The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away in the year 632\text{ AD} on the 8th of June. (Historians, you may provide further clarification or correction if I have made an error; it is no sin π). Following his demise, the Companions entered into deep consultations, whereupon Sayyiduna Abubakar was installed as leader. After two years, Allah took his life following a severe bout of fever that he suffered from. After him, the mantle was passed to Sayyiduna Umar, who ruled for five to seven years before he passed away. At that time, Sayyiduna Usman was in Damascus, Syria, having traveled for trade. The Caliphate was pledged to him—meaning he was made the Amirul Muminin (Commander of the Faithful)—without his immediate knowledge. He too did not last long before Allah reclaimed his soul, and the position was given to Sayyiduna Ali, who also held it for a period before he passed away. However, up until that time, the Islamic state had not expanded massively. Its boundaries were limited strictly to the Arabian Peninsula—namely the regions of Medina, Mecca, and certain other sectors of the Arabian Peninsula. After some time, the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Rashidun) continued. During that Caliphate, propagation (Da'wah) was carried out, but he himself did not establish an empire; he ruled at a time when some individuals within his caravan began to commit acts of high-handedness and oppression. Furthermore, he was the one who introduced general Arab cultural traditions to the pagan Arabs. From that point, the Umayyad Dynasty established its empire, spanning from the year 661\text{ AD} to 750\text{ AD}. The Umayyad was the Islamic empire that grew the widest and longest, attaining a truly astonishing size. The Umayyads completely conquered the entire Arabian Peninsula. If we examine the territories they occupied, they include:
Mecca
Medina
Damascus in Syria
Kufa
Istanbul
Cordoba
Palestine
Kairouan And several other regions of the Arabian Peninsula. However, they did not manage to penetrate into Persia or Greece at that time. During the Umayyad Caliphate, non-Muslims were not subjected to extreme harshness; in fact, their administrative system differed fundamentally from that of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. This inclusive approach attracted many non-Muslims to embrace the religion of Islam. Due to the sheer concentrated strength of the Umayyad rule, rumors began circulating that the capital of Islam would be shifted from Medina to Damascus. Out of sheer necessity, the leader was forced to return to Medina to prevent an Islamic counter-revolution from breaking out. Consequently, it came to pass that there were two distinct capitals of Islam—one in Damascus and one in Medina—a situation that threatened to compromise the global prestige and integrity of Islam at the time. From the year 750\text{ AD} to 1258\text{ AD}, the Abbasids established their own empire. Calculating from the year of the passing of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the Abbasid Dynasty rolled on for centuries. The Abbasids completely dominated the entire Gulf region all the way into the European continent. Among the vast territories occupied by the Abbasid Empire were:
Persia
Andalusia
India
Asia
Iraq As well as portions of the African continent, such as Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and territories across the Blue Nile. Furthermore, Islam crossed all the way to the shores of the Red Sea, extending into Sudan. From there, it advanced into other regions of Southern Africa and the Sahara, making its way directly into Egypt. The main capital of the Abbasids was located in Baghdad. At that time, non-Muslims paid a specific tax known as Jizyah at a rate of 2.5%, which was utilized to distribute charity. (I am not entirely sure of the specific everyday Hausa term for it, but it is referred to as Haddaya in Arabic). The administrative structure of the Abbasid Empire developed an extraordinary level of power. It is widely said that, together with the Umayyads, they formed the greatest Islamic empires, spanning a combined legacy of 1,425 years. Later on, certain remnants of the Umayyad lineage migrated to Andalusia, where they established an Arab dynasty, while others went on to establish the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul, Turkey. Meanwhile, Abbas established the Abbasid Empire in the central regions. Later, some of the close associates and subjects of the Abbasids moved toward the Samanid territory and other sectors of the region, establishing an offshoot of the Abbasid Empire there. This was the greatest Empire of its era, one that defied all rivals, boasting a massive standing army. Furthermore, during this golden period, the state prohibited the official use of any language other than Arabic. Six absolute kings ruled within the heart of this Empire, followed by subsequent Abbasid rulers and their loyal followers. As the years progressed, around the year 1355\text{ AH} (calculated from the Prophet's Hijrah from Mecca to Medina), European colonial powers violently intervened in the affairs of the Arab Empire. They completely disrupted their geopolitical calculations. The colonizers introduced the concept that a woman had the legitimate right to hold sovereign power, drawing parallels to patterns seen in other continents, such as India and China, where female dynastic heirs were common. In English, such a ruler is termed an Empress, while in Arabic she is called a Sultanah. An Empress usually attained this supreme status by virtue of being the King’s primary wife, a royal consort, or a favored palace concubine, with the ultimate elevation to Empress being triggered by her giving birth to a male heir. Consequently, it mattered very little whether it was the primary queen who secured this opportunity; her singular obsession was merely to produce a male child who would serve as her ultimate shield and political armor. From the precise moment it was announced that a royal wife had conceived, every medical practitioner and traditional pharmacist within the kingdom would be summoned to aggressively monitor her health. If the pregnant woman was a concubine, she would be placed in absolute solitary confinement to prevent rivals from administering poison or anything that could terminate the fetus. Ever since the Europeans introduced this system to them, a dark pattern emerged where sultans began dying in rapid succession; a king would barely complete a year on the throne before he mysteriously perished, or his wife would die, or her male heir would be struck down. It reached a point in the Samanid Empire where the high-ranking members of the royal household actively dreaded taking power, and the crown princes developed a deep, paralyzing fear of ascending to the throne as Sultan.
