For the most part, historical records do not show that women openly participated in the politics of the Emirate.[3] The Granadan poet, historian, and influential statesman Ibn al-Khatib (1313—1374), who was well acquainted with many royal women and from whom much of historical information about Fatima came from,[4] wrote in his political treatise Maqama fi al-Siyasa that women should not be put in charge of state affairs, and that their role should be limited as "the soil where one plants one's children, the myrtles of the spirit, and where the heart rests'". In practice, women sometimes did take part in political activities, especially behind the scenes. Due to frequent premature deaths of Sultans by assassinations or in battle, and the occasional accessions of underage Sultans, women at times were responsible for the interests of their families, the hereditary rights of their descendants, and diplomacy with neighbouring kingdoms.[5]