Women in the Safavid Empire

The upper-class women in the Safavid Empire played a prominent role in society and governance.[2] But it was mostly in the royal court that they had the most influence.

Safavid princes and princesses got married for political and strategic reasons, this also happened in other dynasties like the Ottoman Empire. Royal marriages helped the stability in the empire since political ties were created. There were short and long-term engagements. Long-term engagements were made in order to keep the groom in check and to ensure loyalty. Not only princes got to marry Safavid princesses, also local notables and religious dignitaries were allowed. And sometimes Safavids made marital alliances with rulers of local dynasties in the northern provinces of Iran.[3]

Safavid princesses received education that was comparable to their brothers education. They were appointed ‘dadas’ and ‘lalas’ (nurses and tutors). This meant that most princesses were able to read and write. Religious teaching was also part of the education the princesses received. Besides that there was the also space to learn about art of calligraphy, poetry and other disciplines. The importance of education for Safavid princesses has to do with the experiences that they were expected to have since they are royal women. They had excess to many literary and artistic people and were able to acquire knowledge from them. Besides education, royal Safavid women owned their own horses. During their rides they were always accompanied by men. They also participated in hunting parties and were able to use weapons. They would dress up like men according to their tribal custom[4]. Besides entertainment purposes, women also participated in battles and sometimes even wars.

There was also some economic independence for elite women. They were in charge of their own economic affairs. “The financial contribution in the form of endowments and property sales by women to the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Dïn in Ardabil accounted for twenty percent of the total endowments and property sales to the shrine”. Women only received half of their brothers share of inheritance, but they did have full authority over their own share. When they inherited property for example they were in full control over it. Also engagement in economic activities was seen, royal women would give money to charities and public endowments. They bought land and built for example caravanserais and bridges. In the 1660s all upper-class women were given landed property, they were now able to collect taxes in a district.[5]

Because of their high social standing, royal women were able to take part in the public domain and have an active political role. Safavid princesses would partake in diplomatic relations. They would send ambassadors to foreign states, wrote diplomatic letters and sometimes even act as intermediaries. “Shahzadah Sultanum, sister of Shah Tahmâsb l, received letters from Hurrem Sultan (d.965/1558), wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (r.926-974/1520-1566) and mother of Sultan Selim II (r.974-982/1566-1574), discussing the need for ambassadors to prevent conflict between the two empires. 134 Shahzadah Sultanum in turn sent a letter to Hurrem Sultan discussing the gifts she had sent along for an Ottoman mosque, including valuable Qur' anic scripts and carpets. In the end she emphasizes the importance of keeping their good relations and continuing cooperation.” Princesses who got a certain degree of power and respect at the court, would be asked for their advise on important matters related to the affairs of the state. In the late Safavid period, when the Shah retired into the harem, female influence on politics grew even more.[6] However this growth was only seen behind harem walls. One of the women that gained great power around that time was Maryam Bigum, the great-aunt of Shah Sultan Husayn, he was the last ruler of the dynasty and controlled by his great-aunt.

Although the Safavid dynasty had urban roots, the majority of the Safavid followers were tribal in origin. This is visible, for instance, in the presence of women on the battlefield. But after they came to power and consolidated their rule, the features of urban life overwhelmed the status of women at the court. They not only no longer participated in battles, but also ceased being visible in urban public space, with servants alerting women regarding the presence of men with loud voices in the royal harem to hide themselves. Any male glance into the royal harem could have terrible consequences.The sources report that women at the Battle of Chaldiran were dressed in martial art outfits. Shāh Esmā‘il’s wives have also been mentioned. Details are lacking in the sources, but it is reported that his wife, Tājlu Khānom, was captured by the Ottomans yet escaped, whereas his other wife, Behruz Begom, was captured and forced to marry an Ottoman magistrate called Ghāzi Asghar. Reports about these high-ranking women and their presence in society clarify one point: these women may have had restrictions put on them but were well trained in horsemanship and mar- tial arts. Otherwise, only their captivity would have to be remembered; they would not have been recorded as having participated in warfare.

It should be asserted that women have been, before and after the Safavid period, instrumental in ending wars. Sometimes, this was effected through political marriages involving female relatives of the shah being wed to foreign rulers or tribal chiefs.  At times they also acted as intermediaries and tried to put an end to hostilities by exchanging letters with the women of the Ottoman court. In sum, it seems that in the initial phase of their existence as a state, the Safavids evinced little fanaticism trying to keep their wives and daughters away from society. In addition to training in riding, hunting and combatting, they were well educated in reading and writing. Unfortunately, however, we lack information about how they were educated, who taught them, whether instruction was mandatory, and whether all girls received the same level of education, or whether only a few of them who were intended or talented received an education.

Many anecdotes in these books show that women traveled with their husbands on trips to gardens around the city and were not excluded from traveling, not only with their spouses but sometimes alone with the caravan. Relying on the data obtained from such written sources, it seems that the number of couples in the middle class was not high and that women consulted their husbands on many occasions. They did even manage the economic affairs of their family in such a way that men submitted incomes to their wives to spend as they wished. These have more to do with storytelling and need to be extended to the whole com- munity with great caution, but often this kind of author’s view of women’s behaviors expresses the author’s prejudice. The best example concerns the freedoms that Shah ‘Abbās I bestowed upon women and that Soltān Hoseyn curtailed, confining them to their homes more than any previous period by issuing rules such as a ban on leaving the home without accompaniment of at least a male relative.

They were neither princesses, who do receive mention in the official sources, nor did they have the wealth or fortune to leave names for themselves by constructing buildings. Yet, ordinary women were the ones most accessible to foreign visitors; hence, the snippets of information on females found in their travel accounts. In addition to doing the type of housework that sometimes forced them to leave their homes, such as washing clothes in outside streams, women often had to per- form duties like farming and animal husbandry, knitting, sewing and spinning. There were also those forced to work in the homes of middle- and upper-class people in order to make ends meet. They sometimes performed midwifery and even practiced simple forms of medicine for other women. Therefore, they enjoyed better economic status even if they still counted among the lower classes. On the countryside, during the seventeenth century, women felt less restricted than in the cities. Women were much less covered due to the rarity of non-kin contacts.

There were prostitutes as well during this period. These operated in large numbers in all urban centers, with the exception of a few prohibited sections. They were offi- cially sanctioned and taxed. They were not all of the same economic statuses; some charged enormous sums and were wealthy; others lived miserable lives in the shadows. Since their profession was not socially accepted, they lacked high social status in the community and lived in their own accommodations. Religiously and socially suspect occupations such as singing and dancing were held by non-Muslim women.

As mentioned, much of the information on aspects of female life was only recorded by Western travelers and residents, with archival documentation at times confirming the authenticity of their observations. Thus, whenever we find a decree on taxation on prostitution or an order to ban such professions was issued, it indicates the existence of such professions. The assertion of Mirzā Fazl Allāh Esfahāni's endowment to hire a female physician and two female nurses for a hospital he built in Isfahan confirms the existence of such occupations, which were undoubtedly not specific to the upper classes of society; indeed, nursing was a lower-class profession.

In the Safavid Empire women had the responsibiltiy of advancing the works of art. In the 16th century, Mashad was the flourishing center of arts in the Empire. The Safavids had high intellectual values and it were the women who were supposed to provide them. This is why so many upper-class women got education and were able to read.