Lifestyle of Ancient Persia

The culture of the ancient Persians is one of the oldest in the world. The society was hierarchical and different social classes were separated by rigorous barriers. The king was at the top, and beneath him, were the representatives of the great families of the Persian nobility. The elite were mostly engrossed in lavish activities and rarely cared for the society, and the lower class, especially the slaves were treated brutally and the women were merely considered as a machine for attaining children and satisfying sexual desires. Due to the luxurious lifestyles of the elite and the tortures inflicted upon the inferior classes, the Persians gained fame in the books of history.

Human activity within the Iranian plateau is ancient, with stone working, hunter-gatherer cultures dating back to ancient times. Agricultural communities, however, settled the territory between the 10^th and 7^th millennia B.C., leaving archaeological evidence of an advanced culture that included wine production and the use of horse-drawn cart transport. During the 3^rd and 2^nd millennia B.C. numerous tribes migrated into and out of the territory, with resulting tensions and struggles for power. One of the most important cultures to emerge during this period was that of the Elamites, concentrated in Khuzestan (a southwestern province of Iran), whose first king dates to around 2700 B.C. The Elamites established powerful dynasties and grand cities, including Susa. They traded with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt, with whom they also warred, defeating Assyria and Babylon during the 13^th and 12^th centuries B.C. Elamite power declined over the next 6 centuries, but during this time other forces established themselves. Aryan tribes had moved into Iran from Central Asia during 2^nd millennium. By the 9^th century B.C. these tribes had differentiated into distinct groups, of whom the most important were the Medes and the Persians. ¹ These lands were populated by different ethnic groups of peoples and tribes, each of which spoke a different language or dialect, with each group pursuing its own culture and religion. Not all of these peoples were settled in urbanized centers; some were pastoralists or migrating peoples living a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. The Persians had no wish to impose their language, culture and religion on their subjects, and instead allowed each ethnic group to retain its cultural identity and heritage. The reason for this attitude was political expediency. It was a way of integrating the different peoples by not appearing as an oppressing power, and instead recognizing the value of ethnic identity. It was also an effective way of limiting regional opposition and rebellion against the king. It meant that multilingualism formed a vital part of Persian administration. ²²

Population

In ancient times proper census was not conducted hence exact figures for each dynasty are not available. However, during the reign of king Darius, the Persian Empire consisted of 20 provinces or satrapies. During the 4^th and 5^th centuries B.C., the population of the Persia was 40 million people. ³ In around 480 B.C., the Persian Empire accounted for approximately 49.4 million of the world’s 112.4 million people, an astonishing 44%. ⁴

Calendar

The Old Persian calendar was lunisolar, ⁵ like that of the Babylonians, with 12 months of 30 days each; the days were numbered but not named with the exception of the last day of the month. The Achaemenids used the lunisolar calendar at least until 459 B.C. Between 471 and 401 the Babylonian calendar was used in Aramaic documents issued by the Persian administration (almost all found at the colony of Elephantine in Egypt). From ancient times, the Iranians had a year of 12 months with 30 days each. The Zoroastrian calendar, created probably in the 4^th century B.C., was distinctive simply through the pious dedication of each day and month to a divine being. ⁶

Alex¬ander probably used the Macedonian calendar, but the Achaemenid system was not abolished. In the time of Seleucus, the Babylonian calendar was adopted, but the original names of the months were replaced by the Macedonian names, in which Nisannu corresponded to Artemisios and so on. The Arsacid kings fol¬lowed the same practice, but it appears from material discovered at Nisa and Avroman that the Zoroastrian solar calendar was also used. ⁷

Months

It is probable that the Persian calendar was borrowed from Assyrian sources. In this calendar every month was divided into 4 weeks, and the 7 days were set down as days on which there was a complete cessation of all work. The Babylonian and the Persian years were identical. The months likewise, if not actually identical, were at least closely related:

months likewise, if not actually identical, were at least closely related:

1. Farvardin (March/April)
2. Ardvahisht (April/May)
3. Hordad (May/June)
4. Tir (June/July)
5. Amurdad (July/August)
6. Shahrear (August/September)
7. Mihr (September/October)
8. Aban (October/November)
9. Adar (November/December)
10. Vahman (January/February)
11. Spendarmed (February/March)

Every coincidence of a month and day name was celebrated as a 'name-day' feast. Hence, there was one such feast in every month but the 10th, when 4 feasts were celebrated in honor of the Creator, Ohrmazd. ⁸

Days

A month consisted of 30 days of which four days were devoted to Dadvah (Creator) Ahura Mazda. Later on, the first of the four days were named for Ohrmazd, the other three for him as 'Creator', Dai (Middle Persian for Dadvah). The three Dai days were distinguished by adding to each the name of the following day, e.g. Dai-pad-Adar, 'Dai-by-(the day)-Adar'. The details are as follows: ⁹

Social Classes

Three main classes dominated Persian society in the Parthian age: the aristocracy, free men and a serf population. In addition, there existed an unfree population made up of prisoners of war and slaves. The aristocracy was hierarchically structured, and included noble Persians as well as members of the local nobility who took high positions at court, in the administration of the empire and in military command. The aristocracy provided the armed cavalry forces in war, and therefore were a fundamental support for the king. Quite possibly the noble families were connected to the Arsacid royal house through political alliances. The aristocracy was known as ‘the Greatest’. The group of the ‘King’s Friends’ formed an intimate circle which surrounded the king, but even within this group there existed a hierarchy. The class of free men was made up of farmers and peasants, manufacturers, craftsmen, merchants and traders. ¹⁰

Under the Sassanid reign, the Persian population was divided into four classes. On top were the priests, warriors, employees at office and farmer and craftsmen together. There were many sub divisions, covering the representatives of every function of the society. The priests were divided into Judges and various priestly officials. The bureaucracy included not only the scribes, but the physicians, poets and astrologers, and the last class included traders and businessmen. Each class was placed under the authority of a chief, who had under him a controller who dealt with the census, an inspector who investigated fiscal matters and an instructor who supervised the work of apprentices. ¹¹ The priest class was further divided in rank and function: the chief priests, priests attending the fires, expert theologians, judges and learned priests were chosen from the ranks of the religious body. The priests were trained in seminaries where religious scripture and the prayers were learned and memorized and theological matters were discussed under supervision.

The warriors composed the second estate of the society, and their function was to protect the empire and its subjects; the armies were initially headed by an Iran-spahbed ‘General of the Empire.’ The function of the warriors who were in effect the largest part the nobility was to protect the empire, and to deal with people with gentility and keep their oath. There were divisions within the military including the cavalry and the foot soldiers.

The 3^rd estate consisted of the husbandmen and farmers, whose function was to till the land and keep the empire prosperous, and were represented by a chief of husbandmen. They were producers of the foodstuffs as well as the tax base for the empire and as a result the land under cultivation was surveyed by the government and taxes exacted from it. The function of the farmers was farming and bringing cultivation and as much as possible, bringing ease and prosperity. The fourth estate was much more numerous than the other three and treated somewhat separately by Zoroastrian law. They were the artisans. The language and the length employed in specifying the function of this estate demonstrated the negative view of the Zoroastrians in regard to the artisan class: (They) should not undertake a task with which they are not familiar, and perform well and with concentration those tasks which they know. (They should) ask for fair wages, because if someone does not know a task and performs that task, it is possible for him to ruin it or leave it unfinished, and that man himself is satisfied it would be a sin for him. ¹²

Slavery

At the beginning of the Achaemenid period, the institution of slavery was still poorly developed in Iran. In Media a custom existed whereby a poor man could place himself at the disposal of a rich person if the latter agreed to feed him. The position of such a man was similar to that of a slave. However, he could at any time leave his master if he was poorly fed.

