#zubayda

Continuing on from the realisation that the tomboy slave girls Zubayda got Amin to shag were, in fact, dressed as little Jaffars, and that consequently, Ahmad's mum would've been dressed as Jaffar while Ahmad was conceived. I am not sure how long it will take *me* to recover from having discovered it was HE they modelled themselves after! Let alone poor Ahmad... well, that explains why he hesitates to get rid of his obviously evil grand vizier, doesn't it? He reminds him of his mum! *sobbing with laughter*

More information on both her and Zubayda (Harun’s queen) in this article here.

Al-Masudi has also left us details of the way in which a woman's taste influenced the production and patronage of certain types of textiles. Zubayda, Harun al-Rashid's wife, was famous for her extravagant display and introduced "the fashion for slippers embroidered with precious stones." She also established the custom of uniformed page girls wearing turbans and clothes produced in royal tiraz factories. Al-Masudi informs us that "it was then that the fashion for having young slave-girls with short hair, wearing qabas [tight-sleeved coats] and belts, became established at all levels of society."