Farida (singer)

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Faridah al-Saghir (Arabic: فريدة الصغير), also simply Faridah (فريدة), was an Abbasid qiyan (enslaved court singer) born around 830. She sang at the Abbasid court of Caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). She originally belonged to the musician Amr ibn Bana and was presented to al-Wathiq. She studied with Shāriyah and became a prominent performer at both courts. She admired Ishaq al-Mawsili and defended his reputation when it was attacked, and she was a pupil of Fadl al-Sha'irah. Her name means "solitary," and she was often known as Faridah al-Saghir, meaning "Faridah the Younger." After al-Wathiq's death in 847, Amr presented her to al-Mutawakkil, whom he married; she became his favorite and his only wife. She died in the 860s or 870s and was buried in Samarra, where she had served in the Abbasid court.