الحريم الصفوي : إضاءات جديدة

Abstract EN

The topic of the harem was central to the work of orientalists and European travellers.

They created fantasies about the harem that transcended reality and largely influenced by their own cultures.

At times, they portrayed the oriental woman as oppressed and restrained while others criticized her role as a political actor and identified it one of the key elements leading to the collapse of the Islamic Empires.

This article seeks to shed light on the presence of Safavid women in the political scene and the status they received in the Safavid courts.

This paper calls for reading historical texts with contemporary data, overcoming the stereotype of harem role, and trying to understand the role they played in preserving state structures, to facilitate transitions from one ruler to another.

This will be done by reviewing the roles of women who had exerted substantial political influence in the Safavid courts, while this may not apply to all women, it emphasizes the common idea about women's ineligibility to govern.

This paper also reviews the progress of women and their status under the constraints imposed on them and their social role in the flourishing of the Safavid civilization