Sold as a slave to the great Abbasid Caliph, al-Khayzuran quickly rose to the very top of the pyramid. Through marriage and motherhood, she became wife of the caliph and then Queen Mother and in both instances she wielded extraordinary power. In the court at Baghdad - the very heart of the civilised world - al-Khayzuran had major influence and it is possible that during her lifetime, she was the most powerful woman in the world, determining politics from Morocco to Afghanistan. Some even say she assassinated one of her sons, and put a second on the throne. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Hugh Kennedy to discuss the extraordinary life of al-Khayzuran.
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40. Origins of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
39. Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt
38. Sykes-Picot: Carving up the Middle-East
37. The Armenian Genocide: Death Marches
36. The Armenian Genocide: Road to the Deportations
35. Gallipoli: Death at the Cliff Edge
34. The Sick Man of Europe
33. Lady Mary: Our Woman in Constantinople
32. The Greatest Ottoman Adventurer
31. Conquering the Night: The History of Coffee
30. Sultanas to Slaves: Voices from the Harem
29. The Tudors and the Turks
28. The Battle of Lepanto
27. The Siege of Cyprus
26. Suspicion and Sorrow in Suleiman's Court
25. Suleiman the Magnificent
24. The Fall of Constantinople
23. The First of the Ottomans
22. Byzantium and the Rise of the Turks
21. The Ottoman Empire
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