The Inner Palace of the Samanid Empire
Abdus Samad bin Hubaish bin Aamaan al-Maktum. He was the ninth Sultan of the Samanid Empire, and he had survived on the throne for fifteen years. He was married to the daughter of one of the chief crown princes of the kingdom, Fazilatul Nisa. Her father was Hood bin Abdul Munaf bin Basra al-Maktum, who stood prominently in the direct line of succession. Thus, when Sultan Abdus Samad was in his fifth year of rule, Hood forced him into this marriage, despite the Sultan's fierce reluctance, which stemmed from his terror that any pregnancy would mark her for death. Because the empire had become tightly gripped by what appeared to be a cultist curse, nothing ever consumed their marriage; in fact, the Sultan completely boycotted her intimacy. He voluntarily went on a forced journey of exile to the city of Cordoba, where he crossed paths with a young slave girl named Hoyam. He brought her back into the empire in absolute secrecy, relying solely on Narmin, his trusted personal maidservant who had raised him from childhood. When he first presented Hoyam to Narmin, the girl was a mere child of no more than sixteen years, so he temporarily put her out of his mind until several years had passed. He only remembered her later when he began suffering from a profound lack of heirs. Initially, he hadn't cared, but later, as pressure mounted intensely from all sides—particularly from Sultana Fazilatul Nisa—the anxiety began to heavily weigh on his mind. It was during this period of crisis that he sought out Hoyam. From the moment the Sultan began targeting the young girl, he completely ceased visiting the Sultana's quarters. The Sultana's anxiety flared violently. She relied heavily on her two most trusted and loyal servants, Shairah and Narjis. Narjis was a woman, while Shairah was an effeminate, gender-fluid man (Ιan daudu). Shairah was the internal supervisor who administered physical enhancement herbs to every concubine in the palace and oversaw their physical grooming. Narjis, on the other hand, was the Sultana’s shadow; absolutely nothing could be executed without her knowledge, and she served as the backbone of all the Sultana's covert operations. Sultana Fazilatul Nisa was currently pacing the center of her chamber, draped in an extravagant gown encrusted with precious jewels, her head and neck adorned with a crown of flawless pearls. Stroking her neck, she exuded an aura of absolute arrogance, malice, and royal authority. Her eyes flared as she demanded: "How on earth did Abdus Samad manage to harbor a slave girl inside this palace without my knowledge?" Narjis and Shairah instantly dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in deep humiliation, chanting: "We are certain that we are worthless, unblessed failures, since our presence has proven useless to you! Sultana, we willingly surrender our heads and bodies as a sacrifice for your anger. Draw your sword and decapitate oppressors like us!" She drew in a sharp breath, turned her back to them, and barked: "Narmin!" Her body trembling with fear, Narjis rushed out of the room, heading straight toward the servants' quarters located near the outermost gates of the palace. She slammed heavily on Narmin's door. Inside, Narmin and Hoyam locked eyes in pure terror. Narmin quickly hid Hoyam out of sight before pulling the door open. The guards backing Narjis aggressively pushed past Narmin, ransacking the room. During their intensive search, they discovered Hoyam because she accidentally sneezed. Out of respect for Narmin’s status, they did not abuse them, but they marched both women out under heavy guard, with neither woman uttering a word. When they arrived at the Sultana’s quarters, they collapsed to their knees. The Sultana was reclining elegantly on a magnificent carpet, idly playing with an apple in her hand. A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room for nearly half an hour before she finally glanced at Shairah. With a stylized, effeminate gesture, Shairah sneered at Narmin: "May the wrath of Allah be established upon you for this treason! Today, I see exactly what prevents a woman from growing a beard while granting it to men!" "Hmm!" the Sultana murmured. "You might as well stand up and get out of here, because the Sultana wishes to speak directly with the object you have been hiding!" Shairah snapped. Narmin stood up, keeping her head bowed respectfully, and said, "My head and my body belong entirely to Sultan Abdus Samad. Likewise, Hoyam belongs strictly to him. I beg the Sultana’s ultimate mercy; please do not harm Hoyam. She is just an innocent child who knows absolutely nothing of palace politics." The Sultana dropped the apple from her hand, turning a cold gaze upon Narmin. "Are you attempting to lecture me on the very rules I was born into?" Narmin instantly dropped back to her knees to plead, but the heavy doors of the chamber were suddenly thrown open. The Sultan strode into the room, dressed in a long, olive-green royal robe, his thick hair falling past his shoulder blades. He looked at the scene with absolute calm. At his silent command, everyone instantly cleared out of the room, leaving only Hoyam kneeling before the furious Sultana. "Abdus Samad! What is the meaning of this wretched slave girl? Does she possess a higher lineage than I do? Tell me how much you bought her for, so I can pay you back and buy her freedom!"
