Shaghab

Shaghab () (died 933) was the mother of the eighteenth Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir (), and wielded a considerable influence over state affairs during the reign of her son. She was commonly referred to only as Umm al-Muqtadir (mother of al-Muqtadir) or al-Sayyida (the lady).

==Early life== Shaghab was reportedly a , that is to say of Greek origin from the Byzantine Empire. She was originally a slave of Umm Qasim, a daughter of Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir, the Tahirīd governor of Baghdad in 851–867. Originally named ('gentle'), at some point—it is not recorded how or when—she entered the harem of Caliph al-Mu'tadid (), and became his concubine. After giving birth to Ja'far, the future al-Muqtadir, in 895, she was set free () and given the name ('turbulent'). This was a common practice at the time for girls, so as to "draw attention from their beauty, or, possibly, to ward off jealousy and misfortune".