The most common term to designate slaves in ancient Iran was the word bandaka, a derivative of banda: ‘bond or fetter’. This word was utilized not only to designate actual slaves, but also to express general dependence. One of the Old Iranian terms to designate slaves was ‘gṛda’ which meant household slave/s. ¹³

There were a large number of slaves who were classified based on their function, origin, and gender. The typical slave was the household servant who worked in the domestic domain, but also worked at the fire-temples. The women slaves in the household were common and the man of the house had complete control over them and could procure children with them as is evident from the many legal cases which involved slave girls and free citizens and the issue of the status of their children. People who were in debt or had a religious decision to give some of their time to a fire-temple can also be placed in this category. Foreign slaves as well as others who were simply used as slave labor on farms and manual labor were known as captive slaves. These were the most common slaves, but there was a more basic class of slaves who were known as body (tan) who were delivered as security. ¹⁴ Slaves could be freed at the time of the death of the master or simply if the owner decided to release them, otherwise they had to serve their masters and were beaten harshly if they could not perform the assigned tasks on time or as per their masters wish.

In the most developed countries of Achaemenid Empire, slaves were the chief form of the moveable property. They were sold, transferred by inheritance, given away etc. a large number of slaves performed various types of the household work, but they were utilized on a much smaller scale in agriculture, in state quarries and in construction work. A certain number of the skilled craftsmen (weavers, shoemakers, architects, etc.) were also slaves. At the beginning of the Achaemenid period a slave in Babylonia cost on average one mina (about 0.5 kg) of silver, but at the end of Persia rule their prices were doubled. During a sale of a slave, the seller bore responsibility, in particular for the fact that his slave was not a freeman and that during the course of first 100 days after the sale he would not flee from his new owners. The escape of the salves was quiet a widespread phenomenon. Fugitive slaves were caught, branded like livestock, incarcerated in fetters and returned back to work. When the masters could not employ the labor of salves in their own household or considered such use of them unprofitable, the slaves were often left to themselves with the payment of a fixed quitrent from the peculium which the slaves possessed. Instances of pledging one’s own person for debt, not to mention self-sale, were extremely rare. In case of non-payment of a debt by the deadline, the creditor could turn the children of the debtor over into slavery. In Achaemenids times the creditor could not sell a debtor into slavery to the third person. Usually the debtor paid off the loan by doing free work for the creditor, thereby preserving his freedom. The practice of pledging one’s own person for debt and selling oneself into the slavery had totally disappeared by the Persian period. The number of slaves who were prisoners of war was considerable. For instance, in Babylonia they sold slaves, known as the booty of the bow.

In general, even in the most developed countries, there were few slaves relative to the number of the free persons, their labour could not supplant the labor of free workers. A substantial number of slaves who performed household work for the Achaemenids and persian nobility were recruited from among representative of the conquered peoples. For these purposes, Babylonia alone was obliged to supply 500 boys annually to the Persian king as taxes ¹⁵ who were not only used to serve the different tasks of King’s courts but also for their carnal desires.

In hard times, a father used to sell a child into slavery. Some people also became slaves for set periods of time to repay a family debt. Most slaves, however, as in the past, came from foreign conquests. The number of laws on slavery from Sassanian times suggest that the practice was more developed and common than under the Achaemenids and the Parthians. Surviving Sassanian texts have many different words for slaves, which makes it hard for modern historians to know their exact social position. A bandag was a person bound to another, but this could have a general meaning besides a slave. Technically, every Persian, even the great nobles, was bound to the King of Kings and was supposed to obey all his commands. An ansahrig was a foreign slave. Another term referred to a slave who worked at the fire temples used in Zoroastrianism. Some of these workers were actual slaves, who were forced to work on temple grounds. But slaves called aduran-bandag were free men who were bound in a symbolic way. Because of their faith, they committed themselves to helping at the temples. A child of a slave woman was also considered a slave. However, some writings suggest a child with a free father and slave mother would be free. Sassanian law also considered slaves to be their owners’ property. A person could also be a partial slave and keep a percentage of any money he or she earned. Some slaves used these earnings to buy their complete freedom. Slaves who practiced Zoroastrianism had special rights. They could not be sold to someone who did not follow that faith. Slaves who bought their freedom or received it from their masters became subjects of the king and apparently could not be enslaved again. ¹⁶

Men

The Persian men were almost all slender, with dark or livid complexions, hard, ‘goat like’ ayes, arched eyebrows meeting in the middle, carefully tended beards, and long fuzzy hair. They were incredibly wary and suspicious; in hostile countries they would not touch the fruit on the trees, for fear of poison or spells. They wore golden bangles and necklaces, precious stones and above all, pearls. They always wore swords, even at banquets and entertainments. They were talkative and boastful, stern and ferocius, threatening whether things went will or ill with them, wily, proud, and cruel. On the whole they were brave, and bore the hardship of the campaigning easily. They arrogated to themselves the right of disposing of the lives of slaves and common people and no servent dared to open his mouth in their presence. They indulged in sexual debauches without restriants. ¹⁷

In Sasanian Iran, males were privileged and were given preferential treatment. The patriarchy influenced all the social and political dimensions of Sasanian life and acted as an organizing principle. Reflections of this system can be gravestone inscriptions. Individuals’ social participation, available progress opportunities and political power depended on the status of the person in the patriarchy. It seemed that women and some other gender–age-related groups such as children were of a lower status in comparison to men. Also, unable individuals and people with bodily injuries or some illnesses suffered a low social status.

Women

In ancient times, the position of women in Persia was discourteous, as ancient manner went: she moved in public freely and unveiled to be harassed and beleaguered; she could own and manage property but with multiple restrictions, and could not, like most modern women, direct the affairs of her husband in his name, or through his pen except in rare cases. After Darius, the status of women status declined further, especially among the rich. The poorer women retained their freedom of movement, because they had to work; but in other cases, the seclusion always enforced in the menstrual periods was extended to the whole social life of woman. Women were never mentioned or represented in the public inscriptions and mountains of ancient Persia ¹⁸ which shows their narrow mindedness because they were deemed to be unworthy of any mention.

Women’s positions depended on their class. Women of high rank such as the queen and the mother of the king were more independent in the scope of their activity and decision making. Their seals demonstrated their importance as is also evident on the rock-reliefs which demonstrate their presence in the royal bazms. According to the Greek accounts, women in Achaemenid Empire participated in the affairs of state in a subordinate role to men. Herodotus, after visiting the Achaemenian Empire, noted that Persian women and men participated in public ceremonies and activities together, including the duties of managing the state, but men’s domination mostly hurt their feelings and status. Women in royal families had access to education, were trained in horse riding, and participated in official ceremonies such as the king’s birthday ¹⁹ but they were given the same status as the male child.