Page 2
Abdus Samad gently lifted Hoyam to her feet, ignoring his wife. He raised Hoyam's chin, noticing she was weeping bitterly, trembling as though her flesh were being torn apart by pure terror. "Cease your crying. You have me by your side! Go outside; Narmin is waiting for you," he told her softly. Slowly, she pulled herself away and exited the chamber, sobbing heavily. At the threshold, she met Narmin, who took her hand and guided her back toward the concubines' wing. As they walked, the other slave girls stared at Hoyam, whispering maliciously under their breath, recognizing her as the girl who held the Sultan’s heart. Jealousy consumed them, especially seeing Hoyam dressed in fine, Western-style garments—a clear sign that the Sultan cherished her deeply. The moment they reached their private quarters, Hoyam broke down in absolute terror. "Narmin, I am terrified they will come back for me." "Do not worry. The Sultan is fully aware of everything, and he will never allow anyone to harm you. Stop crying." Hoyam nodded weakly, looking at her anxiously. "Why did she summon us?" Narmin remained silent, organizing the items the guards had scattered during the raid. "You haven't answered me," Hoyam pressed. "Because up until this very day, no one in this empire is certain if the Sultan will ever produce a male heir, since none of his consorts conceive. I strictly warn you: never accept food from anyone else. Accepting food from anyone here means inviting catastrophe. Never allow anyone to give you anything to drink; doing so is fatal." "Why are you giving me such harsh rules?" "Because they will use any opportunity to ensure you are added to the list of women who can never bear children for the Sultan. The day you conceive a child for the Sultan is the day you stop being called a slave girl or a concubine—you will become an Empress. Reaching that level is a literal matter of life and death, because..." A violent knock rattled the door. Narmin rushed to open it. It was the Sultana, fuming with rage, staring down at Narmin. "Where is the hypocrite? What witchcraft did you use on the Sultan to make him choose her as his favorite concubine? Tell me your price, and I will pay you off!" "Sultana! The concubines are watching you. Do not compromise your royal dignity; they will turn this into palace gossip!" Narjis whispered, attempting to calm her. Shairah nodded in agreement, adding, "Sultana, please." Furious, the Sultana turned on her heel and marched away. As soon as she returned to the common courtyard of the concubines, she announced loudly: "I will personally poison any woman the Sultan isolates for himself! Whichever concubine gets invited to his royal bedchamber without my express permission, I will make her rewrite her destiny in blood!" She hissed, turned her back on them, and raised her hand commandingly. "Darda, flog Hoyam mercilessly for me!" As if receiving a sudden divine intervention, the Sultana abruptly turned around and stopped Darda, stepping directly in front of Hoyam. She fumed, especially seeing the young girl staring back at her with wide, unblinking eyes. She delivered a resounding slap across Hoyam's face, the Sultan's previous words echoing painfully in her mind: --- "What do you take me for? Have you turned me into a mere bystander? Sultan, when was the last time you invited me to your royal bed? So you have been harboring a girl on the side? You accustomed me to prepping your concubines whenever you desired them, yet you have been betraying me all along? What do I lack that drove you to hide this child?" He had offered a tiny, dismissive smile, keeping his eyes fixed on his signet ring, and replied coolly: "If you are quite finished, I shall take my leave." Frantic, she had cried out, "Sultan!!!" He turned toward the door to exit. "What do I lack?!" she screamed. He stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and locked a cold gaze onto her. "You were chosen for me by my Uncle! She, however, is the choice of my heart. Therefore, even if I do not grant her the official rank of my wife, I will keep her as my most cherished concubine! I swear by Allah, if any harm comes to her, I will personally demote your rank from Sultana to a mere Ameerah." She had stood there, mouth agape, staring in utter disbelief. Having delivered his ultimatum, he left the chamber. She had let out a piercing shriek, collapsing to the floor. It was only after his departure that she had stormed out to confront Hoyam. "Sultana, do not make reckless decisions in the heat of anger," Shairah urged, following her back to her private quarters. "We can destroy her slowly and quietly. Acting publicly like this damages your royal prestige while the servants watch. You must be strategic." The Sultana ignored him, entering her quarters and violently smashing everything in sight, including the full-length mirrors, weeping hysterically. "My ambition! The ambition of my entire lineage to secure the crown imperial is being threatened! The Sultan is planning to cast me aside." "Shairah, grant me immediate access to my father!" Standing at the doorway, Shairah bowed slightly. "May Allah soothe your heart, Sultana." She sat amidst the ruin of her room, weeping bitterly over the deep sting of the Sultan's betrayal. Following her dramatic exit, the remaining concubines surrounded Hoyam, sneering: "May the wrath of Allah be firmly established upon you for disrupting the peace of the Sultana!" Narmin lifted the weeping girl and guided her to her designated room. Hoyam was too choked with tears to speak. "Dry your tears," Narmin instructed gently. "Tonight marks your first official invitation to the Sultan's royal bedchamber. You must strictly remember everything I told you: keep your nose out of palace business." "I am not going anywhere!" Hoyam cried. "Hmm," Narmin murmured, turning toward the adjoining bathroom. She prepped a bath infused with original Arabic oils and perfumes. She guided the girl inside, checking her thoroughly to ensure her purity and maidenhood were perfectly intact before leaving her to bathe. In a massive, highly opulent sector of the palace complex near the main entrance gates, Shairah requested an audience with Amir Hood Abdul Munaf. Within thirty seconds, a palace herald emerged to grant him entry. Shairah walked in slowly, finding the chief right-hand men of Sultan Abdus Samad gathered in counsel. He greeted them respectfully, then approached the Sultana’s father, bowing low. "I