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Transformations in the Social Status of the Slave Women in Iran from the Khwarazmshah to the Mongols
Abstract
Many transformations developed in the social status of women in medieval Iran under the Khwarazmshah (1077-1228) and the Mongols (1219-1253). The women in the Khwarazmshah Haram (the enclosed quarter of the court for women) from different classes played critical roles in the court. Some were from prominent tribes or simple Kaniz, slave women who brought in the court out of the spoils of the battles or slavery markets. The slave women particularly the beautiful strong ones had the chance to be the concubines or the wives of the Sultan that promoted their ranks from a mere Kaniz to the wife of the Sultan. The Successor of the Sultan was usually his first son who was born from a mother of a prominent tribe or family; however, if these women had strong talented sons, they could challenge the absolute power of the next designated successors. Under Sultan Muhammad (1200-1220) and Jalal al-Din (1220-1228), massive competitions developed among different women of Haram including the Kaniz. The Mongol invasion of Iran which led to the collapse of the Khwarazmshahi dynasty developed social changes in the status of women in society in general and in the court in particular. Unlike, the era of Khwarazmshah, the slave women didn’t have significant social roles in the Haram. Based on the primary sources in Persian and Arabic, this paper examines the transformations in the social status of slavery women from the Khwarazmshah under Sultan Mohammad to the Mongols. It argues that even though the Mongol invasion promoted the social and political status of women in Haram, it deteriorated the roles of slave women in the court and turned them to an inferior class in the society. Keywords: Slave Women, Social Change, Social Status, Iran, the Khwarazmshah, the Mongols,
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
13th-18th Centuries