Zubayda bint Ja`far

:"Zubaida redirects here; see also Sami Zubaida"Zubayda bint Ja`far ibn Mansur (Arabic: زبيدة بنت جعفر بن المنصور) (died 832) was granddaughter of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur, through his son Ja'far, and cousin (through mothers) of Harun al-Rashid (r.766-809), whom she later married (781).

She went on to become the best known of the Abbasid princesses. She and her husband's exploits are the subjects of "The Thousand and One Nights".

It is said that her palace 'sounded like a beehive' because she employed one hundred women maids who had memorized the Qur'an.

She is particularly remembered for the contributions she made to the "ulema" and the poor, and for the series of wells, reservoirs and artificial pools that provided water for Muslim pilgrims along the route from Baghdad to Mecca and Medina. The route was re-named "Darb Zubayda" (“Zubayda’s Way”) in her honor. [cite book |title=Safadi |volume=XIV |pages=176-8] [cite book |title=Tarikh Baghdad |volume=xtv |pages=433-4 |first=Al-Khatib |last=al-Baghdadi |authorlink=Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi] [cite book |title=Bidaya |volume=X |pages=271]

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