wish to speak with you in absolute confidence." "Speak freely; I am listening," Amir Hood replied. "The Sultana is in a state of absolute psychological crisis and distress, due to a severe emotional betrayal by the Sultan." Amir Hood frowned. "Shairah, I do not comprehend your meaning." "Well, it is a complex palace riddle," Shairah answered smoothly, tailoring his speech to Amir Hood's understanding. "You know how things usually work; normally, captive women are brought in as tribute for the Sultan. But this time, the Sultan spotted a beautiful wild gazelle himself, smuggled her into the palace, and has been privately sustaining her on the side." Amir Hood closed his eyes, then turned to the Sultana’s elder brother, Abdul Mannan. He stood up and signaled for Abdul Mannan and Shairah to follow him outside. Being eloquent Arabs well-versed in metaphors (Balaaga), they instantly decoded Shairah’s underlying message. Anger simmered beneath their calm exteriors. They were deeply astonished by how the Sultan had managed to keep a slave girl entirely for himself without running her through the mandatory palace screening processes. According to palace law, any woman captured in war or purchased must be handed over directly to Narjis and Shairah for rigorous medical evaluation. Yet, the Sultan had bypassed the system completely. Amir Ansas looked at the council members in pure disbelief. "Does Abdus Samad take us for fools? How dare he isolate a slave girl for himself? What the Sultan is implying is that he is too elite to share the common concubines provided for him, choosing to hunt for his own on the side! If our current selection does not please his tastes, our own daughters are readily available!" Amir Hood looked at them sharply, maintaining a calculated, diplomatic demeanor before speaking smoothly: "I believe this is being blown out of proportion. He is the Sultan, and he possesses the absolute right to choose what pleases his heart without being forced. I see no reason to panic. I have dispatched Abdul Mannan to soothe his sister. You know how women get over jealousy, but I assure you, by Allah, there is no cause for alarm." "Amir Ansas speaks the truth," another answered. "No one here is a child. The Sultan has violated a sacred palace decree established by our ancestors. This is an act of blatant injustice." "Amir Kaisan, it is highly vital that you speak to him, since you were a close ally of his late father. If he refuses to listen to you, we will intervene collectively and force him to discard this slave girl." Using a soft, deferential tone, Amir Hood spent a long time pacifying the council, but they ultimately left in a fit of rage, deeply unsatisfied with the Sultan's breaking of protocol. Meanwhile, Abdul Mannan arrived at the Sultana's quarters to find that the scandalous news had already spread like wildfire across the palace; servants and guards alike were whispering about it. Abdul Mannan closed his eyes, his blood boiling with intense fury. The moment he stepped into the Sultana's room, she rushed forward and collapsed against his chest, weeping hysterically. "My brother! I am going to die! The Sultan has hidden a slave girl in a private wing, telling me to my face that I was merely a political choice forced upon him by his Uncle, while she is the true choice of his heart!" "Shh! That is enough!" Abdul Mannan cut her off firmly. "I will take this matter directly to Abbu. Dry your tears this instant! Since when does a daughter of our lineage weep over a man’s jealousy? We are warriors who slaughter elite men on the battlefield; we do not weep! Our father is a man of legendary bravery and a iron heart. Do not ever let a mere slave girl make you cry when you have three powerful brothers alive to fight for you: myself, Abdul Mannan, Raheeb, and Lukman!" He spent a long time comforting her, promising her that their father would handle the matter personally. Once her tears subsided, they sat down to discuss the brewing crisis within the palace—most notably her persistent inability to produce an heir. The thought filled her with dread, because she knew with absolute certainty that if she failed to bear a male child, the other crown princes would instantly move to strip her lineage of the throne...
2. Narrative Summary
This text introduces a historical drama set within a fictionalized or romanticized Middle Eastern/Islamic imperial backdrop—specifically the Samanid Empire—blending actual Islamic history (the Umayyad and Abbasid eras) with an intense palace intrigue narrative.
The Historical Prologue: The story begins with a brief chronicle of early Islamic history, tracking the expansion from the Rightly Guided Caliphate through the Umayyads and Abbasids, before introducing a fictionalized era influenced by European colonial adjustments to succession laws (allowing the rise of the title of Sultanah or Empress tied to producing a male heir).
The Royal Curse: In the Samanid Empire, a mysterious, cult-like curse causes Sultans and their male heirs to die in rapid succession, making crown princes terrified of ascending the throne.
The Private Rebellion:Sultan Abdus Samad has boycotted his politically forced marriage to Sultana Fazilatul Nisa (daughter of the powerful Amir Hood) and secretly brought a young girl, Hoyam, from Cordoba to be his favored concubine.
Palace Backlash: The discovery of Hoyam triggers a massive structural crisis. The Sultana goes into a destructive rage, her effeminate fixer Shairah leaks the news to her family, and the imperial council views the Sultan's bypassing of concubine screening protocols as a dangerous violation of ancestral law.
3. Structural and Literary Analysis
Character Hierarchy & Roles
Sultan Abdus Samad: The sovereign ruler. He uses his absolute authority to protect Hoyam, framing his marriage to the Sultana as a political imposition while claiming Hoyam as the "choice of his heart."
Sultana Fazilatul Nisa: The primary wife. Her power is institutional, backed by her father's powerful faction of crown princes. Her primary anxiety is her infertility, which threatens her family's hold on the crown.
Hoyam: The catalyst. A vulnerable, young captive girl from Cordoba who represents a threat to the established palace order simply by holding the Sultan's affection.
Shairah & Narjis: The palace enforcers. Shairah represents the classic trope of the hyper-perceptive, effeminate palace coordinator who handles internal aesthetics and political espionage.