In the Assyrian period many women were kept in harems. Achaemenian kings had multiple wives; a custom adapted from the Mesopotamian traditions. By this time Persian women were strongly encouraged to have children, which eventually became their most important role. As mentioned before, they engaged in hunting, drinking and feasting with men, and wore provocative clothing. According to de Jong, the one word that best describes what priests wanted from women was ‘obedience.’ Common women were considered to be the property of men and fetched a certain price. Women were seen as creatures that could bring destruction to society. Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts tell us that women had to dress and look modest. By this it meant that covering one’s head and feet were important. Makeup and wigs were probably forbidden for the common women. Laws forbidding women from taking part in daily activity, such as cooking, cleaning and coming into contact with the sacred fire during the time of menstruation are detailed and abundant. Women who engaged in intercourse during the period of menstruation were considered to be worthy of death. Men were to avoid women during their menstrual period, because this was the time when women were seen as most contagious and dangerous to every living being. ²⁰

In Sassanian society the ideal women was one whose stature was middle-sized and whose chest was broad and whose head, buttocks, and neck were well-formed and whose legs were short and waist slender and soles of the feet arched and whose fingers were long and whose limbs were soft, smooth, and fleshy and whose breast was quince-like and whose body down to the toes’ nails was snowy-white and whose cheeks was pomegranate-red and whose eyes were almond-shaped and lips coralline and (eye)brows vaulted and whose denture was white, fresh, and brilliant and locks black and bright and long. ²¹ These type of views depict the unbalanced views of the dominant males of the ancient Persian society whose sole aim was the fulfilment of personal desires.

Elite women wore a veil to be protected from non-elite men. Wealthy women did not work outside of the home as their main concern was bearing children. Rural and poorer urban women had a central role in trade specialization, such as making carpets and clothing, which were major commodities across the Iranian Plateau. However, in general, women were regarded as equal to children and slaves in terms of legal protection. An expression uncovered by historians from this period was “Women are not smart. Do not tell them your secrets”. ²² Avesta explained the characteristics of an ideal woman as: a young lady from a good origin, loyal, reputable, good natured, good housekeeper, modest and who likes her father, ancestor and husband as her chief (salar), yet beautiful and shapely. Such a lady was considered to be the best of women. Such a definition emphasized characteristics such as obedience and respect to male relatives and the paternal lineage. Ardaviraf which is another religious Pahlavi text, stressed women’s control, especially their sexuality, as a source of power and encourages women to obey their husband or father. ²³

Children

The ancient Persians believed that children were indispensable to respectability. Sons were highly valued as economic assets to their parents and military assets to the kings; girls were regretted, for they had to be brought up for some other man’s home and profit. ‘Men do not for daughters,’ said the Persians, ‘and angels do not reckon them among their gifts to mankind.’ The child remained under the care of the woman till 5 and under the care of his father from 5 to 7; at 7 the child went to school. Education was mostly confined to the sons of well-to-Do and was usually administered by priests. Classes met in the temple or the home of the priests; it was a principle never to have to a school near a market-place, lest the atmosphere of lying, swearing and cheating that prevailed in the bazaars should corrupt the young. ²⁴

Marriage

In ancient Persia, women were seen as equal to children and slaves and the dowry of a woman was about 2000 drahm, equal to the price of a slave which is enough to show her status in the eyes of the society. Once a girl reached the age of 9 it was believed that she had to be married, and a boy when he was 15. The matches were made by the parents and the range of choice was wide. The women were required to kneel before their husbands three times daily and ask what his wish was and how she could make him happy. There were around five forms of marriage according to Zoroastrian law. The first one was that the women married with the consent of her parents, and the children which she bore her husband belonged to him in this world and the next, such a woman was called privileged wife. The second type of marriage was that in which a wife who had only one child and the first child she bore was given to her parents to take the place of the daughter who had left the family. After that she became a privileged wife. The third type of the marriage was in which a man of marriageable age died single and his family gave the dowry to a strange woman and married her to a stranger, this woman was called the adopted wife. Half of the children belonged to the dead man, whose wife she would be in the next world and the other half to the living husband. The fourth type was basically a remarriage. Here, the widow married again and was called a servant wife. If she had no children from her first husband, she was considered as an adopted wife and half of her children from her second husband belonged to the first, whose wife she would be again in the other world. The fifth type of the marriage was the one in which the woman married without the consent of her parents and it was the least favored but was practiced a lot. She was called the wife who had made her own house. She could not inherit from her parents until her eldest son was of age. ²⁵ The principal wife of the man with full rights was called padixšay wife, who had many more rights than other wives. If the husband (šoy) was not able to procure offspring, he could give his wife as cagar in which she entered into a levirate marriage to procure a son. This type of marriage was usually undertaken with a close relative which also made sure that it was a familial affair. ²⁶ A man could also give his wife to another man for a period of time, a form of marriage in Zoroastrianism called sturih. The wife could not refuse to go with the other man, and any children from that union were considered the children of the original husband. In this way, a man who could not have children of his own could claim to be the parent of another man’s sons. ²⁷ Such practices were a complete defilement of women rights and were a disgrace to morality and humanity.

Polygamy was a characteristic of Achaemenid marriage practice. The children from these unions were destined to be heirs to the throne (the king chose one of his sons for this purpose), to attain responsible positions in the service of the empire or the court, and – as potential candidates for marriage, contribute to securing the solidarity of the clan and the bond with the aristocracy. ²⁸

Incest

There is evidence in the religious books of ancient Persians which show that the marriage of brother and sister, father and daughter and mother and son were practiced. ²⁹ In Zoroastrian Middle Persian (Pahlavi) texts, the term xwedodah is said to refer to marital unions of father and daughter, mother and son, or brother and sister (next-of-kin or close-kin marriage, nuclear family incest), and to be one of the most pious actions possible. The models for these unions were found in the Zoroastrian cosmogony. ³⁰ A special term was found in the Avesta which was Khvetuk-dasih on which the translator agreed that the term was technically used for the passage in Avesta which is used for the supernatural unions, which are called the Khvetuk-dasih between father and daughter, the son and the mother and brother and sister. ³¹

While giving more details on incest, Brian Spooner states that Arta Viraf made seven wives of his seven sisters. Also, the Magian emissaries of Yazdikart II to the Armenians stated: ‘let them have many wives instead of one that the Armenian race may wax and multiply: let daughter lie with father, and sister with brother. Not only shall mother lie with son, but granddaughter with grandfather.’ Incest, like ordinary marriage, needed witnesses. It could be initiated by parents or children, and both parties had to give their consent. ³² Such practices were the reason for the destruction of family structures in ancient Iran.

