Skip to main content
Illustration of Lubna of Córdoba as a 10th-century Umayyad court scribe in a plain linen robe and veil, seated at a low desk with manuscripts beneath horseshoe arches
Scholar Poet Caliphate of Córdoba929–1031

Lubna of Córdoba

Died c. 984

Also known as
Lubna

Lubna of Córdoba died around 984, having been born into slavery and raised in the palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra. Al-Hakam II freed her and made her his secretary and scholar, and she is credited, with Hasdai ibn Shaprut, as a driving force behind the palace library. Her birth date is unknown, and one writer suggests the name may merge two women into one.

Her trace in Córdoba is a place and a name rather than a monument. Medina Azahara is where she was raised and worked, and the Casa de Sefarad sets out Sephardic life, with a room given to women. In 2019 the city named a street Escriba Lubna after her; no statue is documented.

The library's fate is in Al-Hakam II and the library, the physician beside her in Hasdai ibn Shaprut, and a parallel court career in Subh. For her own story, read the full story.

The full story

In their time

  1. Caliphate of Córdoba

    929–1031

    Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed the caliphate in 929, and Córdoba grew to an estimated 500,000 people. Medina Azahara was begun in 936, and the Mezquita was enlarged in 961 and 987. Under Al-Hakam II the city also built the Caliphal Baths, around 961 to 976, whose star-shaped skylights survive.

    1. Medina Azahara

      936 Monument

      Medina Azahara is Córdoba's UNESCO listed Caliphate City: a 10th century palace 8 km from town, with the Salón Rico and award-winning museum. Plan your visit.

    2. Torre Campanario de la Mezquita-Catedral

      951–958 Monument

      Climb 150 steps up the Mezquita-Catedral's 10th-century minaret-turned-bell-tower for 360-degree views over Córdoba's rooftops, Roman Bridge and Alcázar.

    3. Caliphal Baths (Baños del Alcázar Califal)

      961–976 Monument

      Underground 10th-century Islamic hammam beneath Córdoba's Campo Santo square, with star skylights, marble pillars and intact cold, warm and hot rooms.

    4. Abd al-Rahman III

      c. 890–961 Historical figure

      Abd al-Rahman III (890-961), caliph of Córdoba, had Medina Azahara built and enlarged the Great Mosque. See where his trace survives and read his full story.

    5. Al-Hakam II

      915–976 Historical figure

      Al-Hakam II (915-976), caliph of Córdoba from 961, expanded the Great Mosque and its mihrab. See where his trace survives in the city and read his full story.

    6. Hasdai ibn Shaprut

      c. 915–970 Historical figure

      Hasdai ibn Shaprut (c. 915-970) was physician and diplomat to Córdoba's caliphs. Visit the Judería and the Jewish sites that hold the city's later story.

    7. Al-Zahrawi

      c. 936–1013 Historical figure

      Al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis, c. 936–1013), Córdoba surgeon and author of the Kitab al-Tasrif. Find his trace at the Medina Azahara ruins and read the full story.

    8. Almanzor

      c. 938–1002 Historical figure

      Almanzor (c. 938-1002) ruled Córdoba as chamberlain under a puppet caliph. See what remains of his eastern extension of the Mezquita and read his story.

    Go deeper

Read more

Ruins of Medina Azahara palace-city near Córdoba at golden hour, the colonnaded throne hall partially reconstructed, where Subh of Córdoba served as regent of the Umayyad Caliphate after 976
Subh of Córdoba: The Slave Who Ruled the Caliphate
The remnants of Madīnat al-Zahrā's grand halls where Al-Hakam II's legendary 400,000-manuscript library once stood, destroyed during the Fitna civil war. Al-Hakam II library Córdoba.
Al-Hakam II's Library: 400,000 Books That Vanished
AI-generated illustration for Córdoba women scribes history: a woman copies a Qur'an in Kufic script with a reed pen by latticed window light, while other scribes work out of focus beside a horseshoe-arch doorway.
Córdoba's Eastern Suburb Had 170 Women Copying Qur'ans
Córdoba paper mill history: a 10th-century al-Andalus rag-paper workshop with a water-driven trip hammer beating hemp and linen rags into pulp in a stone vat, a papermaker dipping a wooden mould and deckle into the milky furnish, sheets of paper drying on the wall behind
Córdoba Paper Mill History: How Al-Andalus Made Books