al-Khayzurān
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Al-Khayzurān was a woman of strong personality who significantly influenced state affairs during the reigns of her husband, the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdī, and her sons al-Hādī and Hārūn al-Rashīd. She was originally an enslaved girl from Yemen. Her influence was such that she is said to have induced al-Mahdī to name Hārūn as his successor. After al-Mahdī's death, al-Hādī became caliph, but when he died mysteriously, al-Khayzurān was rumored to be behind his death, as he had resisted her control. She continued to exert considerable influence over the government until her death in 789.1
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