This beautiful eulogy, dedicated by Ibn al-Khatib to the honourable lady Fatima, mother of sultan Isma’il I (1314– 1325) of Granada and regent of her grandsons Muhammad IV (1325– 1333) and Yusuf I (1333– 1354), is comparable to the words written by vizier Ibn ‘Asim for princess Umm al-Fath, Muhammad IX's (1419– 1427, 1429/ 30– 1431/ 32, 1432– 1445, 1447– 1450, 1450– 1453) wife, whose portrait emphasizes her sincerity, and her astounding knowledge in distinguishing and understanding social ranks and hierarchies. The fact that Fatima and Umm al-Fath were daughters of the Nasrid bloodline, and therefore could transmit the rights to the throne, was one of the qualities praised by both authors.

Genealogy and Lineage

A number of powerful women had influence in Granadan politics during the first half of the fifteenth century. Of the seven princesses and ladies who assumed power in some guise in the emirate of Granada, the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula where Islam was still vibrant, most of them are known only by their first name. This poses an immense problem for unearthing information about those powerful but forgotten women. Since the 1990s research about the emirate of Granada— known in Christian sources in several languages as the “Kingdom of Granada”— has undergone a revolution both in primary sources and in their interpretation. Some sultans who had not yet been identified because of the absence of systematic sources for their reigns were set in context, and the critical genealogical trees of the Nasrid dynasty were drawn for the first time.