Biography of Suregemai
Book of Ekij, Chapter 137:92-98 (Biographies of Women in the Lesser Khanates)
Suregemai, temple name Shăshai’їn, daughter of Ub-Ishaal, granddaughter of Ub-Ibin, of the Kesh thrall-dynasty. Poetess and dowager-magistrate of the oasis city of Bhalsh in the Khanate of Qol.
Born in the fourth year of the Blue Crescent Khan, Suregemai was raised as a minor noblewoman in the caste-house of Kesh, where she was tutored by the shaman Gorülg-zїr. In the thirteenth year of the Blue Crescent Khan, she received her literary education in the Classics at the court in Baiydnїr, where she developed a rivalry with the young beigum Sabaraї-sai.
In the second year of the White Wolf Khan, Suregemai was betrothed to Id-Yerüsh, the magistrate of Bhalsh. Whilst living in Bhalsh, she often cared for the sick and destitute of the city. Zarah-uj, in his Desert Travels in the Golden Era, remarks:
The magistrate’s wife was often seen on the streets of Bhalsh, donating the silks and jewels of the court to the needy. There was also rumour that she conducted blood rituals to treat travellers skinflayed by the desert winds, and even to bring back sickly newborns from the brink of death.
In the nineteenth year of the White Wolf Khan, Id-Yerüsh sequestered himself in the sub-palace of Bhalsh, giving himself over to the pleasures of his harem. In his stead, Suregemai ruled as magistrate of Bhalsh. She was dutiful in the collection of taxes and the provision of the necessary tithes to the Khan’s court in Baiydnїr, and she was well respected across the Khanate of Qol.
In the second year of the Trampling Horse Khan, Id-Yerüsh passed away and the Khan came to Bhalsh to pay his respects. Upon meeting Suregemai, he proclaimed: “So you were the true power behind the throne in Bhalsh! My own wife could learn much from you!”
Suregemai reigned as dowager-magistrate of Bhalsh in her final years, before dying in the seventeenth year of the Trampling Horse Khan. Her funeral was attended by three thousand people from across the Khanate, all of whom wept as she was placed into her own personal burial mound. Upon her death, the shaman of Bhalsh bestowed upon her the temple name of Shăshai’їn: the kind and virtuous queen.