Key Literary Themes
Love vs. Political Dynasty: The central conflict relies heavily on the tension between institutional marriages designed to consolidate power (the Sultana) and individual emotional agency (Hoyam).
The Politics of the Royal Womb: The text underscores a brutal systemic reality: a woman's survival and elevation within this court system are strictly tied to her reproductive capacity (producing a male heir). Infertility equals political erasure.
Metaphorical Language (Balaaga): The characters communicate using sophisticated, coded Arabic metaphors (e.g., Shairah describing Hoyam as a "beautiful wild gazelle caught directly by the Sultan"), showcasing how power and scandal are negotiated through stylized speech.
Front Matter & Dedication
TWO EMPIRES
The Historical
BOOK ONEIn the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
This dedication is purely yours! Mother of ABUNA! You said I should reduce the size of the Kingdom of Jordan πππ€© My mother, here is your book, a complete and entire single piece given to you as a gift, entirely for you.
'''A special token of appreciation to you all:
Batul Ghana and Mom Sayeed
My Juwairiya Nasir and Mom Ases and Maman Khadijah and Sadeeq
May you remain respected forever π
My special greetings to you, Aunty Safiya Danjuma Jos π'''
Page 1
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away in the year 632\text{ AD} on the 8th of June. (Historians, you may provide further clarification or correction if I have made an error; it is no sin π).
Following his demise, the Companions entered into deep consultations, whereupon Sayyiduna Abubakar was installed as leader. After two years, Allah took his life following a severe bout of fever that he suffered from. After him, the mantle was passed to Sayyiduna Umar, who ruled for five to seven years before he passed away.
At that time, Sayyiduna Usman was in Damascus, Syria, having traveled for trade. The Caliphate was pledged to him—meaning he was made the Amirul Muminin (Commander of the Faithful)—without his immediate knowledge.
He too did not last long before Allah reclaimed his soul, and the position was given to Sayyiduna Ali, who also held it for a period before he passed away. However, up until that time, the Islamic state had not expanded massively. Its boundaries were limited strictly to the Arabian Peninsula—namely the regions of Medina, Mecca, and certain other sectors of the Arabian Peninsula. After some time, the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Rashidun) continued. During that Caliphate, propagation (Da'wah) was carried out, but he himself did not establish an empire; he ruled at a time when some individuals within his caravan began to commit acts of high-handedness and oppression.
Furthermore, he was the one who introduced general Arab cultural traditions to the pagan Arabs.
From that point, the Umayyad Dynasty established its empire, spanning from the year 661\text{ AD} to 750\text{ AD}. The Umayyad was the Islamic empire that grew the widest and longest, attaining a truly astonishing size. The Umayyads completely conquered the entire Arabian Peninsula. If we examine the territories they occupied, they include:
And several other regions of the Arabian Peninsula. However, they did not manage to penetrate into Persia or Greece at that time. During the Umayyad Caliphate, non-Muslims were not subjected to extreme harshness; in fact, their administrative system differed fundamentally from that of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. This inclusive approach attracted many non-Muslims to embrace the religion of Islam.
Due to the sheer concentrated strength of the Umayyad rule, rumors began circulating that the capital of Islam would be shifted from Medina to Damascus. Out of sheer necessity, the leader was forced to return to Medina to prevent an Islamic counter-revolution from breaking out.
Consequently, it came to pass that there were two distinct capitals of Islam—one in Damascus and one in Medina—a situation that threatened to compromise the global prestige and integrity of Islam at the time.
From the year 750\text{ AD} to 1258\text{ AD}, the Abbasids established their own empire. Calculating from the year of the passing of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the Abbasid Dynasty rolled on for centuries.
The Abbasids completely dominated the entire Gulf region all the way into the European continent. Among the vast territories occupied by the Abbasid Empire were:
Iraq
As well as portions of the African continent, such as Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and territories across the Blue Nile. Furthermore, Islam crossed all the way to the shores of the Red Sea, extending into Sudan. From there, it advanced into other regions of Southern Africa and the Sahara, making its way directly into Egypt.
The main capital of the Abbasids was located in Baghdad. At that time, non-Muslims paid a specific tax known as Jizyah at a rate of 2.5%, which was utilized to distribute charity. (I am not entirely sure of the specific everyday Hausa term for it, but it is referred to as Haddaya in Arabic).
The administrative structure of the Abbasid Empire developed an extraordinary level of power. It is widely said that, together with the Umayyads, they formed the greatest Islamic empires, spanning a combined legacy of 1,425 years.
Later on, certain remnants of the Umayyad lineage migrated to Andalusia, where they established an Arab dynasty, while others went on to establish the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul, Turkey.
Meanwhile, Abbas established the Abbasid Empire in the central regions. Later, some of the close associates and subjects of the Abbasids moved toward the Samanid territory and other sectors of the region, establishing an offshoot of the Abbasid Empire there.
This was the greatest Empire of its era, one that defied all rivals, boasting a massive standing army. Furthermore, during this golden period, the state prohibited the official use of any language other than Arabic. Six absolute kings ruled within the heart of this Empire, followed by subsequent Abbasid rulers and their loyal followers.
As the years progressed, around the year 1355\text{ AH} (calculated from the Prophet's Hijrah from Mecca to Medina), European colonial powers violently intervened in the affairs of the Arab Empire.
