Maridah entered the
Abbasid harem probably in 793/795. She was raised in the Abbasid household before kept her as
concubine. Maridah was a slave and she belonged to a Muslim family, other members of her family were also slaves. Maridah's father was Shabib. She was either
Sogdian or
Turkic, and it is believed that she was born in
Kufa. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun by
Zubaidah. She had five children. These were Abu Ishaq (future Caliph
Al-Mu'tasim), Abu Isma'il, Umm Habib, and two others whose names are unknown. She was Harun's favourite concubine. Her son, Muhammad, the future
al-Mu'tasim, was born in the
Khuld ("Eternity") Palace in
Baghdad, but the exact date is unclear: according to the historian
al-Tabari (839–923), his birth was placed either in
Sha'ban AH 180 (October 796 CE), or in AH 179 (Spring 796 CE or earlier). Maridah was the only Umm walad of Harun al-Rashid, who gave birth to his five children no other Umm walad had this prestige. Maridah lived most of her life in the
Caliph's Harem. Her sons were not in the line of succession as Harun al-Rashid kept his eldest sons as heirs. However, Maridah's elder son Abu Ishaq became caliph after his half-brother al-Mamun's death. Al-Mamun nominated Abu Ishaq as his successor on his death bed. ==References==