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'''Shahrbanu''' (lit. “Lady of the Land,” i.e., of Persia), is said to be the daughter of Yazdgerd III (r. 632-51), the last [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty Sasanian] king. According to the beliefs of the [[Shiʿa|Shiʿites]], in particular the Twelvers or Imamis, but also of a substantial number of [[Sunnis]], she became the principal wife of the third Imam, [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain b. Ali]], and the mother of the fourth Imam, [[ʿAli b. al-Hussain|Ali b. Hussain b. Ali Zayn al-Abedin]]. Consequently, the lineage of Imams, from the fourth to twelfth and final, would be her progeny. The personality of this saintly figure, especially revered in Persia, seems noteworthy and important in relationships that link [[Imami Shiʿism]] to pre-Islamic Persia. In spite of her important location in popular culture, the earliest sources make no mention of the mother of Ali ibn Hussain, nor do they ascribe him with maternal royal ancestry. Therefore, Shahrbanu as a historical figure is debated. | '''Shahrbanu''' (lit. “Lady of the Land,” i.e., of Persia), is said to be the daughter of Yazdgerd III (r. 632-51), the last [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty Sasanian] king. According to the beliefs of the [[Shiʿa|Shiʿites]], in particular the Twelvers or Imamis, but also of a substantial number of [[Sunnis]], she became the principal wife of the third Imam, [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain b. Ali]], and the mother of the fourth Imam, [[ʿAli b. al-Hussain|Ali b. Hussain b. Ali Zayn al-Abedin]]. Consequently, the lineage of Imams, from the fourth to twelfth and final, would be her progeny. The personality of this saintly figure, especially revered in Persia, seems noteworthy and important in relationships that link [[Imami]] [[Shiʿism]] to pre-Islamic Persia. In spite of her important location in popular culture, the earliest sources make no mention of the mother of Ali ibn Hussain, nor do they ascribe him with maternal royal ancestry. Therefore, Shahrbanu as a historical figure is debated. | ||
==Historicity== | ==Historicity== | ||
According to the oldest sources that have come down to us, the historic mother of the fourth Imam was not much of a princess. Ibn Saʿd (d. 844-45) and Ibn Qotayba (d. 889) describe her as a slave, originally from Sindh, called Gazala and/or Solafa.<ref>Ibn Saʿd V, p. 211; Ibn Qotayba, pp. 214-15.</ref> Neither do any of the scholars of ancient history that have chronicled, at times with great attention to detail, the invasion of Persia by Muslim troops and the fate of the last Sasanian sovereign and her family, establish any relationship between the wife of Imam Hussain and one of the daughters of Yazdgerd III.<ref>Balāḏori 1866, pp. 262 ff.; idem 1974, pp. 102-103 and 146; Ṭabari I, 1879-1901, p. 2887 = Ṭabari IV 1960, p. 302; Ebn ʿAbd Rabbeh III, pp. 103 ff.</ref> The same is true for a wide range of sources and authors quite different from each other, such as Ketab al-kharaj by the Hanafite judge Abu Yusof (d. 798) and the shah-nama of the pro-Shiʿite Ferdowsi (d. 1019) both of whom, though surely for very different reasons, took an interest in the destiny of the last king of Sasanian Persia and his descendants.<ref>Abu Yusof, p. 30; Ferdowsi IX, pp. 358 ff.</ref> | According to the oldest sources that have come down to us, the historic mother of the fourth Imam was not much of a princess. Ibn Saʿd (d. 844-45) and Ibn Qotayba (d. 889) describe her as a slave, originally from Sindh, called Gazala and/or Solafa.<ref>Ibn Saʿd V, p. 211; Ibn Qotayba, pp. 214-15.</ref> Neither do any of the scholars of ancient history that have chronicled, at times with great attention to detail, the invasion of Persia by Muslim troops and the fate of the last Sasanian sovereign and her family, establish any relationship between the wife of Imam Hussain and one of the daughters of Yazdgerd III.<ref>Balāḏori 1866, pp. 262 ff.; idem 1974, pp. 102-103 and 146; Ṭabari I, 1879-1901, p. 2887 = Ṭabari IV 1960, p. 302; Ebn ʿAbd Rabbeh III, pp. 103 ff.</ref> The same is true for a wide range of sources and authors quite different from each other, such as Ketab al-kharaj by the Hanafite judge Abu Yusof (d. 798) and the shah-nama of the pro-Shiʿite Ferdowsi (d. 1019) both of whom, though surely for very different reasons, took an interest in the destiny of the last king of Sasanian Persia and his descendants.<ref>Abu Yusof, p. 30; Ferdowsi IX, pp. 358 ff.</ref> | ||
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*G. Widengren, “The Sacral Kingship of Iran,” in La regalità sacra, Leiden, 1959, pp. 242-57. | *G. Widengren, “The Sacral Kingship of Iran,” in La regalità sacra, Leiden, 1959, pp. 242-57. | ||
*Yaʿqubi, Taʾrikò, repr. Qom, 1994. | *Yaʿqubi, Taʾrikò, repr. Qom, 1994. | ||
*E. Yarshater, “Taʿzieh and Pre-Islamic Mourning Rituals in Iran,” in [[Peter J. Chelkowski|P. J. Chelkowsk]]<nowiki/>i, ed., Taʿzieh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, New York, 1979, pp. 70-95. | *[[Ehsan Yarshater|E. Yarshater]], “Taʿzieh and Pre-Islamic Mourning Rituals in Iran,” in [[Peter J. Chelkowski|P. J. Chelkowsk]]<nowiki/>i, ed., Taʿzieh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, New York, 1979, pp. 70-95. | ||
*Idem, “Iranian National History,” in Camb. Hist. Iran 3(1), Cambridge, 1983, pp. 359-477. | *Idem, “Iranian National History,” in Camb. Hist. Iran 3(1), Cambridge, 1983, pp. 359-477. | ||
*Idem, “The Persian Presence in the Islamic World,” in R. G. Hovannisian and G. Sabagh, eds., The Persian Presence in the Islamic World, Cambridge, 1998, pp. 4-125 | *Idem, “The Persian Presence in the Islamic World,” in R. G. Hovannisian and G. Sabagh, eds., The Persian Presence in the Islamic World, Cambridge, 1998, pp. 4-125 | ||