Biwi Fatima and the King's Sons

English

It tells the story of an ambitious woman who clings to the fading rule of the Kings of Hormuz under the Portuguese occupation of the Kingdom of Hormuz. Through it, His Highness provided a detailed description of social life in Hormuz, without neglecting the military, political, and economic conditions prevalent at the time. His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah, mentioned during the signing that he wrote the novel in only 6 weeks, relying on over 35 historical references for its facts. His Highness added that despite the great effort put into writing books and novels, the writer always finds great joy upon completing a book that contains a wealth of facts and experiences that he hopes will help convey and document knowledge. The novel included 6 chapters after the introduction. The first chapter, titled "Hormuz," provided an overview of its strategic geographical location and a precise description of its natural resources and geographical features that enabled it to be one of the most important commercial areas and the most famous seaport of that period, in addition to being a market where products from East and West converged. The second chapter was titled "King Forough Shah," which began in 1588 AD with a detailed description of social life in Hormuz, especially the life of the palace, princes, and ministers, along with the marriages and disputes that occurred between them and were tracked until the end of the novel. The third chapter was titled "Prince Firouz Shah," in which the author narrates how the kingship of the Kingdom of Hormuz passed to this prince, and the accompanying disputes and conflicts that ended with his father's abdication. The fourth chapter was titled "Biwi Fatima," the heroine of this novel, where the events begin in 1601 AD when King Firouz Shah married Biwi Fatima by force, but they never found harmony until she announced her conversion to Christianity. His Highness captivatingly reviews the journey of "Biwi Fatima," full of events based on her relationship with kings and their sons, through the last two chapters of the novel, titled "Prince Turan Shah" and "Prince Mohammed Shah." The novel is characterized by its presentation of the history of Hormuz Island and that important stage in the life of the region, in a narrative style based on a precise connection between social, economic, geographical, and political aspects, and on clarifying the results of the interaction of these components on the future of kingdoms and empires whose rise and fall history witnessed, leaving behind clues as to how the region's states and the culture of its peoples were formed.