They completely disrupted their geopolitical calculations. The colonizers introduced the concept that a woman had the legitimate right to hold sovereign power, drawing parallels to patterns seen in other continents, such as India and China, where female dynastic heirs were common. In English, such a ruler is termed an Empress, while in Arabic she is called a Sultanah.
An Empress usually attained this supreme status by virtue of being the King’s primary wife, a royal consort, or a favored palace concubine, with the ultimate elevation to Empress being triggered by her giving birth to a male heir.
Consequently, it mattered very little whether it was the primary queen who secured this opportunity; her singular obsession was merely to produce a male child who would serve as her ultimate shield and political armor.
From the precise moment it was announced that a royal wife had conceived, every medical practitioner and traditional pharmacist within the kingdom would be summoned to aggressively monitor her health. If the pregnant woman was a concubine, she would be placed in absolute solitary confinement to prevent rivals from administering poison or anything that could terminate the fetus.
Ever since the Europeans introduced this system to them, a dark pattern emerged where sultans began dying in rapid succession; a king would barely complete a year on the throne before he mysteriously perished, or his wife would die, or her male heir would be struck down.
It reached a point in the Samanid Empire where the high-ranking members of the royal household actively dreaded taking power, and the crown princes developed a deep, paralyzing fear of ascending to the throne as Sultan.
The Inner Palace of the Samanid Empire
Abdus Samad bin Hubaish bin Aamaan al-Maktum.
He was the ninth Sultan of the Samanid Empire, and he had survived on the throne for fifteen years. He was married to the daughter of one of the chief crown princes of the kingdom, Fazilatul Nisa. Her father was Hood bin Abdul Munaf bin Basra al-Maktum, who stood prominently in the direct line of succession. Thus, when Sultan Abdus Samad was in his fifth year of rule, Hood forced him into this marriage, despite the Sultan's fierce reluctance, which stemmed from his terror that any pregnancy would mark her for death.
Because the empire had become tightly gripped by what appeared to be a cultist curse, nothing ever consumed their marriage; in fact, the Sultan completely boycotted her intimacy. He voluntarily went on a forced journey of exile to the city of Cordoba, where he crossed paths with a young slave girl named Hoyam.
He brought her back into the empire in absolute secrecy, relying solely on Narmin, his trusted personal maidservant who had raised him from childhood. When he first presented Hoyam to Narmin, the girl was a mere child of no more than sixteen years, so he temporarily put her out of his mind until several years had passed.
He only remembered her later when he began suffering from a profound lack of heirs. Initially, he hadn't cared, but later, as pressure mounted intensely from all sides—particularly from Sultana Fazilatul Nisa—the anxiety began to heavily weigh on his mind.
It was during this period of crisis that he sought out Hoyam. From the moment the Sultan began targeting the young girl, he completely ceased visiting the Sultana's quarters. The Sultana's anxiety flared violently. She relied heavily on her two most trusted and loyal servants, Shairah and Narjis. Narjis was a woman, while Shairah was an effeminate, gender-fluid man (Ιan daudu). Shairah was the internal supervisor who administered physical enhancement herbs to every concubine in the palace and oversaw their physical grooming.
Narjis, on the other hand, was the Sultana’s shadow; absolutely nothing could be executed without her knowledge, and she served as the backbone of all the Sultana's covert operations.
Sultana Fazilatul Nisa was currently pacing the center of her chamber, draped in an extravagant gown encrusted with precious jewels, her head and neck adorned with a crown of flawless pearls. Stroking her neck, she exuded an aura of absolute arrogance, malice, and royal authority. Her eyes flared as she demanded:
"How on earth did Abdus Samad manage to harbor a slave girl inside this palace without my knowledge?"
Narjis and Shairah instantly dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in deep humiliation, chanting:
"We are certain that we are worthless, unblessed failures, since our presence has proven useless to you! Sultana, we willingly surrender our heads and bodies as a sacrifice for your anger. Draw your sword and decapitate oppressors like us!"
She drew in a sharp breath, turned her back to them, and barked: "Narmin!"
Her body trembling with fear, Narjis rushed out of the room, heading straight toward the servants' quarters located near the outermost gates of the palace. She slammed heavily on Narmin's door.
Inside, Narmin and Hoyam locked eyes in pure terror. Narmin quickly hid Hoyam out of sight before pulling the door open.
The guards backing Narjis aggressively pushed past Narmin, ransacking the room. During their intensive search, they discovered Hoyam because she accidentally sneezed. Out of respect for Narmin’s status, they did not abuse them, but they marched both women out under heavy guard, with neither woman uttering a word.
When they arrived at the Sultana’s quarters, they collapsed to their knees. The Sultana was reclining elegantly on a magnificent carpet, idly playing with an apple in her hand. A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room for nearly half an hour before she finally glanced at Shairah.
With a stylized, effeminate gesture, Shairah sneered at Narmin:
"May the wrath of Allah be established upon you for this treason! Today, I see exactly what prevents a woman from growing a beard while granting it to men!"
"Hmm!" the Sultana murmured.
"You might as well stand up and get out of here, because the Sultana wishes to speak directly with the object you have been hiding!" Shairah snapped.
Narmin stood up, keeping her head bowed respectfully, and said, "My head and my body belong entirely to Sultan Abdus Samad. Likewise, Hoyam belongs strictly to him. I beg the Sultana’s ultimate mercy; please do not harm Hoyam. She is just an innocent child who knows absolutely nothing of palace politics."
The Sultana dropped the apple from her hand, turning a cold gaze upon Narmin. "Are you attempting to lecture me on the very rules I was born into?"
