Al-Khayzuran's Rise at the Abbasid Court

Al-Khayzuran was a former slave who became the wife of Caliph al-Mahdi and the mother of Harun al-Rashid. She gained influence at court after al-Mahdi became caliph in 775 CE. Sources say she took part in appointments and in matters of succession. She died in 789 CE (173 AH). Later historians describe her as one of the most influential women of the early Abbasid period.