 

For my dear mother, devoted to her family and generous in her love, much like my heroine Fatima.

 

Acknowledgments

 

 

I remain grateful for the support of everyone who read and assisted with various drafts of this novel, the members of my critique groups, especially Anita Davison, Mandy Ducrot, Jennifer Haymore, Laura Hogg, Mirella Patzer, Rosemary Rach, Ginger Simpson, Devorah Stone, Richard Warren Field, and Anne Whitfield.

 

To my beta readers, Victoria Dixon, Mirella Patzer, Lindsay Townsend and Kristen Wood, thank you for your continued support and encouragement with this novel and its prequel. To my editor, Candice S. Watkins, thanks for your attention to detail.

 

As always, to my loving family, thank you for imparting the values of patience and perseverance. Without your guidance, my work would not be possible.

 

Foreword

 

 

The events in this book take place in the kingdom of Granada during a turbulent period for thirteenth-century Moorish Spain. Historians have referred to the rulers of Granada as Muslim princes (
emirs
) or kings, but I have used the title Sultan. While the first four Sultans of Granada are members of the Banu’l-Ahmar and other clans were the Banu Marin and Banu Zayyan, I have chosen the more commonly accepted names, e.g. the Nasrids for the Banu’l-Ahmar, then the Marinids and Zayyanids.

Many of the male historical figures bore the same name. I have distinguished between them with reference to their titles or familial connections where possible. There were six key characters named Muhammad, whom I have mentioned in the narrative. In addition to my protagonist Faraj, there was also Faraj, the son of Muhammad II, Faraj, the paternal grandson of my protagonist and another Faraj, who conspired with his brothers in the murder of a Sultan of Granada. There were also three historical figures named Ismail, two of them cousins.

I have also used Arabic words for Moorish cities, regions and certain terms. While the correct title of chief minister in Granada was ‘
Dhu l-wizaratayn
’ in various periods, I have kept the usage of
Hajib
throughout the novel. The chronology of events differs in a variety of sources, but the narrative follows the best-documented dates in the Moorish period.

I remain indebted to invaluable research materials for an understanding of thirteenth-century Spain and its inhabitants, including Shirley Guthrie’s
Arab Women in the Middle Ages
and L.P. Harvey’s
Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500.
Other vital sources of information on the detailed history of the Alhambra and Moorish architectural achievements came from Antonio Fernandez Puertas’ masterwork,
The Alhambra: Volume 1 from the Ninth Century to Yusuf I
and Michael Jacobs’
Alhambra
.

 

Months of the Hijri Calendar

 

 

Dates approximate the equivalent periods of the Hijri and Gregorian calendars. The sighting of the crescent moon determines dates in the Hijri calendar. The term AH refers to events occurring in numbered periods after the year of the Hijra or the emigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in September AD 622.

 

 

Months

Muharram: the first Islamic month

Safar: the second Islamic month

Rabi al-Awwal: the third Islamic month

Rabi al-Thani: the fourth Islamic month

Jumada al-Ula: the fifth Islamic month

Jumada al-Thani: the sixth Islamic month

Rajab: the seventh Islamic month

Sha`ban: the eighth Islamic month

Ramadan: the ninth Islamic month, a venerated period of abstinence and fasting from sunrise to sunset

Shawwal: the tenth Islamic month

Dhu al-Qa`da: the eleventh Islamic month

Dhu al-Hijja: the twelfth Islamic month, a period of pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia

 

Characters

 

 

The Nasrids

 

Fatima bint Muhammad, daughter of Abu Abdallah Muhammad II of Gharnatah

 

Abu Abdallah Muhammad II of Gharnatah, the second Sultan of Gharnatah (r. 671-702 AH), Fatima’s father

 

Abu Abdallah Muhammad III of Gharnatah, the third Sultan of Gharnatah (r. 702-709 AH), Fatima’s elder brother

 

