Nasrin

Nasrin: "She always drank from it, she asked me to give it to her. It's harmless!"

Abbas: "You call this harmless, Nasrin?"

—Nasrin trying to explain herself over Farah's death, 860s.^[src]^-[m]

Nasrin was a concubine who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century.

Biography[edit | edit source]

In the 860s, Nasrin was one of the caliph's concubines who frequented the harem in the Round City.^[1] After Caliph Al-Mutawakkil's death in 861,^[2] Nasrin and fellow concubine Farah soon began to talk with other concubines about Qabiha's waning influence despite her having been the late caliph's "Umm Walad" (Arabic: أم الولد, lit. 'mother of the child'), a woman who had birthed a child recognized by the ruler as his own.^[1]

Serving alongside Farah, Nasrin grew wary and suspicious of Makira, the harem's stewardess who still favored Qabiha. Unbeknownst to them, Makira targeted both women, seeing them as enemies to her mistress Qabiha. When the Alamut Hidden One Basim Ibn Ishaq infiltrated the harem by posing as an eunuch, Makira saw an opportunity to get rid of both of her rivals and tricked Basim into poisoning Farah and setting up Nasrin as the perpetrator.^[1]

When Farah drank from her flask and succumbed to the poison inside, Nasrin was immediately held responsible due to having given Farah the flask. Although Nasrin tried to plead innocence, a book planted in her room detailing the properties of various herbs, including those used to craft the poison, ruled out any chance of her being believed. The concubine was promptly taken away by the guards to be punished accordingly while Makira watched as her plan succeeded.^[1]