Lubna of Córdoba facts for kids

Lubna of Córdoba (Lubna Al-Qortobia) was a very smart woman from a long time ago, in a place called al-Andalus (which is now part of Spain). She lived in the 900s. Lubna was known for her excellent writing, her skills in math, and her beautiful poems. She started her life as an enslaved person but became a very important scholar and secretary in the palace.

Lubna's Early Life

We don't know much about Lubna's childhood. Most of what historians guess comes from what they know about other women in her situation back then.

Lubna was born in the Madīnat al-Zahrā palace. This was during the rule of Caliph Abd al-Rahman III, which started in 929. During his time, many enslaved people lived in Córdoba, and Lubna was one of them from birth.

It is believed that Lubna received a good education while living in the palace. This helped her become the smart scholar she was. Also, in Muslim rule, it was common to educate, free, and employ enslaved people for religious reasons.

Her Important Career

Lubna began her career as a copyist for the library of Al-Hakam II. He became the caliph in 961. A copyist is someone who carefully writes out copies of books and documents by hand.

Arab stories say that during Caliph Al-Hakam II's time, more than 170 educated women lived in parts of the city. These women were busy making copies of important books. This shows how much people valued learning and the role women played back then.

Al-Hakam II followed his father's example by freeing Lubna. He then made her his personal secretary and a palace scholar. One of her many jobs was to manage the huge library. She was perfect for this role because she had so much experience copying the books it held.

Lubna was one of at least 100 people freed by Al-Hakam II. If she received official papers, she would have joined the "freedmen" (mawla) social class. In 10th-century al-Andalus, it was common for former palace slaves to get powerful jobs. They were often trusted more than local politicians.

In the famous library of Córdoba, Lubna was in charge of finding, writing, and translating many important books. She studied these texts closely and wrote helpful notes and comments on them. Some of these books included works by famous mathematicians like Archimedes and Euclid. Along with Hasdai ibn Shaprut, she helped create the amazing library of Medina Azahara, which had at least 400,000 books!

Dr. Joyce E. Salisbury says that Lubna also helped people outside the palace. She taught math to children. As she walked back to the palace, children would follow her, happily reciting their multiplication tables.

Lubna was even included in a special book about scholars from Islamic Spain. This book, called 'Continuation of the scholarly history of al-Andalus', described her as "an intelligent writer, grammarian, poetess, knowledgeable in arithmetic, comprehensive in her learning; none in the palace was as noble as she...". It also said she had "great knowledge of mathematics and other sciences" and could solve "the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems known in her time."

Questions About Her Identity

There are some questions about Lubna's exact identity and her roles in the Madīnat al-Zahrā's library and palace.

You can find different versions of her name in old history books. But they all point to the same person, living at the same time, in the same place, and doing the same important jobs in the palace. Lubna has also been called Labna, Labanna/Labana, Libana, and Labona in different historical stories.

Writer Kamila Shamsie explains that what seems clear about Lubna of Cordoba is that she was connected to both the palace and the world of books during Al-Hakam II's rule. She was important enough to be remembered for how smart and learned she was. Shamsie also believes Lubna was most likely an enslaved person in the royal court.

Lubna's Lasting Legacy

A street in Córdoba was named after her in 2019. It's called Avenida Escriba Lubna, which means "Scribe Lubna Avenue." This honors her work as a copyist. She is one of 33 women recognized in a project called "Mujeres en las Calles de Córdoba" ('Women in the Streets of Cordoba').

An artist named Jose Luis Munoz created a portrait of Lubna. His art series shows six important people from the time of al-Andalus. You can see Lubna's portrait in the permanent exhibit at La Casa de Sefarad in Córdoba.

See also

In Spanish: Lubna de Córdoba para niños