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Asma Bint Shihab al-Sulayhiyya (Arabic: أسماء بنت شهاب الصليحي; died 1087) was the queen and co-ruler of Yemen in co-regency with her cousin and spouse, Ali al-Sulayhi, and later her son Ahmad al-Mukkaram, and daughter-in-law, Arwa al-Sulayhi, from 1047 until 1087.[1] Her full title as sovereign, "al-Sayyida al-Hurrat-ul" translates to "The noble lady who is free and independent, the woman sovereign who bows to no superior authority".[2] As female sovereign, Asma bint Shihab has an almost unique position in history: though there were more female monarchs in the international Muslim world, Asma bint Shihab and Arwa al-Sulayhi were the only female monarchs in the Muslim Arab world to have had the khutba proclaimed in their name in the mosques as sovereigns.[2]
- ^ Mernissi & Lakeland 2003, pp. 1115, 146–147.
- ^ a b Mernissi & Lakeland 2003, p. 115.