Darius married all the available women of Cyrus line, the aim being to ensure that all the bloodline of the kingship was concentrated in him and his Descendants. Many of the actions of Persian queens were best interpreted as directed at preserving the purity of the bloodline, as well as the succession of their own sons. This aim was intensified by a practice that was common in Persia but struck Athenians and others as particularly strange, namely marriage of kings with close relatives, including daughters, sisters and nieces. Xerxes’ attachment to his niece Artaynte is paralleled in his father’s marriage to his own niece Phratagune, which according to Brosius was designed to concentrate the family’s wealth further because she would bring with her the riches of her father Artanes. Thus, Cambyses married his sister as many pharaohs did. The Jewish philosopher Philo more or less grasped the point: ‘Those of the Persians who are in high office marry their own mothers; they consider those who are born from these unions to be of superior birth and, as it is said, think them worthy of the highest sovereignty.’ It is an extreme corollary of the fact that, it appears, only pureblooded Persians could be wives, as distinct from concubines. Strabo adds the information that the king normally married his wives at the spring equinox. ³³ Although all these philosophers and historians gave the information regarding incest, but none of them bothered to condemn such a heinous act which was responsible for the destruction of morality, modesty and ethics.

Polyandry

Polyandry marriage refers to a marriage of a woman to more than one man, it was a temporary convenience marriage of married women which existed in the Sasanian era. Women could marry nominally for the reproduction of a male successor for her first husband. If a husband had some valid reasons or some special commitment, he could handover his wife as well as her properties to another man for a determined period. In such cases, the woman was still the legal wife of her first husband who was her guardian now, and children from her convenience marriage were considered as the children of her first husband. Anthropologists believe that polyandry was common in societies with a bad sever life condition, where the land was scarce and having a husband was actually considered some kind of economic burden. However, in the case of Sassanian society, polyandry and the reproduction of a son as a legal successor guaranteed the possibility of saving properties in the paternal lineage and preserving its continuity. ³⁴ An idiosyncratic thing to note here is that the evidence given by the anthropologist basically supported the polyandry phenomenon. It is a wonder really, how can the sane and educated men/women endorse such acts due to which the identity of a child becomes a crisis, the body of the women becomes vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, the emotional state of the women becomes disturbed, because if all her husbands want to sleep with her, she has no choice but to comply. There are many other questions on polyandry as well, but an important question is that, doesn’t polyandry lead to demolition of social, cultural, religious and moral values? Simple answer is: yes, it does.

Abortion and Infanticide

Among the ancient Persians, it was a common custom to bury the children alive. Herodotus tells us about Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, who at an advanced age, ordered 14 Persian infants of illustrious birth, to be interred alive. ³⁵ Abortion, on the other hand was seen as a sin which would make a woman worthy of death. The persian literature condemned abortion and birth control. If a woman destoryed the fruit in her womb, the sin was upon both the man and herself: the murder was both upon him and upon her: both he and she were liable to pay the penalty for willfull murder. ³⁶ Fornication, even adultery, was forgiven if there was no abortion, abortion was a worse crime than the others and was punished by death ³⁷ but still, it was practiced in ancient Persia.

Adoption

Adoption was not a common custom in persian culture. To adopt a son, there were some traits which needed to be fulfilled in order to get adopted. The child needed to be of age, of the Mazdean religion and intelligent. He needed to have a numerous family and must have not committed any mortal sin. If a woman was needed to be adopted, she needed to be single and be free from the desire of a husband. She must be free from concubinage and prostitution, and she must not have been adopted by another family, for a woman could only be adopted once, whereas a man might be adopted by several families, without limit. There were three kinds of adoption: The ‘existing adoptive son’ was the privileged wife or sole and unmarried daughter, who was adopted ipso facto and without special formality. The ‘predetermined adoptive son’ was he who was appointed for the prupose by the deceased. The ‘constituted adoptive son’ was the man chosen among the near kin. ³⁸

Divorce

In ancient Persia, both men and women could ask for divorce. A man could divorce his wife if she was thought to be barren (starwan), if she committed adultery, sorcery, failed to fulfill the obligatory duties, refused to submit herself to her husband and failed to observe the period of confinement during menstruation; a cakar wife could be divorced much more easily. If she had just reached puberty and abandoned her husband, she would be deserving of death. ³⁹ In the Parthian period, the low-class women could not remarry in the lifetime of their husbands; that is, as in Sasanian practice they could not seek the dissolution of marriage. In contrast to the legal limitations imposed upon the commoners, the noblewomen could easily divorce their husbands. ⁴⁰

In the Parthian period, man could divorce his wife in the following four cases only: Being barren, getting engaged in magic works, being morally corrupt and, hiding her menstruation period from the husband. Whereas in the Sassanid period, divorce was only possible only under four conditions: If the woman committed adultery, if the woman disguised her menstruation from her husband, if the woman engaged in magic practice, or taught it to others, if the woman was barren. ⁴¹

Sexuality

Sexuality was an important issue in the Sasanian period. According to the Bundahišn, women were the progeny of the evil demoness, their actions were also dangerous and had to be controlled. Women were merely a tool for sexuality and reproduction. In fact, if a man had intercourse with a sterile woman, it was considered a sin, since he had wasted his semen. The other important sin which carried the death penalty was sodomy, which was known under several terms such as ‘sodomy’, ‘unnatural lust’ and ‘sinful copulation’. There were a number of laws and cases which refer to this practice which suggest that it occurred. In the Wıdewdad, it is stated that if men engaged in passive and aggressive sodomy unwillingly, they were worthy of lashes, but if they were willing, they would be worthy of death. Passive sodomites were seen as more wicked than those committing sodomy with women. In another chapter a man was punished for the act of sodomy with a woman, which was less severely punished then the one who committed sodomy with a man. ⁴² Still, acts of sodomy were prevalent in the ancient Persian society, and the elites would choose the best among the young boys to satisfy their evil lust as it has been mentioned above with the reference of Muhammad A. Dandamaev and Vladimir G. Lukonin that Babylonia alone was obliged to supply 500 boys annually to the Persian king as taxes. ⁴³

Architecture

Persia has also been known for its impressive civic architecture. The styles of this architecture have shifted over the centuries, changing as the influences of different cultures have passed through the country. During the time of Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, for example, the great palaces are illustrated Assyrian, Greek, and Egyptian mannerisms. Persian architects had copied the palaces of the Assyrains. At Persepolis and Susa, as in Assyria, are flat-roofed edifices with terraces, gates hoarded by monsters carved in stone, bas-reliefs and enameled bricks, representing hunting scenes and ceremonies. At three points Persian developed their models; they used marble instead of brick. The floors of these halls were made with painted wood. They erected 8 columns in the form of trunks of trees, the slenderest were twelve time as high as they were thick.