Abu’l-Juyush Nasr I of Gharnatah, the fourth Sultan of Gharnatah (r. 709-714 AH), Fatima’s younger brother, only son of Abu Abdallah Muhammad II of Gharnatah and Nur al-Sabah

 

Abu Said Faraj ibn Ismail, Fatima’s husband,
Raïs
of Malaka

 

Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s eldest son

 

Arub bint Muhammad, second wife of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj

 

Abu Abdallah Muhammad IV ibn Ismail, eldest son of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Arub bint Muhammad

 

Moraima bint Ismail, eldest daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Arub bint Muhammad

 

Zubaidah bint Ismail, second daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Arub bint Muhammad

 

Ismail ibn Ismail, second son of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Arub bint Muhammad

 

Sahar bint Ismail, third daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Arub bint Muhammad

 

Jamila bint Ali, third wife of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj

 

Faraj ibn Ismail, son of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Jamila bint Ali

 

Hamda bint Ismail, eldest daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Jamila bint Ali

 

Muna bint Ismail, second daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Jamila bint Ali

 

Safa bint Yusuf, fourth wife of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj

 

Yusuf ibn Ismail, son of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Safa bint Yusuf

 

Tarub bint Ismail, eldest daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Safa bint Yusuf

 

Khalida bint Ismail, second daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj and Safa bint Yusuf

 

Leila bint Ismail, eldest daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj

 

Fatimah bint Ismail, second daughter of Abu’l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj

 

Aisha bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s second daughter

 

Faridah bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s third daughter

 

Muhammad ibn Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s second son

 

Qamar bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s fourth daughter

 

Mumina bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s fifth daughter

 

Qabiha bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s sixth daughter

 

Saliha bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s seventh daughter

 

Muhammad ibn Ismail, Faraj’s brother,
Raïs
of Qumarich

Soraya bint Samir, wife of Muhammad ibn Ismail

 

Ismail ibn Muhammad, son of Muhammad ibn Ismail and Soraya bint Samir, Faraj’s nephew,
Raïs
of al-Jazirah al-Khadra

 

Leila bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s first daughter, wife of her first cousin Ismail ibn Muhammad

 

Muhammad ibn Ismail, first son of Ismail ibn Muhammad and Leila bint Faraj, Fatima and Faraj’s first grandson

 

Faraj ibn Ismail, second son of Ismail ibn Muhammad and Leila bint Faraj

 

Ali ibn Ismail, third son of Ismail ibn Muhammad and Leila bint Faraj

 

Alimah bint Muhammad, Fatima’s second sister, widow of Abu Umar of al-Hakam

 

Faraj ibn Muhammad, Fatima’s younger brother, only son of Abu Abdallah Muhammad II of Gharnatah and Shams ed-Duna

 

The Marinids

 

Shams ed-Duna, second wife of Abu Abdallah Muhammad II of Gharnatah, aunt of Abu Ya’qub Yusuf el-Nasir al-Marini ibn Abu Yusuf Ya’qub

 

Abd al-Haqq, a prince of the Marinids

 

Hammu, a prince of the Marinids, cousin to Abd al-Haqq

 

Uthman ibn Abi’l-Ula,
the Shaykh al-Ghuzat
in the service of Abu al-Rabi Suleiman and Abu Said Uthman of the Marinid Dynasty

 

The Ashqilula

 

Abdallah ibn Ibrahim, Fatima’s maternal uncle

 

The Courtiers of Castilla-Leon

 

Prince Juan de Castilla, Senor de Valencia, brother of King Sancho IV of Castilla-Leon

BOOK: Sultana's Legacy
11.73Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Made for You by Cheyenne McCray
Hannah Howell by A Taste of Fire
Synners by Pat Cadigan
Dune to Death by Mary Daheim
A Dove of the East by Mark Helprin
Home in Your Arms by Sarah Bale
Five Women by Robert Musil
The Dark-Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Tikkipala by Sara Banerji