Aisha bint Ahmad al-Qurtubiyya

ʿĀʾisha bint Aḥmad al-Qurṭubiyya (d. 1009/1010 CE), sometimes spelled Aysha or al-Qurtubiyya, was a tenth-century poet who primarily wrote in Arabic.

Biography It is assumed that ʿĀʾisha was born in Córdoba, Spain. She is regarded as both a famed poet and calligrapher of Andalusia. Little is known about her life and background, though it does seem clear that she was the sister of Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Qādim (d. 990 CE). that her father's full name was Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Qādim b. Ziyād; and that she was the niece of the Cordovan physician and poet Abū ʿAbdallāh b. Qādim al-Ṭabīb. Her poems were often received with applause in the Royal Academy at Cordova. One of her most famous works is a poem turning down a marriage proposal by a male poet.