The Nasrid princesses, sisters of King Sa'd: their economic influence and function in the dynasty's power network according to translated Arabic documents (1460 and 1469)

Abstract

The women of the Naṣrid court often appear in archival documentation written in Arabic, translated from Arabic and in Castilian immediately after the conquest of the emirate. This is not accidental; it is because these women, even within the Islamic traditions that marginalise them to specific spaces and functions, exercise specific and useful roles for the maintenance of the Naṣrid dynasty. These roles explain why they were allowed to be owners of certain assets, especially in Granada and its peri-urban area, and perhaps to a lesser extent in rural areas. They owned significant properties that enhanced their status and that of the ruling lineage, such as farms, orchards, mansions, and other properties that were especially profitable, such as baths, shops, inns, bakeries, etc., most probably part of a higher institution, as was the royal heritage. Regarding the specific topic that concerns this article, developed based on five unpublished documents dated 1460 and 1469, translated from Arabic in 1509 by the public notary Miçer Ambrosio Xarafí, we analyse the specific case of three women: the sisters of King Ṣa‘d in the Granada court (1454-55/1455-62/1463-64).