This paper examines the women associated with the Abbasid household in medieval Cairo. It is widely recognized that in the Baghdad years of the caliphate, many of them had been slave concubines, yet went on to play significant political roles, notably as “mothers of the caliphs,” inside and outside the harem. Similarly, after the resurrection of the Abbasid line in Mamluk Cairo in 1261, the sultans often gifted the reigning caliphs with slave women (mostly Turkish concubines) to help perpetuate the line and produce sons to maintain the succession of caliphs for the future. In addition, several of the Cairo caliphs also spent considerable sums on acquiring singing girls to entertain their entourages, occasionally to the chagrin of their sultans. Evidence suggests that female children born of the unions between the Abbasid caliphs of Cairo and their concubines emerged as new generations of “Abbasid princesses” eventually forging marriage ties with members of the Mamluk military as well as representatives of the religious establishment. It is worthwhile to consider who wed these ladies and whether or not their future spouses acquired social prestige or other privileges thereby. These marriage relationships merit a deeper scrutiny starting with existing evidence from chronicles, biographical dictionaries, and chancery manuals to add definition to the lives and status of royal consorts, concubines, and other notable women associated with the Abbasid family in Mamluk Cairo, thus shedding more light on the social history of women in pre-modern Islamic societies.