Narmin instantly dropped back to her knees to plead, but the heavy doors of the chamber were suddenly thrown open. The Sultan strode into the room, dressed in a long, olive-green royal robe, his thick hair falling past his shoulder blades. He looked at the scene with absolute calm.
At his silent command, everyone instantly cleared out of the room, leaving only Hoyam kneeling before the furious Sultana.
"Abdus Samad! What is the meaning of this wretched slave girl? Does she possess a higher lineage than I do? Tell me how much you bought her for, so I can pay you back and buy her freedom!"
Page 2
Abdus Samad gently lifted Hoyam to her feet, ignoring his wife. He raised Hoyam's chin, noticing she was weeping bitterly, trembling as though her flesh were being torn apart by pure terror.
"Cease your crying. You have me by your side! Go outside; Narmin is waiting for you," he told her softly.
Slowly, she pulled herself away and exited the chamber, sobbing heavily. At the threshold, she met Narmin, who took her hand and guided her back toward the concubines' wing. As they walked, the other slave girls stared at Hoyam, whispering maliciously under their breath, recognizing her as the girl who held the Sultan’s heart.
Jealousy consumed them, especially seeing Hoyam dressed in fine, Western-style garments—a clear sign that the Sultan cherished her deeply. The moment they reached their private quarters, Hoyam broke down in absolute terror.
"Narmin, I am terrified they will come back for me."
"Do not worry. The Sultan is fully aware of everything, and he will never allow anyone to harm you. Stop crying."
Hoyam nodded weakly, looking at her anxiously. "Why did she summon us?"
Narmin remained silent, organizing the items the guards had scattered during the raid.
"You haven't answered me," Hoyam pressed.
"Because up until this very day, no one in this empire is certain if the Sultan will ever produce a male heir, since none of his consorts conceive. I strictly warn you: never accept food from anyone else. Accepting food from anyone here means inviting catastrophe. Never allow anyone to give you anything to drink; doing so is fatal."
"Why are you giving me such harsh rules?"
"Because they will use any opportunity to ensure you are added to the list of women who can never bear children for the Sultan. The day you conceive a child for the Sultan is the day you stop being called a slave girl or a concubine—you will become an Empress. Reaching that level is a literal matter of life and death, because..."
A violent knock rattled the door. Narmin rushed to open it. It was the Sultana, fuming with rage, staring down at Narmin.
"Where is the hypocrite? What witchcraft did you use on the Sultan to make him choose her as his favorite concubine? Tell me your price, and I will pay you off!"
"Sultana! The concubines are watching you. Do not compromise your royal dignity; they will turn this into palace gossip!" Narjis whispered, attempting to calm her.
Shairah nodded in agreement, adding, "Sultana, please."
Furious, the Sultana turned on her heel and marched away. As soon as she returned to the common courtyard of the concubines, she announced loudly:
"I will personally poison any woman the Sultan isolates for himself! Whichever concubine gets invited to his royal bedchamber without my express permission, I will make her rewrite her destiny in blood!"
She hissed, turned her back on them, and raised her hand commandingly. "Darda, flog Hoyam mercilessly for me!"
As if receiving a sudden divine intervention, the Sultana abruptly turned around and stopped Darda, stepping directly in front of Hoyam. She fumed, especially seeing the young girl staring back at her with wide, unblinking eyes.
She delivered a resounding slap across Hoyam's face, the Sultan's previous words echoing painfully in her mind:
--- "What do you take me for? Have you turned me into a mere bystander? Sultan, when was the last time you invited me to your royal bed? So you have been harboring a girl on the side? You accustomed me to prepping your concubines whenever you desired them, yet you have been betraying me all along? What do I lack that drove you to hide this child?"
He had offered a tiny, dismissive smile, keeping his eyes fixed on his signet ring, and replied coolly:
"If you are quite finished, I shall take my leave."
Frantic, she had cried out, "Sultan!!!"
He turned toward the door to exit. "What do I lack?!" she screamed.
He stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and locked a cold gaze onto her.
"You were chosen for me by my Uncle! She, however, is the choice of my heart. Therefore, even if I do not grant her the official rank of my wife, I will keep her as my most cherished concubine! I swear by Allah, if any harm comes to her, I will personally demote your rank from Sultana to a mere Ameerah."
She had stood there, mouth agape, staring in utter disbelief. Having delivered his ultimatum, he left the chamber. She had let out a piercing shriek, collapsing to the floor. It was only after his departure that she had stormed out to confront Hoyam.
"Sultana, do not make reckless decisions in the heat of anger," Shairah urged, following her back to her private quarters. "We can destroy her slowly and quietly. Acting publicly like this damages your royal prestige while the servants watch. You must be strategic."
The Sultana ignored him, entering her quarters and violently smashing everything in sight, including the full-length mirrors, weeping hysterically.
"My ambition! The ambition of my entire lineage to secure the crown imperial is being threatened! The Sultan is planning to cast me aside."
"Shairah, grant me immediate access to my father!"
Standing at the doorway, Shairah bowed slightly. "May Allah soothe your heart, Sultana."
She sat amidst the ruin of her room, weeping bitterly over the deep sting of the Sultan's betrayal.
Following her dramatic exit, the remaining concubines surrounded Hoyam, sneering: "May the wrath of Allah be firmly established upon you for disrupting the peace of the Sultana!"
