The Qiyan of al-Andalus

The chapter looks at a specific group of enslaved and freed women performers in Islamic Spain (al-Andalus). The qiyan constituted a public and, often, prominent class of women, especially those individuals associated with the caliphal court. There is a comparatively rich body of documentary evidence about their training, their performances, their personalities, and their distinctive characteristics and talents. For a small number of individuals, there exist relatively complete biographies, although this information is usually presented as a series of separate anecdotes rather than as a cohesive narrative. For the majority, however, only brief glimpses of key moments in their lives are preserved. Relative to other classes of women and other categories of slaves, the qiyan offer a unique opportunity for the study of gender, slavery, and social relations in the medieval Islamic period.