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Lubna of Córdoba

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Lubna of Córdoba (Lubna Al-Qortobia, Arabic: لبنى القرطبية) was an Andalusian intellectual, mathematician, and poet of the second half of the 10th century known for the quality of her writing and her excellence in the sciences.[1] Lubna was born into slavery and raised within the Madīnat al-Zahrā palace.[2] She then pursued a career within the palace as part of Al-Hakam II's team of copyists.[3]

Lubna of Córdoba
Born10th century
Madīnat al-Zahrā, Córdoba, Al-Andalus
OccupationPoet, Mathematician, Intellectual
NationalityAndalusian
2012 artistic depiction of Lubna of Córdoba

Early life

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Little to no information is known about Lubna’s upbringing, and most accounts available are historian and scholar speculations based on facts about women in her same position during the 11th century time period in Al-Andalus.[4]

Lubna was born within the Madīnat al-Zahrā, under the rule of the caliph Abd al-Rahman III, which began in 929. During his reign, the number of enslaved people in Córdoba increased, Lubna being one of them from birth.[2][5]

José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, of the University of Granada, claims that Lubna's father was caliph Abd al-Rahman III, which would make her one out of his sixteen daughters.[6] Although records show the names of his 11 sons, the names of his daughters remain unwritten, except for daughters Hind and Wallada.[7] The children of the caliph were typically raised by their enslaved mothers within the royal harem; one example is Al-Hakam II, Abd al-Rahman III's son and heir to the throne, who was born to Marjan, raised within the palace harem, and went on to work alongside Lubna in the library.[8][9][10]

Lubna is thought to have had a good education available throughout her life in order to later become an intellectual and a scholar of the caliph's court.[5] Additionally, there were religious motivations which made the practice of educating, freeing, and employing enslaved people more common under Muslim rule.[11]

Career

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Lubna started out as a copyist for the library of Al-Hakam II, who rose to power as caliph in 961.[12]

According to Arab chronicles[which?], in the time of Caliph Al-Hakam II, more than 170 literate women could be found in some suburbs of the city; these women were responsible for making copies of valuable manuscripts.[13] This gives an idea of the culture and the role of women during the reign of the Caliph.[14]

Al-Hakam II followed in his father's footsteps by freeing Lubna and appointing her as his resident secretary and scholar.[5] One of many responsibilities, Lubna was also in charge of the library, of which she was an expert because of her experience transcribing the manuscripts it held.[15]

Lubna was one out of at least 100 people that were freed from enslavement by Al-Hakam II before and after his death. In the case that she was given documents that proclaimed her freedom, she would have been part of the "freedmen" (mawla, mawali) social class of Muslim society. During 11th century Al-Andalus, it was not unusual for former slaves of the palace to obtain positions of power, and they were often trusted more than local politicians.[4][5]

In the library of Córdoba, Lubna was in charge of playing, writing, and translating many manuscripts. She studied these texts and wrote valuable commentaries and annotations on them. Some of these texts include those of Archimedes and Euclid.[5] Along with Hasdai ibn Shaprut, she was the driving force behind the creation of the famous library of Medina Azahara, which was home to at least 400,000 books.[16][17]

Dr. Joyce E. Salisbury, of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, describes Lubna's engagement with the community outside of the palace walls. She tutored children in math, and as she went back into the palace, they would follow her reciting multiplication tables.[5]

She was also included in Ibn Bashkuwāl's biographical dictionary of Islamic Spain's scholars, ‘Continuation of the scholarly history of al-Andalus' (Kitāb al-ṣila fī taʾrīkh aʾimmat al-Andalus, Arabic: كتاب الصلة في تاريخ أئمة الأندلس وعلمائهم ومحدثيهم وفقهائهم وأدبائهم ).[18] Here she is described as "an intelligent writer, grammarian, poetess, knowledgeable in arithmetic, comprehensive in her learning; none in the palace was as noble as she...",[4] as having "great knowledge of mathematics and other sciences as well",[11] and as being well-versed in the exact sciences, with the ability to solve "the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems known in her time."[19]

Questions of Identity

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There are many questions pertaining to Lubna's identity and her role within the Madīnat al-Zahrā's library and palace.

Although variants of her name are found throughout various historical sources, they overlap significantly in terms of time, place, and role in the palace.[4] Lubna has also been found under the names of Labna, Labanna/Labana,[19] Libana,[20] and Labona[21] throughout different historical accounts.

As writer Kamila Shamsie analyzes, "What does seem clear about Lubna of Cordoba is that she was connected to both the palace and the world of books during the reign of al-Hakam II, and was significant enough to be remembered for her intellect and learning."[4] She also affirms that Lubna was most likely enslaved within the royal court, contrasting the theory with that of Lubna being a Fatimid invited to the court for specialized book acquisition.

As Al-Hakam II's personal secretary, the narrative of Lubna being both in charge of the workings of the library and book acquisition in Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad would not be logistically possible, given that she would have to physically leave the library for long periods of travel time.[5]

Shamsie claims that Lubna might have been two different women, Lubna and Fatima – combined into one woman because the historian responsible could not comprehend that there were two female intellectuals at the same court.[22] Lubna and Fatima are described as two different people in several historical accounts, such as in The Story of Islamic Spain by Syed Azizur Rahmad[23] and La corteza de la letra by Marietta Gargatagli.[24]

Legacy

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A street in Cordoba was named after her in 2019, Avenida Escriba Lubna, commemorating her work as a copyist. She is one out of thirty-three women who are identified in professor Inmaculada Serrano Hernández's project, "Mujeres en las Calles de Córdoba" ('Women in the Streets of Cordoba').[25] The project has been created in collaboration with Casa Árabe, Centro de Profesorado de Córdoba, Instituto Andaluz de la Mujer, and promoted by the Ayuntamiento of Cordoba.[26][27]

The artist, Jose Luis Munoz, created his own depiction of Lubna. His series focuses on six important figures during the era of Al-Andalus.[28] The portrait of Lubna can be found in the permanent exhibition of La Casa de Sefarad in Córdoba.[29]

She appears as part of the Heritage Floor as part of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party art installation (1979).

