Throughout the history of Iran, from ancient times to the early 14th century AH, slaves (slaves, concubines, and eunuchs) were considered as part of Iranian society and were used in various social, economic, political, and military fields. From the end of the first century AH onwards, with the expansion of Muslim conquests in regions such as Transoxiana, the Caucasus, and beyond, a large number of inhabitants of these regions, especially the Turks, were taken as slaves by Muslims and brought into Islamic lands, including Iran.

During the Qajar era, a part of the employed and servants who were abundantly found in the homes of the wealthy, consisted of concubines, slaves, and eunuchs. Concubines were either taken as temporary wives or permanently entered the harem, or served in the households of noblewomen, performing domestic tasks.

Fariba Kazemnia, who previously discussed the topic of the role of concubines or expected behavioral norms of concubines in the Middle Ages in her article “Functional Indicators of Concubines based on their Names”, writes in the introduction of her book “Women of the Bazaar” about the neglect of women in historical research.

Historical events, major political, economic, social, and cultural analyses, and a retrospective review of the influence of prominent and notable Iranian figures up to two decades ago dominated historical research in Iran. Areas such as women, slaves, children, and the lower classes, known as “marginalized groups”, were considered unimportant and insignificant. The grand narratives of history overshadow the smaller narratives, as the grand narratives encompass the major historical research while the smaller narratives focus on marginalized groups and everyday life. This division is deeply rooted and shapes the direction of historical research, which can rightfully be called “the history of neglect”.

The author states in a section of the book: The field of women’s research has been neglected for years, until the importance of this area was recognized with the help of some works such as “The Story of the Girls of Quchan”. However, even in this field, women like Mrs. Parikhan, Mahd Aliya, and Qarat al-Ayn were the focus of attention, and the countless unnamed women were not represented in historical works and research. Even slaves were not exempt from this story, except that male slaves, especially concubines, received more attention as they became connected to power structures. There were many slaves who became commanders, took control of vast territories, or even established dynasties in Egypt and India, known in historical sources as “Mamluks”. Slaves were present in Iranian society from ancient times until the end of the Qajar period, and after the passage of the law “prohibiting the buying and selling of slaves in Iranian

The book “Women’s Market” is organized into four chapters. The historical background, concubines as commodities, concubines and social groups, and concubines; form an internal look at the chapters of the book. The author begins the book with this sentence and dedicates it to the women of Iran: “Dedicated to all the women of my land who write their most secret and feminine laws.”

Chapter one of the book is dedicated to examining the status of concubines in Iran during the Sassanid period and the first two centuries of Islam, as well as the status of this social group among the migrating tribes and clans in Iran, namely the Arabs during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, and the Turks settled in the central Asian plains. Concubines were considered commodities when they were sold in slave markets or auctioned off, and were only seen as goods that were imported from certain regions and sold in markets, with both the seller and buyer seeking profit in the sale and purchase of these goods.

In the second chapter, the author has desired to examine the concubines without considering their human nature, and to view them as commodities. How were the concubines acquired? From which origins did they enter the Islamic territory? What ethnicities did they belong to? In which centers were they mostly sold and at what prices? And how much tax was collected from their sales? In the analysis and explanation of the topics in this chapter, especially in terms of buying and selling, prices, and taxes of concubines, the institutional economics theory (institutionalism in economics) has been used.

In the third chapter, the author intends to examine the education of concubines and their specific professions, as well as their function and role within social groups. Concubines, after being sold, would respond to the needs of society by accepting and performing tasks within social groups, and in this way, they directly connected with the lives of people and the cultural and social structures of society. The education of concubines and their professions provided the basis for their presence in social groups, and therefore, these two topics are discussed as a prelude to the examination of social groups.

In the final chapter, the author examines the topic of concubines from within the concubine group, reviewing their lives, their real, legal, and social status, their clothing and appearance, their boundaries of authority, beliefs, marriage, and how they attain financial independence and freedom.

Book Title: Women of the Golden Horde; A Study of the Status of Concubines in Iran from the Taherians to the Mongols

Author: Fariba Kazemnia

Publication Date: 1399

Publisher: Tisa Publications