Khawlah bint al-Azwar: Warrior Poet of Early Islam

When Byzantine forces captured her brother, this warrior poet donned the outfit of a black knight and went on a bloody rescue mission.

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Art Notes

While her initial escapades had Khawlah dressed as knight, the part of the story that really spoke to me — where she led a bunch of middle-aged women to take on their Byzantine captors using nothing but tent-pegs — was the one I decided to illustrate. So I split her outfit half-and-half. She’s not in full armor, but she’s wearing pants.

The captured women are here all in a circle, knocking Byzantines off horses as they ride around. The cooler darks of their outfits are in visual contrast to the saturated reds of the Byzantines.

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