The Essay on BBC Radio 3 featured a series dedicated to Islamic Golden Age. In one episode, writer Kamila Shamsie explores the life of Lubna of Cordoba [30]

The Spanish historian and novelist Jorge Lorente Pérez describes the life of Lubna of Córdoba in his story “The infinite multiplication table” (LORENTE PÉREZ, Jorge: “La tabla de multiplicar infinita”, 101 relatos de la enseñanza, Vinatea, Valencia 2023, 44-48, ISBN 978-84-127468-6-0).

References

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  1. ^ Olivier Gaudefroy: Lubna, la copiste de Cordoue. Turquoise, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Shabbas, Audrey (1991). The First Renaissance in Europe: Islamic Spain. AWAIR.
  3. ^ Fletcher, R (1993). Moorish Spain. Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 71.
  4. ^ a b c d e Shamsie, Kamila (3 March 2016). "Librarians, rebels, property owners, slaves: Women in al-Andalus". Journal of Postcolonial Writing. 52 (2): 178–188. doi:10.1080/17449855.2016.1164968. ISSN 1744-9855. S2CID 147845243.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Salisbury, Joyce E. "Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400". Wondrium.
  6. ^ Puerta Vilchez, Jose Miguel (2013). Reflections on Qurtuba in the 21st Century. Casa Arabe. pp. 29–68.
  7. ^ Imāmuddīn, S. M. (1962). "'ABD AL-RAḤMĀN AL-NĀṢIR'S ACCESSION TO THE THRONE: A CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT". Islamic Studies. 1 (3): 105–115. ISSN 0578-8072. JSTOR 20832645.
  8. ^ Anderson, Glaire D. (2015). Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts. University of Washington Press. pp. 29–45. ISBN 9780295995243.
  9. ^ Ruggles, D. F. (2004). "Mothers of a Hybrid Dynasty: Race, Genealogy, and Acculturation in al-Andalus". Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 34 (1): 65–94. doi:10.1215/10829636-34-1-65. ISSN 1082-9636. S2CID 170890527.
  10. ^ "'Abd al-Rahman III | Real Academia de la Historia". dbe.rah.es. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b Ismail, Rabia (May 2019). "Islam and Education". UCG Journal (45489): 375–377 – via Research Gate.
  12. ^ Kassis, Hanna (1 January 1999). The Man of Many Devices, who Wandered Full Many Ways. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press. pp. 160–166. ISBN 978-963-9116-67-2.
  13. ^ Bell, Jo (2021). On this day she : putting women back into history, one day at a time. Tania Hershman, Ailsa Holland. London. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-78946-271-5. OCLC 1250378425.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Martos, A (2008). Historia medieval del sexo y del erotismo. Madrid: Nowtilus.
  15. ^ Pilarska, Justyna; Szerląg, Alicja; Urbanek, Arkadiusz (22 June 2016). Atomization or Integration? Transborder Aspects of Multipedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4438-9543-9.
  16. ^ Martos, A (2013). Breve historia de Al-Andalus. Madrid: Nowtilus.
  17. ^ Suzuki, Jeff (27 August 2009). Mathematics in Historical Context. MAA. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-88385-570-6.
  18. ^ Thomas, D.; Mallett, A. (1 January 2011). Ibn Bashkuwāl. Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004195158.i-804.270. ISBN 978-90-04-21616-7.
  19. ^ a b Al-Hassani, Salim (11 February 2020). "Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics". Muslim Heritage. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  20. ^ "LIBANA - About Libana". libana.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Women in Science - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  22. ^ Hershman, Tania; Holland, Ailsa; Bell, Jo (18 February 2021). On This Day She: Putting Women Back Into History, One Day At A Time. John Blake. ISBN 978-1-78946-272-2.
  23. ^ Rahman, Syed Azizur (2001). The Story of Islamic Spain. Goodword Books. ISBN 978-81-87570-57-8.
  24. ^ Gargatagli, Marietta (1998). "La corteza de la letra". Quaderns: Revista de traducci. 1: 11–26.
  25. ^ Serrano Hernández, Inmaculada. "Lubna". Mujeres en las calles de Córdoba.
  26. ^ "Delegación de Igualdad - Ayuntamiento de Córdoba - Mujeres en las calles de Córdoba". igualdad.cordoba.es. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  27. ^ "Casa Árabe | Córdoba denomina "Escriba Lubna" a una de las calles de la ciudad". www.casaarabe.es. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Web del pintor y grabador J. L. MUÑOZ - Al·Andalus". www.jlmunoz.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Web del pintor y grabador J. L. MUÑOZ - Al·Andalus". www.jlmunoz.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  30. ^ Shamsie, K. (2014, Feb 17). "Lubna of Cordoba, The Islamic Golden Age".(No. 20) [Radio broadcast]. In The Essay. BBC Radio 3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03vd5xt
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