Narmin lifted the weeping girl and guided her to her designated room. Hoyam was too choked with tears to speak.
"Dry your tears," Narmin instructed gently. "Tonight marks your first official invitation to the Sultan's royal bedchamber. You must strictly remember everything I told you: keep your nose out of palace business."
"I am not going anywhere!" Hoyam cried.
"Hmm," Narmin murmured, turning toward the adjoining bathroom. She prepped a bath infused with original Arabic oils and perfumes. She guided the girl inside, checking her thoroughly to ensure her purity and maidenhood were perfectly intact before leaving her to bathe.
In a massive, highly opulent sector of the palace complex near the main entrance gates, Shairah requested an audience with Amir Hood Abdul Munaf. Within thirty seconds, a palace herald emerged to grant him entry. Shairah walked in slowly, finding the chief right-hand men of Sultan Abdus Samad gathered in counsel.
He greeted them respectfully, then approached the Sultana’s father, bowing low. "I wish to speak with you in absolute confidence."
"Speak freely; I am listening," Amir Hood replied.
"The Sultana is in a state of absolute psychological crisis and distress, due to a severe emotional betrayal by the Sultan."
Amir Hood frowned. "Shairah, I do not comprehend your meaning."
"Well, it is a complex palace riddle," Shairah answered smoothly, tailoring his speech to Amir Hood's understanding. "You know how things usually work; normally, captive women are brought in as tribute for the Sultan. But this time, the Sultan spotted a beautiful wild gazelle himself, smuggled her into the palace, and has been privately sustaining her on the side."
Amir Hood closed his eyes, then turned to the Sultana’s elder brother, Abdul Mannan. He stood up and signaled for Abdul Mannan and Shairah to follow him outside.
Being eloquent Arabs well-versed in metaphors (Balaaga), they instantly decoded Shairah’s underlying message. Anger simmered beneath their calm exteriors. They were deeply astonished by how the Sultan had managed to keep a slave girl entirely for himself without running her through the mandatory palace screening processes.
According to palace law, any woman captured in war or purchased must be handed over directly to Narjis and Shairah for rigorous medical evaluation. Yet, the Sultan had bypassed the system completely.
Amir Ansas looked at the council members in pure disbelief. "Does Abdus Samad take us for fools? How dare he isolate a slave girl for himself? What the Sultan is implying is that he is too elite to share the common concubines provided for him, choosing to hunt for his own on the side! If our current selection does not please his tastes, our own daughters are readily available!"
Amir Hood looked at them sharply, maintaining a calculated, diplomatic demeanor before speaking smoothly:
"I believe this is being blown out of proportion. He is the Sultan, and he possesses the absolute right to choose what pleases his heart without being forced. I see no reason to panic. I have dispatched Abdul Mannan to soothe his sister. You know how women get over jealousy, but I assure you, by Allah, there is no cause for alarm."
"Amir Ansas speaks the truth," another answered. "No one here is a child. The Sultan has violated a sacred palace decree established by our ancestors. This is an act of blatant injustice."
"Amir Kaisan, it is highly vital that you speak to him, since you were a close ally of his late father. If he refuses to listen to you, we will intervene collectively and force him to discard this slave girl."
Using a soft, deferential tone, Amir Hood spent a long time pacifying the council, but they ultimately left in a fit of rage, deeply unsatisfied with the Sultan's breaking of protocol.
Meanwhile, Abdul Mannan arrived at the Sultana's quarters to find that the scandalous news had already spread like wildfire across the palace; servants and guards alike were whispering about it. Abdul Mannan closed his eyes, his blood boiling with intense fury. The moment he stepped into the Sultana's room, she rushed forward and collapsed against his chest, weeping hysterically.
"My brother! I am going to die! The Sultan has hidden a slave girl in a private wing, telling me to my face that I was merely a political choice forced upon him by his Uncle, while she is the true choice of his heart!"
"Shh! That is enough!" Abdul Mannan cut her off firmly. "I will take this matter directly to Abbu. Dry your tears this instant! Since when does a daughter of our lineage weep over a man’s jealousy? We are warriors who slaughter elite men on the battlefield; we do not weep! Our father is a man of legendary bravery and a iron heart. Do not ever let a mere slave girl make you cry when you have three powerful brothers alive to fight for you: myself, Abdul Mannan, Raheeb, and Lukman!"
He spent a long time comforting her, promising her that their father would handle the matter personally.
Once her tears subsided, they sat down to discuss the brewing crisis within the palace—most notably her persistent inability to produce an heir. The thought filled her with dread, because she knew with absolute certainty that if she failed to bear a male child, the other crown princes would instantly move to strip her lineage of the throne...
2. Narrative Summary
This text introduces a historical drama set within a fictionalized or romanticized Middle Eastern/Islamic imperial backdrop—specifically the Samanid Empire—blending actual Islamic history (the Umayyad and Abbasid eras) with an intense palace intrigue narrative.
Palace Backlash: The discovery of Hoyam triggers a massive structural crisis. The Sultana goes into a destructive rage, her effeminate fixer Shairah leaks the news to her family, and the imperial council views the Sultan's bypassing of concubine screening protocols as a dangerous violation of ancestral law.
3. Structural and Literary Analysis
Character Hierarchy & Roles
Shairah & Narjis: The palace enforcers. Shairah represents the classic trope of the hyper-perceptive, effeminate palace coordinator who handles internal aesthetics and political espionage.
Key Literary Themes