Rayta bint al-Saffah

Rayṭa bint al-Saffāḥ was an Abbasid princess, daughter of first Abbasid caliph al-Saffah, niece of second Abbasid caliph al-Mansur and the first wife of third Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. Biography Rayta was the daughter of al-Saffah from his famous wife Umm Salama, who belonged to Makhzum clan of the Quraysh. Her father was the first Abbasid caliph, ruling from 750 to 754. Rayta had an older maternal half-brother, Sa'id ibn Maslama, from her mother's first marriage to the Umayyad prince Maslama ibn Hisham. Sa'id was the grandson of the Umayyad caliph Hisham. Sa'id became an oral transmitter of historical tradition in the early Abbasid period. Rayta was very young, when her father died. Al-Saffah's brother, al-Mansur, took on the responsibility of establishing the Abbasid caliphate by holding on to power for nearly twenty-two years, from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754–775 CE).