Thus, their architecture was more elegant and higher than that of Assyria. ⁴⁴ The palace at Pasargadae, for example, had winged bulls at the gateways, imitating the Assyrian style. Similarly, columns from the palace at Persepolis featured Egyptian-style capitals with animal and palm motifs, but also showed a Greek influence in the double Ionic decoration on the capitals. In overall layout, these great palaces were majestic and labyrinthine, with numerous colonnaded passageways, majestic hypostyle halls, and sumptuous gardens and courtyards. ⁴⁵ The Persian architecture had some influence of the Babylon and Susa but the royal buildings differ strikingly from both. The royal buildings consisted of many chambers and forbidding exterior, the most characteristic Persian buildings were the single chambered audience halls whose columnar construction lent beauty and dignity to interior and exterior alike. In the use of column, the Persians architecture differed from that of Tigris-Euphrates valleys. The Persians columns were thinner than the Egyptian and placed at greater interval from one another. ⁴⁶ The Sasanian kings were great builders of cities and palaces. Ardashir and Shahpur and Narseh founded the cities Vahardashir, Bishapur, Paikuli and Saevesttan. The plan of first Sasanian city, Vahaedashiir, was circular, as were those of the Parthians towns. Architectural innovations of the Parthians, such as iwans, barrel-vaulted chambers surrounded by corridors and possible fire sanctuaries consisting of round domes in solid masonry over square chambers, continued to appear. Later Sassanian palaces show variations of the basic from the employed in the palace of Ardashir. In palaces, the use of piers allowed the internal spaces to be opened up. According to the E. Porada, the Sasanian palace and city building conveyed something of the political significance, which pertained to builders and building of this period. ⁴⁷

After the death of Cyrus, the short reign of his son Cambyses was chiefly occupied by the subjugation of Egypt and was marked by no special constructional work. But when Darius Hystaspis had established himself securely on the throne a rapid advance in architectural activity and achievement was inaugurated. Darius had served as a general under Cambyses in the Egyptian campaign and not only became acquainted with the Ionian buildings at Cyrene and Naucratis, but had also seen for the first time the stupendous hypostyle hall of the temple of Ammon and other marvels of Lanark and Thebes. The Persian king had already two principal palaces, one at Susa, the ancient Elamite capital, which was no doubt similar in style to those of Assyria and another at Ekbatana in Media, which was only occupied in the summer. The expeditions of Cambyses and Darius to Egypt no doubt brought further new influences to bear on Persian art. The remarkable development internal colonnades not only in the hypostyle halls of temples, but also in the more lightly built palaces, did not fail to appeal to the love of luxuriance combined with the mania for self-aggrandizement which were ruling motives of Persian royalty. The columned balls of Karnak and Thebes were probably directly responsible. The uppermost member of the capital, consisting of the demi-bulls or unicorns, seems to have been a device suggested perhaps by the goats-capitals that appear in some Assyrian reliefs and adopted in place of an abacus, to contain rather than merely support the heavy cedar beams of the ceiling. As an architectural contrivance it did not commend itself to western nations, though a few columns in which the bulls are used merely as a decoration have occasionally been met with. Notwithstanding, however, these obvious artistic defects, it cannot be denied that these great halls-adorned outside with sculpture illustrating the earthly majesty of the great king and inside with all the semi-barbaric splendor that gold and color and gorgeous hanging could give. ⁴⁸

Construction of Houses

In attempting to describe Persian houses during the Achaemenid period, it is necessary to consider several factors such as architectural styles and building techniques used in the Middle East before, during and after the Achaemenid period.

With access to the same construction materials and influenced by the same weather patterns, it is only natural that they would adopt and adapt the styles of building of their Middle Eastern neighbors. Raw building materials available within the Middle East included mud brick, stone and timber. There was one material, however, which was available only to the Middle East region, which was bitumen. Bitumen occured naturally in the Middle and Near East, in Iran, Iraq and along the Red Sea coast. It was used as a common adhesive, a water proofing sealant and as a mortar for binding bricks.

A typical house throughout the Middle East and Persia before, during and after the Achaemenid Empire was a two-storey, rectangular structure divided into two or more separate living quarters. Access to the top floor could be via internal or external stairs or ladders. Such a dwelling would house one or more extended families in separate living areas. It would be constructed of unbaked mud bricks, possibly on a foundation of fired bricks or stone. The roof consisted of whole and split timber beams covered with reed matting, a layer of lime and then a thick layer of mud.

Both the exterior and interior walls could be plastered smooth with mud or a lime plaster. These would likely be decorated with paint or colored washes. Window shutters and doors would be of timber with either a timber or stone lintel. Baked bricks could be used in the construction of wealthy private homes, forts or temples. The earthen ground floor could be covered by reed matting or swept smooth, with the upper floors covered by woolen carpets, skins or felt blankets. Persian homes were characterised by the inclusion of landscaped courtyards and high stone or brick walls surrounding the homes. Rose gardens, shady and fruit trees such as citrus or pistachio would be a common inclusion. Water, ponds and fountains were also a Persian feature. ⁴⁹

Attire

The costume of the Persian Empire differed essentially from that of the other civilizations. The dress of Ancient Egypt, Sumeria, Babylonia and Assyria, consisted of skirts, shawls and tonic which bore no resemblance to that which was characteristically Persian. The costume of the Persians can be divided into three periods according to style ranging from 6^th century B.C. to 7^th century A.D.

The first is the Achaemenid period which range from the 6^th century B.C. to the Alexander conquest in the 4^th century B.C. The 2^nd period was Seleucid and Arsacid periods ranging from mid-4^th century to the 3^rd century A.D. The last was the Sassanid period from 3^rd century A.D. to the 7^th century A.D. ⁵⁰ Linen and wool were most probably the chief materials used in ancient Persian costume, but there were indications that leather was rather extensively employed in the tighter fitting garments. It must not be taken that either in Assyrian or ancient Persian dress the garments fitted as smoothly and tightly as might be imagined from the sculptured and painted representations. ⁵¹ Under the Parthians, pant and coats with the sleeves similar to modern clothing became common across the empire. Both men and women however still sometime wore tunics. Tunics were also worn during the Sassanian era, with men wearing shorter tunics and trousers. In the later years of the Sassanian Empire. Kings and other royalty also wore long robes. All Persian wore belts, either tile or buckled. During the Parthian and Sassanian dynasties, belts were more common worn by men. In regard to the Persian national dress Herodotus says: ‘The Persian are of all men most inclined to adopt foreign manners, thinking the dress of Medes more becoming than their own, they wear it in preference.’⁵²

Men’s Clothing

In general the male costume of the peoples of the Achaemenid empire was divided into five catego¬ries: ‘Court dress’ of the Persians and Elamites; ‘cavalry costume’ of Iranian and related groups (Medes, Armenians, Cappadocians, Parthians, Bactrians, and Scythians); the ‘Greek’ style, including a short tunic and a loose mantle open in front (worn by Carians, Lydians, Greek islanders, and Ionians); the ‘Indian’ style, consisting of a kilt with or without a mantle (worn by Indians, Gandarians, Sagartians, and Makans); and the dress of the plains dwellers, including a long gown reaching to the knees or ankles and a cloak (worn by Arabs, Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Libyans, and Nubians). In all, five items of clothing may be distinguished: headgear, over garment, shirt or tunic, trousers, and footgear. The ancient Iranian tradition of the three social estates were differentiated through the colors of their costumes: The warriors wore red, the priest white and the pastoralists blue. Traces of colors were present on the clothing of the royal figures and dignitaries repre¬sented on certain Achaemenid monuments; in an early 5^th century painting from Elmali with a banqueting scene involving ‘a grandee whose physi¬cal appearance, costume, and surroundings seem wholly Persian’ and on a Greco-Persian stone relief depicting a man in ‘Median' dress.

