Arslan Khatun, daughter of al-Qa'im

أرسلان خاتون بنت القائم

Daughter of the caliph al-Qa'im: the most famous political bride of the age — demanded in marriage by the seventy-year-old Tughril Beg in 454, delivered with mahr and trousseau to the Sultan's palace under the escort of Amid al-Mulk and the qadi of Rayy, and married in Safar 455 in a pavilion pitched from the Tigris to the palace, veiled on a gold-covered couch while the sultan kissed the ground and withdrew; during her father's captivity in 451 she sent him twelve large pearls asking that he count them as her tasbih 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
royal
Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Arslan Khatun, daughter of the caliph al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah — one of the most famous political marriages of the age. In 454 Sultan Tughril Beg sought her hand; the matter was long drawn out until she reached the caliphal palace on 8 Jumada al-Ula with 'Amid al-Mulk Abu Nasr and the qadi of Rayy, the dower and trousseau in their train; the caliph delayed the surrender until 'Amid al-Mulk pressed it to the contract witnessed by himself and the qadi. She was escorted to the Sultan on Monday night 15 Safar 455 with a pavilion pitched from the Tigris to the palace; the Sultan entered, kissed the ground and left without intimacy — she neither rose for him nor lifted her veil nor saw him — and he sent her two splendid necklaces and a red ruby; he was seventy when he married her. 2

Before the marriage

In 451, when al-Basasiri held the caliph's harem captive, she sent with 'Amid al-Mulk to her exiled father twelve large pearls, asking that he take them as prayer beads. 3

Connections

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Child of
al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah Abd Allah ibn al-Qadir
Spouse of
طغرل بك

People and things also explored

The battle of al-Basasiri and the sermon for the Ubaydi al-Mustansir in Baghdad· Marriage of the caliph's daughter to Tughrul Beg· The return of al-Qa'im from Haditha to Baghdad· The marriage of al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah to Tughril Beg's sister· Tughril Beg's Entry into Baghdad· Investiture of Tughril as King of the East and West by Caliph al-Qa'im· The death of al-Qadir and the accession of al-Qa'im bi-amr Allah, 422· The diwan manifesto impugning the Ubaydid genealogy

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.549,560-562
  2. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.560-562; shadharat-dhahab p.302-303
  3. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.549
  • Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Arslan Khatun, daughter of al-Qa'im”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/arslan-khatun/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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Related

The battle of al-Basasiri and the sermon for the Ubaydi al-Mustansir in Baghdad

Arslan al-Basasiri grew so mighty he was preached on the minbars and the caliph decided nothing without him; when his ill creed proved out and his plan to sack the palace surfaced, al-Qa'im wrote secretly to Tughrul Beg at Rayy. Tughrul came in 447; al-Basasiri fell back to Rahba, took the Egyptian al-Mustansir's money and the treacherous brother Inal's distraction. In 450 he entered Baghdad under Egyptian banners — the khutba went to al-Mustansir at the Mansur mosque, 'hayya ala khayr al-amal' entered the adhan — and seized the caliph in Dhu'l-Hijja, jailing him at Ana; the caliph's letter to God was hung on the Ka'ba. Tughrul killed Inal, had the caliph returned in honour on 25 Dhu'l-Qa'da 451, and al-Basasiri's head reached Baghdad.