Maysun bint Bahdal
| Maysun bint Bahdal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consort of the Umayyad caliph | |||||
| Tenure | 661 – 680 | ||||
| Died | January/March 680 Damascus, Syria, Umayyad Caliphate | ||||
| Spouse | Mu'awiya I | ||||
| Children | Yazid I | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Kalb tribe (by birth) Umayyad (by marriage) | ||||
| Father | Bahdal ibn Unayf | ||||
Maysun bint Bahdal (Arabic: ميسون بنت بحدل, romanized: Maysūn bint Baḥdal) was a wife of caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), and as mother of his successor and son Yazid I (r. 680–683). She belonged to a ruling clan of the Banu Kalb, a tribe which dominated the Syrian steppe. Mu'awiya's marriage to her sealed his alliance with the tribe.
Maysun also enjoys a reputation as one of the earliest attested Arabic-language women poets. However, that reputation seems to belong to another woman of a similar name, Maysūn bint Jandal.