The evidence has been interpreted as attesting that the Old Iranian tradition was partially observed in Achaemenid ceremonial dress: The king wore red shot with blue and white to symbolize his authority over the three estates. The ‘cavalry costume,’ is depicted in ’Greco-¬Persian’ minor arts with ample pleats, was shown at Persepolis without indications of drapery only because pleats and appliquéd decorations were indicated by the use of various colors. Indeed, at Persepolis the laces of the royal shoes were indicated only by colored outlines. Several over garments were associ¬ated with court dress. The vest was worn by Darius the Great, the Persepolitan monster-slaying hero and the Persian and Elamite throne bearers represented on the tombs. It had vertical pleats and, being sleeveless, leaving the wearer free to move quickly. It seems to be attested also on a Greek vase, where it is painted in red, with patterning and a broad white stripe down the front, as well as on an enigmatic silver statuette from the ‘Oxus treasure’.

Herzfeld maintained that it was ‘a simple rectangular piece of soft material, reaching in front and back from neck to ankle, and in width from wrist to wrist, arms outstretched, with a slit for the head. It was open at the sides and only girded around the waist by a belt.’ Roes, however, argued for a two-piece costume, a cape-like top with wide sleeves and a pleated skirt. Nevertheless, that it was a single piece girt in the middle by a wide cloth belt, below which it fell in tiers of pleats to for to form a ‘skirt,’ is clear from the representation of a ‘Persian noble¬man’ engraved on the seal of Artaxerxes. ⁵³ Under the Achaemenids, in Mesopotamia and North Africa, people tended to wear long gowns that reached to the ankles. Men wore tunics to their knees with a sash tied around the waist. These sashes provided a place to carry a knife or moneybag. Tunics varied in length, with sleeves that were wide, narrow, or long, but they all shared a common feature– the Persians’ love of bright colors. ⁵⁴ In Asia Minor, shorter gowns called tunics were more common. Greek historians mentioned that the royal family wore long robes and men also wear leather pants. Xenophon in his Anabasis, says some of the noble soldiers he traveled with wore ‘outer robes of Purple’ over ‘expensive tunics and colorful trousers.’ Purple was most often worn by the wealthy, since the dye that turned cloth purple was expensive. ⁵⁵

Women Clothing

The historical representations of women show that they usually wore the pleated ‘court dress’ and the voluminous ‘Ionic’ chiton. Occasionally, as on some of the Ergili sculptures and the ‘Satrap sarcophagus,’ they wore an over garment that, like the modern cador, covered the head and neck. The face, however, was always uncovered. The hair was often worn in a single plait at the back. By far the best available documentation of women’s dress from the Achaemenid period was the remnants of actual clothing found in the Pazyryk tombs, though in those distant region garments included a short cape or caftan made of squirrel skin with the fur side inward and bordered with a band of black colt skin; it had narrow sleeves decorated with patterns of applied leather pieces. Another was a hood of a double thickness of fine leather covered in black colt skin and ornamented with rhomboid leather appliqués; it reached to the shoulders. Finally, two pairs of boots were found. One had fine red-leather tops and vamps stitched to soles decorated on the underside. The other was soft, knee-high, with broad cuffs of leopard skin, leather vamps, and thick, rigid leather soles ornamented on the underside. This curious feature was practical because the wearer ‘sat with legs arranged so that the heels were turned out,’ as is still customary in Central Asia. ⁵⁶ Over their sherwals, women would wear draped gowns with a colorful sash tied at the hip. Royalty draped themselves with gold necklaces strung with carnelians, emeralds, jasper, and amethyst. Their earrings were studded with turquoise and lapis lazuli. Common people could not have afforded precious metals and stones, but craftsmen provided intricate designs in jewelry for them as well. ⁵⁷

Food

With the variety of food grown across persian Empire, the people rarely went hungry, except during droughts. For the average peron, grain, beans, fruits and vegatable were important parts of the daily diet. Beer and wine were common drinks. Spices such as coriander, basil, mint and turmeric added flavor of many stews and other dishes. Dried fruits and nuts were eaten throughout the empire, since they could be shipped long distances without spoiling. Other fruits and vegetables were mostly found close to where they were grown.The Persians were first to grow spinach, a common vegetable now found throughout the world. The nomads of the country made cheese and yogurt from the sheep’s milk. Milk also came from goats, cattle and horses. Meat typically came from these animals, as well as chickens and pigs. Since hunting was popular, the nobility also ate wild animals, such as wild boars, rabbits and deers. Along the Caspian Sea, fish provided a good source of protein. Few people ate meat regularly, but the nobles and royals did. Herodotus noted that birthdays were celebrated with huge feasts, with the rich serving an ox or a horse or a camel or a donkey roasted whole in great ovens whereas the poor served smaller beasts. ⁵⁸

With crops grown throughout its empire, Persians enjoyed a rich diet. The most common grains of rice, barley, and wheat could be combined with vegetables, dates, oranges, and lemons mixed with spices to make dishes that were both colorful and flavorful. Grains were ground to make flour and bake various types of bread. ⁵⁹ The daily mourishment of the Persians consisted of bread, barley-cake (maza), cardamum (a kind of cress), grains of salt and roast or boiled meat; with it they drink water. Starbo’s report about the eating habits of Persians was confirmed and complemented by the Persepolis tablets. Barley, milled or crushed and then made into bread or mash, was indeed a staple food, while meat (chiefly goat or mutton, but also poultry) formed the exception and organized similarly to the Romen pastio villatica, determined the royal menu in its many variants. ⁶⁰ The Persians were fond of undiluted and strong drinks, and their deliberation is said to have taken place often when they were ‘warmed with drink.’ ⁶¹ People drank almost exclusively date or grape wine and they drank it neat, as the Greeks were surprised to discover. A kind of wine, vinegar together with salt, was used to preserve food. In Elam, as the Fortification Tablet attest, there was a preference for (stout) beer, so that one and the same person was alloted wine in Persia, but same quantity of beer in Elam. Fruit such as figs and dates, as well as mulberries, plums, apples, peers and qunices, almonds, walnuts and pistachios are also mentioned, but other that were known in antiquity as ‘Persian fruit’ (pomegranates, peaches, citrusfruits, etc.) are known only from the classical sources. Vegetables, herbs and dairy products are also absent or rare in the Persepolis texts, but they were also be asumed as basic foodstuff. ⁶² Until the reign of Xerxes, the people were abstemious in food and drink, eating only one day per meal, and drinking nothing but water. ⁶³

Family life

The family life in persia was usually controlled by men. Herodotus wrote that Achaemenids believed ‘the goodness of a man was most signified in this that he can show a multitude of sons. To him who can show the most sons, the King sends gifts to him every year.’ Many sons meant many soliders, and also descendants to carry on the family name. The Sassanians records say that the husband was the master of the home. By law, his wife and children had to show him proper respect. In return, the husband had specific duties. He had to support his wife for her entire life. In special circumstances, if a husband did not provide his wife with food, the wife was forced to steal the food for survival, and the husband was punished for it. If the husband died, a person chosen as guardian took care of the wife and children. The guardian was usually an adult son or another male relative, though someone outside the family could take this role as well. The father was responsible for his daughters’ well-being until she married, and for his sons until they became adults. In most cases, a father also had to approve a daughter’s marriage partner. Adult daughters had more freedom to marry whom they chose. For the earlier periods of the Persian history, few records exist about daily life outside the royal family. The Persepolis Fortification Tablets show that the children worked for the state and recieved food rations, just as adults did, although the children received less. Mothers collected extra rations after they had children, with an added bonus if the baby was a boy. Herodotus said that boys stayed with their mothers and female relatives until they were 5 years old. Then they went out with their fathers to learn work skills. ⁶⁴

