John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Yemeni Princess Asma

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

Yemeni Princess Asma

Yemeni Princess Asma is named for Queen Asma bint Shihab, the “Little Queen of Sheba.”

In Yemen, Queen Asma bint Shihab is known as the Little Queen of Sheba and “the queen of resolution” because of her great wisdom. She is also commonly thought of as one of the nation’s greatest queens.

Asma was probably born sometime after 1020 A.D. She was beautiful, well-educated, and her family was so rich that they would only approve of her marrying a very important man. They finally chose Ali bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi.

In 1047, Ali bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi united the tribes in Yemen and became the Sultan of the Sulayhid Dynasty. Rather than leave Asma in the background, the new ruler included her as an active co-ruler. He valued and respected her so much that he gave her the title al-sayyida-al-hurra, which means “the noble lady who is free and independent; the woman sovereign who bows to no superior authority.” This status allowed Asma to do things no Muslim woman had done before. Her name was spoken with her husband’s in the Friday sermons, she went to counsel meetings without wearing a veil over her face, and was as involved as her husband in managing the country. It is said he didn’t make decisions without first talking to her.

In addition to her duties as queen, Asma was a big supporter of the arts and an outspoken poet who dedicated time to making sure her son and future daughter-in-law were given the best possible education.

Almost 20 years after becoming Sultan, Ali decided to travel to Mecca. He brought Queen Asma and their daughter Fatima but left his son al-Mukarram Ahmad at home to rule the country with his wife Awra.

They never made it to their destination.

As they traveled, they were attacked by the Najah family who governed one of the provinces in Yemen. The Najahid thought Ali had killed their dad, so they killed him. Queen Asma and her daughter were captured and taken as prisoners.

After a year in captivity, Asma snuck a letter into a loaf of bread and gave it to a beggar. It took some time, but the beggar finally made it to Asma’s palace and gave the message to her son. Al-Mukarram was so angry that he immediately gathered his army and set out to rescue his mom and sister. They successfully fought the Najahid and released his mom, sister, and other women who had been taken captive. However, al-Mukarram was severely injured and left partially paralyzed.

Once she was back home, Queen Asma took over as ruler. She effectively managed the country until she died in 1087.

One of the poets in Queen Asma’s court honored her by writing, “I say, when people magnified the throne of Bilquis, Asma hath obscured the name of the loftiest among the stars.”

Other Princess Bios

Works Cited