Lalla Balqis

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Lalla Balqis also known as Lalla Bilqis (1670 - died after 1721), was a slave concubine of Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif (r. 1672–1727).

She was of English origin. In 1685, when she was fifteen years old, she and her mother was travelling to the English colony of Barbados, when their ship was attacked by barbary pirates. They were taken to the slave market in Morocco, where she was given as a gift to Sultan Ismail. She was converted to Islam under the name Balqis or Bilqis, and included in his harem. Her mother was however released and allowed to return to England with gifts and a letter of peace from the Sultan to king Charles II of England.^[1]

Aside from his four legal wives, , Zaydana, and Khnata bent Bakkar, the Sultan had thousands of slave concubines in his harem and hundreds of children.^[2] There were many European women in Sultan Ismail's harem, were both a Frenchwoman and an Irish Mrs Shaw is mentioned, but Lalla Balqis was to be one of the Sultan's favorites.

As favorite, she had some influence over the Sultan, who sometimes agreed to her requests. She came to be known among Europeans as the influential "Englishwoman" in the harem, and European priests and diplomats often successfully petitioned her for mediation with the Sultan when working to achieve the release of Europeans held in slavery in Morocco.^[3] She expressed herself always willing to help in such matters and often managed to mediate with the Sultan, securing the release of Europeans in exchange for the release of Moroccan galley slaves held in Europe, a task she, at least officially, referred to as a pious task motivated by Muslim devotion toward the Muslim galley slaves in Europe.^[4]

During the negotiations between Morocco and Great Britain in 1721, resulting in the Peace treaty of 1722, she was one of the influential harem women who was given diplomatic gifts by the British ambassador Charles Stewart.^[5]

See also[]

• Marthe Franceschini
• Helen Gloag

References[]