Customs

The ancient Persians were an open-minded people who readily accepted foreign customs. As soon as they heard of any luxury, they instantly made it their own: and hence, among other novelties, they learnt unnatural lust from the Greeks. Each of them had several wives, and a still larger number of concubines. ⁶⁵ When people of equal status met, they embraced and kissed each other on the lips, to persons of higher rank they made a deep obeisance; to those of lower rank they offered the cheek; to commoners they bowed. They thought that it was inappropriate to eat or drink anything in the street or publicly spit to spit or blow the nose. ⁶⁶

Social Gatherings

The nobles engaged in riding, archery, and jousting with spears. ⁶⁷ An important social event was the banquet. In their different palaces or in tents while they traveled, the kings hosted huge, lavish meals for the court and foreign guests. The banquets let the king show his wealth and power, and keep the loyalty of the people below him. For the King’s dinner, the meat of several hundred large cattle was served, as well as lamb, gazelle, and birds such as geese and turtledoves. Different kinds of wheat and barley were prepared to bake breads and cakes, and a variety of oils, spices and herbs were ordered for cooking. Wine was the main drink at a banquet, though beer may also have been served. ⁶⁸ One ancient Greek historian recorded that 1,000 animals were killed every day for one Persian king’s banquets, though most of the meat went to soldiers outside the palace, not to the guests. ⁶⁹ For recreation, the Parthians hunted, as the Achaemenids did.

They also introduced a new formal type of exercise called Varzesh-e-Pahlavani. Modern writers have compared it to a martial art, such as karate, that stressed a blend of physical and mental training. The athletes, called Pahlavanis, trained in a round building called a zurkhanen, which means ‘house of strength.’ The exercises they performed included swinging wooden clubs. These were designed to strengthen them for horse-riding and boxing. As the Pahlavanis trained, a drummer kept a beat and a musician sang poems. The best of the athletes from the zurkhanens were respected for their strength. ⁷⁰ Hunting was the royal pursuit of the king and members of his courts.

Hunts were staged in vast royal enclosures in which wild animals, such as leopards, lions and boars, as well as deer, gazelles and ostriches were chased across the enclosure for the hunt. They not only served to exercise one’s hunting skills, but also served to practice military skills in using different weapons, spears, daggers, bows and arrows. Hunting was also conducted in the wild, outside the ‘organized hunt’, offering the challenge to the hunter’s stamina and endurance. In addition, hunts fostered a sense of identity amongst the nobility. It was important for the king to demonstrate his hunting abilities, military skills, courage and physical fitness to his court, the social aspect of the hunt will have been at least of equal importance. ⁷¹

Concubines

According to various Greek authors, large numbers of concubines lived at the royal court, supposedly running into hundreds. The sexual component of their duties was no secret. Described as the most beautiful women of Asia, they participated in feasts and hunts, and guarded the king’s sleep at night. According to one source, every night the king chose one of them as his consort. These harems were considered considerable assets and physical proximity was valued: thus, after Darrius’s III defeat at Issos, Alexander was able to capture large numbers of royal women who had accompanied the king on his campaign. Similar retinues are attested for Sasanian kings: Odaenathus of Palmyra was said to have captured the ‘concubines’ of Shapur, and Galerius the ‘wives’ of Narses. Briant and Brosius argue that many of these women, of foreign descent but apparently of high social rank, had been captured during military campaigns and transferred to the palaces. After the defeat of the Ionian uprising, ‘the most beautiful girls were dragged from their homes and sent to Darrius’s court.

According to Herodotus, ‘every man had a number of wives, and a much greater number of concubines’, a claim later echoed by Strabo concerning the Parthians, who ‘marry many wives and keep at the same time a number of concubines, for the sake of having many children’. Persian nobles, especially satraps, imitated royal polygynous custom. Surenas, the victor of Carrhae, was said to have been accompanied by 200 carts for his concubines. ⁷²

The persian kings were polygamous and a large number of concubines lived in the royal household on the expense of the society and were part of the king entrourage. These women were of high rank, but their non-persian origin meant that they could not be married to the king. ⁷³ Athenaeus, who existed in 200 A.D., attributed his information to a 4^th century B.C. Greek writer named Heracleides and claimed that the Persian kings slept all day in order to be awake all night to indulge in music and sex with his concubines. ⁷⁴ They were for the most part, a luxury of the rich, and the aristocracy never went to war without them. In the later days of the empires the king’s harem contained from 329 to 360 concubines, for it had become a custom that no woman might share the royal couch twice unless she was overwhelmingly beautiful. ⁷⁵ Pierre Briant suggests that each king on his accession picked a new set of 360, though it is unclear what happened to the previous set. Diodorus says that the girls had to line up on parade each night for the king to make his choice. Concubines had greater freedom, since they were employed to entertain their master’s guest.

Homosexuality and Prostitution

According to Herodotus, Homosexuality flourished in ancient Persia. Persians regarded copulating with boys as one of the good things of life which they learned from the Greeks. ⁷⁶ Also, Prostitutes were a common sight at the banquets and festivals in ancient Persia. They accompanied the Persian Army on its expedition into Greece and, after its defeat, were divided among the Greek soldiers. ⁷⁷ Hence it can be confidently stated that the Persians only lived to satisfy their desires in every way possible, even in war time without any distinction of peace and fire. Inner fire of their nafs (self) was that much triggered that they could not identify the differences of their family members and others as it is evident above that the marriage of brother and sister, father and daughter and mother and son were practiced. ⁷⁸

By studying this, one can easily understand that a society does not build itself on the basis of mundane facilities only, but rather on strong, just and moral principles. The ancient Persian society had every facility except these principles, and it was due to this lacking that the dynasties kept collapsing and a strong and united society was never formed. Even though these people were bestowed with so-called divine guidance as well, in the form of Zoroaster but due to their ignorance, they remained in misguidance. This misguidance crept into their way of life and they forgot the difference between morality and immorality, justice and injustice, and right and wrong. Moreover, they followed t

he teachings like ‘might is right’, and ‘eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die’ which meant that the elite lived off their luxurious lives on the sufferings of the poor. This caused the society to remain disunited and proved to be a major road block in their progress and prosperity.

