# Hurra-yi Khuttali

Hurra-yi Khuttali (Persian: حره ختلی; fl. 1006 c. 1006 – c. 1040) was a princess from the Ghaznavid dynasty and the daughter of Sabuktigin, ruler of Ghazna (now in Afghanistan). She was married to two Maʽmunid rulers of the Khwarazm region, first Abu Ali Hasan and after his death, his brother Maʽmun II. It is not known if she had any children with either of her husbands. Her marriages were a direct cause of the annexation of Khwarazm by her brother, Mahmud of Ghazni. In 1030, upon Mahmud's death, she wrote a letter to her favourite nephew, Masʽud, urging him to claim the throne from his brother, Muhammad. After receiving her missive, Masʽud quickly marched to Ghazna and usurped the throne. Hurra's letter is considered the most prominent political act of a woman during the Ghaznavid era. She is last mentioned in 1040, leaving Ghazna for India; her ultimate fate is unknown.

## Name and sources

Hurra is an Arabic word meaning 'free woman'. It was most likely a laqab (honorific) conferred to Ghaznavid princesses. She used two nisbas (a part of an Arabic name that acts as an adjective, often referring to the individual's place of origin), Khuttali and Kaliji. According to the British orientalist Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Khuttali may have referred to an earlier Ghaznavid marital alliance with the Principality of Khuttal, located in central Asia. Another variation of her name is Khuttali Khatun, recorded by Persian historian Shabankara'i (c. 1298 – c. 1358).
The only primary source that sparsely records Hurra's life is Tarikh-i Bayhaqi by Abuʽl-Fadhl Bayhaqi (d. 1077), a secretary in the court of Amir Masʽud of Ghazna (r. 1030–1040), Hurra's nephew. Khwarazmian polymath al-Biruni (973 – c. 1050) had written a first-hand account about the history of Khwarazm, which partially included Hurra; only parts of the account have survived in forms of quotations in Bayhaqi's work.

## Biography
### Early life and marriages

Hurra-yi Khuttali was a daughter of Sabuktigin, Amir of Ghazna (r. 977–997) and the progenitor of the Ghaznavids, a dynasty of Turkic origin whose realm included modern day Afghanistan, eastern Iran and northwestern India. Hurra's date and place of birth is unknown, although Bosworth considers the region of Khuttalan (now in Tajikistan) as a probable candidate. According to Bosworth, she was distinguished from her sisters because of her intelligence and tactfulness, which gave her an influential role in governmental matters. In an era when education for women was restricted to only theology, she sought to learn other sciences. She had a good relationship with her brother, Mahmud (r. 998–1030), and repeatedly sent him luxurious gifts. In 1008, Hurra married Abu al-Hasan Ali, ruler of Khwarazm (today in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) from the Maʽmunid dynasty. This marriage secured an alliance between the two realms, since the Maʽmunids feared Mahmud's intentions to annex Khwarazm.
Abu al-Hasan died probably in 1008/9 and was succeeded by his brother, Maʽmun II. He, with the same intent as his brother, married Hurra in 1015/16. Mahmud demanded his new brother-in-law recognize him as his sovereign, to which Maʽmun conceded to. However, Maʽmun was killed during a rebellion in 1017, which arose in opposition to his submission. Mahmud sought retribution for the killing of his brother-in-law and part of his plan was to ostensibly employ his sister as a mediator. According to al-Biruni, Mahmud demanded the safe return of his sister, so that she could intercede between the two realms, while he prepared his army. His invasion was paused until Hurra was in Ghaznavid territory. When she was safely returned, he invaded Khwarazm in revenge and sacked its capital, Gurganj. It is not known if Hurra had any children with her two husbands.

### Masʽud's ascension and later life

After her return to Ghazna, Hurra took on a more active role in the court. She acted as a spy for her favourite nephew, Masʽud, Mahmud's son, who was the governor of Herat. In 1030, after Mahmud's death, she was entrusted with the care of his widows and concubines from his harem. In his will, Mahmud named Masʽud's twin brother Muhammad as his successor. Hurra, her younger brother Yusuf ibn Sabuktigin, and the military commanders of the army considered Muhammad inept and unable to rule the Ghaznavid empire, which was dependent on the powerful leadership of the sultan. Therefore, Hurra wrote a letter to Masʽud, who was preoccupied with his military campaign in Isfahan, informing him of his father's death and encouraging him to take the throne. Masʽud marched east and continued to receive letters from Hurra and his mother regarding the situation in Ghazna. In 1030, he arrived in the city and took the throne from his brother. He put Muhammad in prison and may have had him blinded.
Masʽud lacked political shrewdness; Hurra is suspected to have influenced most of his decisions. She constantly warned him of the importance of Ghazna as the principal territory of the empire, with the region of Khorasan in second place. The region of Khorasan housed rich oases, centres of industry and crafts and important trade routes and it was an integral part of the empire. However, Masʽud was more interested in his conquests in India and neglected Khorasan. Meanwhile, Turkoman tribes under the leadership of the Seljuk dynasty began raiding the towns and the caravans of the region from the northern borders. Masʽud failed to provide protection in the region and eventually, the unsatisfied landowners of Khorasan surrendered themselves to the Turkomans. Masʽud attempted to suppress the raiders but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Dandanaqan (1040) and Khorasan was fully conquered by the Seljuks. According to Bayhaqi, when Masʽud and his army were retreating towards Ghazna, Hurra sent them clothes to cover themselves before entering the city. Fearful of an imminent invasion, Masʽud urged Hurra, his other aunts, and his mother to leave Ghazna with him for India. Bayhaqi's last mention of Hurra is her attempt at dissuading Masʽud from his plan. It is certain that she was with Masʽud's entourage when they were raided en route to India by rebels. Masʽud was killed and his throne was usurped by Muhammad, whose second sultanate ended in 1041 after he was dethroned by Masʽud's son, Mawdud. Hurra's ultimate fate, however, is unknown.

## Assessments and historiography

Hurra's interference in Mahmud's succession was the most prominent instance of a woman openly partaking in the politics during the Ghaznavid period. Without the zeal of Hurra and the royal Ghaznavid women in recalling Masʽud he possibly would not have returned to claim the throne from his brother. Her letter, preserved in Bayhaqi's book, is the only surviving text from the Ghaznavid era written by a woman, and also one of the oldest surviving prose works of the Early New Persian language. Hurra displays her authority in her letter, her writing style is decisive and frequently uses the imperative mood, provoking her nephew's emotions and urging him to return with speed. Modern historian Soheila Amirsoleimani interprets her act of offering clothes to Masʽud's dilapidated army as metaphorically covering their shame. Both of these episodes present her as more powerful than Masʼud, since in Bayhaqi's work, advisors are always displayed as symbolically higher-ranking. Her warnings to Masʽud are likened to prophetic foretelling of destruction and ruin, a common trope in Bayhaqi's writing.