• ¹ Jamie Stokes (2009), Encyclopedia of the People of Africa and Middle East, Facts on File Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 552.
• ³ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 355.
• ⁴ Guinness World Records: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-empire-by-percentage-of-world-population/: Retrieved: 19-02-2019
• ⁵ Musa Akrami (2011), The Development of Iranian Calendar: Historical and Astronomical Foundations, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran, Pg. 6.
• ⁶ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calendars: Retrieved: 28-03-19
• ⁷ Mary Boyce (1984), Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA, Pg. 19.
• ⁸ Mary Boyce (1984), Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA, Pg. 20.
• ⁹ Ibid, Pg. 20.
• ¹⁰ Ibid, Pg. 118.
• ¹¹ Clement Huart (1927), Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization (Translated by M.R. Dobie), Trench Trubner and Co., New York, USA, Pg. 139.
• ¹² Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 42-46.
• ¹³ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/barda-i: Retrieved: 29-03-2019
• ¹⁴ Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 58-59.
• ¹⁵ Muhammad A. Dandamaev and Vladimir G. Lukonin (1989), The Culture and Social Institution of Ancient Iran, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., Pg. 152-153.
• ¹⁶ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House, New York, USA, Pg. 90-91.
• ¹⁷ Clement Huart (1927), Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization (Translated by M.R. Dobie), Trench Trubner and Co., New York, USA, Pg. 166-167.
• ¹⁸ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster Inc. New York, USA, Pg. 375.
• ¹⁹ Rahele Jomepur (2015), Women in Iran: Ancient History to Modern Times and Back, Published by Author, Iowa, USA, Pg. 8.
• ²⁰ Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 59-60.
• ²¹ Ibid, Pg. 62.
• ²² Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians, Routledge, Oxon, U.K., Pg. 50.
• ²² Rahele Jomepur (2015), Women in Iran: Ancient History to Modern Times and Back, Published by Author, Iowa, USA, Pg. 9.
• ²³ Maryam Dezhamkhooy (2012), An Introduction to Gender Structure and Social Inequality in the Sasanian Empire Iran, University of Birjand, Sheraz, Iran, Pg. 3.
• ²⁴ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 376.
• ²⁵ Clement Huart (1927), Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization (Translated by M.R. Dobie), Kegen Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., New York, USA, Pg. 161-162.
• ²⁶ Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 60-61.
• ²⁷ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea house, New York, USA, Pg. 90.
• ²⁸ Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 B.C. To 650 A.D. (Translated by: Aziz Ehazodi), I.B. Tauris, London, U.K., Pg. 85.
• ²⁹ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA, Pg. 375.
• ³⁰ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/marriage-next-of-kin: Retrieved: 29-03-2019
• ³¹ Darab Dastur Peshotan Sunjana (1888), Next of Kin Marriages in Ancient Iran, Trubner & Co. London U.K., Pg. 72.
• ³² Brian Spooner (1966), Iranian Kinship and Marriage, University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons, Philadelphia, USA, Pg. 53.
• ³³ Richard Stoneman (2015), Xerxes: A Persian Life, Yale University Press, London, U.K., Pg. 186.
• ³⁴ Maryam Dezhamkhooy (2012), An Introduction to Gender Structure and Social Inequality in the Sasanian Empire Iran, University of Birjand, Sheraz, Iran. Pg. 3.
• ³⁵ John B. Deck (1817), An Inaugural Dissertation on Infanticide, J. Seymour, New York, USA, Pg. 15.
• ³⁶ Joyce O. Hertzler (1936), The Social Thoughts if Ancient Civilizations, McGrew Hill Book Company, New York, USA, Pg. 162.
• ³⁷ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA. Pg. 375.
• ³⁸ Clement Huart (1927), Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization (Translated by M.R. Dobie), Trench, Trubner and Co., New York, USA, Pg. 164.
• ³⁹ Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 61.
• ⁴⁰ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/divorce: Retrieved: 29-03-2019
• ⁴¹ Mahmoud Emami Namin (2018), Cogents Arts and Humanities: Legal Status of Women in the Sassanids Era, Abingdon, U.K., Pg. 2 & 10.
• ⁴² Ch. Letourneau (1911), the Evolution of Marriage, The Walter Scott Publishing and Co., New York, USA, Pg. 331.
• ⁴³ Muhammad A. Dandamaev and Vladimir G. Lukonin (1989), The Culture and Social Institution of Ancient Iran, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., Pg. 152-153.
• ⁴⁴ Charles Seignobos (1906), History of Ancient Civilization, T. Fisher Unwin, London, U.K., Pg. 75.
• ⁴⁵ Jamie Stokes (2009), Encyclopedia of the People of Africa and Middle East, Facts on File Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 561.
• ⁴⁶ J.B. Bury, S.A. Cook and F.E. Adcock (1926), The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University Press, London, U.K., Pg. 202-203.
• ⁴⁷ Fereshteh Davaran (2010), Continuity in Iranian Identity, Routledge, London, U.K., Pg. 59.
• ⁴⁸ Edward Bill (1898), Early Architecture in Western Asia, G. Bell and Sons, London, U.K., Pg. 234-235.
• ⁴⁹ Iran Daily: http://old.iran-daily.com/1389/3/16/mainpaper/3697/page/6/mainpaper_3697_6.pdf: Retrieved: 29-03-2019
• ⁵⁰ Mary G. Houston (1954), Ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian & Persian Costume, Dover Publications, London, U.K., Pg. 162-163.
• ⁵¹ Mary G. Houston and Florence S. Hornblower (1920), Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian and Persian Costumes and Decoration, A & C. Black Limited, London, U.K., Pg. 78.
• ⁵² Augustus William (1922), Outline of Persian History, Lemcke & Buechner, New York, USA, Pg. 116.
• ⁵³ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-ii: Retrieved: 25-02-2019
• ⁵⁴ Katherine Reece (2005), The Persian Warriors of the Ancient World, Rourke Publications, Florida, USA, Pg. 33.
• ⁵⁵ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House, New York, USA, Pg. 101.
• ⁵⁶ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-ii: Retrieved: 25-02-2019
• ⁵⁷ Katherine Reece (2005), The Persian Warriors of the Ancient World, Rourke Publications, Florida, USA, Pg. 33.
• ⁵⁸ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House, New York, USA, Pg. 101-102.
• ⁵⁹ Katherine Reece (2005), The Persian Warriors of the Ancient World, Rourke Publications, Florida, USA, Pg. 36.
• ⁶⁰ Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 B.C. To 650 A.D. (Translated by; Aziz Ehazodi), I.B. Tauris Publisher, London, U.K., Pg. 75.
• ⁶¹ Augustus William (1922), Outline of Persian History, Lemcke & Buechner, New York, USA, Pg. 114-115.
• ⁶² Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 B.C. To 650 A.D. (Translated by; Aziz Ehazodi), I.B. Tauris Publisher, London, U.K., Pg. 75.
• ⁶³ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA, Pg. 373.
• ⁶⁴ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea house, New York, USA, Pg. 100.
• ⁶⁵ Jamie Stokes (2009), Encyclopedia of the People of Africa and Middle East, Facts on File, New York, USA, Pg. 562.
• ⁶⁶ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA, Pg. 373.
• ⁶⁷ Touraj Daryaee (2009), Sasanian Persia, I.B. Tauris & Co., New York, USA, Pg. 51.
• ⁶⁸ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians, Routledge, New York, USA, 46-47.
• ⁶⁹ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House, New York, USA, Pg. 114.
• ⁷⁰ Ibid, Pg. 119.
• ⁷¹ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 44.
• ⁷² Walter Sheidel (2006), Sex and Empire: A Darwinian Perspective, Stanford University, California, USA, Pg. 24-25.
• ⁷³ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 41.
• ⁷⁴ Matt Waters (2014), Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 B.C., Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, Pg. 95.
• ⁷⁵ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA, Pg. 375.
• ⁷⁶ Wayne R. Dynes & Stephen Donaldson (1992), Homosexuality in the Ancient World, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. XIII, 127.
• ⁷⁷ Melissa Hope Ditmore (2006), Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sexwork, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, Vol. 1, Pg. 17 & 341.
• ⁷⁸ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster, New York, USA, Pg. 375.