Historical Studies

Historical Studies

A Comparative Study of Women's Submission in Middle Persian and Zoroastrian Persian Jurisprudential Texts Based on the Texts of Sad Dar prose and Sad Dar Bondahesh

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
PhD in History, Pre-Islamic Iran, Islamic Azad University, Darab Branch, Darab, Iran
Abstract
Abstract
Middle Persian and Zoroastrian Persian literature are texts with religious content, the main part of which was rewritten after the arrival of Islam. Among them, Sad Dar Nasr and Sad Dar Bandash are two texts among Zoroastrian writings that reflect Zoroastrian beliefs. The structure of both is evidence that the compilation was based on earlier Zoroastrian texts. The intellectual opinions in the two writings, in discussing women's submission, have attempted to infer the concepts of women's submission with a new perspective. The present study, based on the descriptive-analytical method, aims to conduct a comparative study of women's submission in Middle Persian texts (Ardavirafnameh and Pahlavi narration) and Zoroastrian Persian (Sad in prose and Sad in bondash), and seeks to answer the question of how women's submission and men's authority are presented and whether the status of submission differs in these two periods? The findings indicate that fatwas are influenced by the social situation at the time of composition, which is expressed in the form of religious fatwas, with a warning tone. The difference is that in the text of Sad in prose and Sad in bondash, women are called to obey their husbands in a new way.
Keywords: submission, women, Middle Persian, Zoroastrian Persian, Sad in prose, Sad in bondahesh.
 
Introduction
Undoubtedly, legal jurisprudential texts and their content in all periods were influenced by the social beliefs and religious beliefs of their time. In this regard, Zoroastrian jurisprudential texts contain comprehensive information about the beliefs of Zoroastrians, most of which were rewritten in the early centuries of the Hijri calendar, and of course, many of the legal beliefs contained in these texts can be attributed to the Sassanid and pre-Sassanid eras. In this regard, Zoroastrian Middle Persian and Zoroastrian Persian literature are two types of texts with jurisprudential and religious content. The time frame for the compilation of Middle Persian literature such as the Ardawirafnameh and Pahlavi texts is between the eighth and tenth centuries AD (second to fourth centuries AD). However, the compilation definitely dates back to before Islam, and Zoroastrian Persian texts such as the Hundred in Prose and the Hundred in Bandash were between the eleventh and nineteenth centuries AD (fifth to thirteenth centuries AD). Among the topics that can be seen in the religious sections of the mentioned texts are women and their rights and duties. The main issue of this research is a comparative study of women's submission to men in Middle Persian texts (Ardavirafnameh and Pahlavi narration) and Zoroastrian Persian, relying on two texts: Sadat Dar Nasr and Sadat Dar Bandash. With the aim of finding a relevant answer to the question of how women's submission and men's authority are presented in Middle Persian and Zoroastrian Persian texts, and is there a difference in submission in these two periods? The research hypothesis is that although the issue of women's submission to their husbands in the mentioned texts is accepted and emphasized as a jurisprudential and legal principle, it is believed that in Zoroastrian Persian texts (Sadat Dar Nasr and Sadat Dar Bandash), the issue of women's submission and men's authority is presented in a manner that is distinct from the Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts (Ardavirafnameh, Pahlavi narration), and it is emphasized in the form of religious warnings
 
Materials & Methods
The current research, using a descriptive-analytical method and citing library sources, attempts to conduct a comparative study of Zoroastrian religious beliefs regarding women's obedience in Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts (Ardawirafnameh and Pahlavi narration) and Zoroastrian Persian texts, relying on two texts, one hundred in prose and one hundred in verse.
Discussion & Result
The legal jurisprudential foundations of Iranian society have, at different times, defined duties for women and called upon them to comply with these duties. In the Mazdaist religion and in Pahlavi texts, many of these duties are expressed from a religious perspective. One of the common legal fatwas of Pahlavi texts is the insistence on women's obedience and submission to their husbands. Among the most important texts of ancient Middle Persian is the Ardawirafnameh text. In this regard, it seems that during this period, women were hesitant about obeying their husbands. Because the text enumerates the afterlife punishments for disobedient women, such as the suspension of the soul after death. Another Middle Persian text that takes a strict stance on the issue of women's disobedience to their husbands is the Pahlavi narrative text. This text, influenced by other Middle Persian Pahlavi texts, also discusses the importance of women's obedience to their husbands. Unlike the Ardavirafnameh, which determines afterlife punishments for disobedient women, this text states harsh worldly punishments, such as the husband's permission to burn disobedient women. Therefore, the social and cultural conditions at the time of the composition of this text tended to maintain the authority of men. In this regard, the threatening tone of the text could indicate the protest or rebellion of some women. Among the Zoroastrian Persian texts, the Hundred in Prose and the Hundred in Bandash are among the important texts that were written with the aim of preserving the life of the Zoroastrian religion. In these two texts, there is a new perspective on the issue of women's obedience to men. In other words, important religious obligations such as prayer have been removed from women's shoulders and obedience to the husband has been placed on the same level as obedience to God. This view and this way of expression are relatively new among Pahlavi and Zoroastrian religious texts and indicate the importance of the discussion of women's submission in Zoroastrian texts.
 
Conclusion
It should be noted that, in the tradition of Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts, women are depicted with an immature face, and caution should be exercised in relation to them. For example, in the text of the Ardawirafnameh, severe afterlife punishments for women who disobey their husbands' commands are stated. Also, in the text of the Pahlavi narrative, in a warning tone, women are called to obey their husbands and men are allowed to scold disobedient women. On the other hand, it seems that in the period of the composition of the two texts, Hundred in Prose and Hundred in Bandash, which is after the arrival of Islam in Iran, the authority of men and the obedience of women have decreased compared to the Sassanid period. Because the author tries to explain the importance of men's role in the family to women in a new way. Reflection on the jurisprudential rulings and fatwas of the text "Sad Dar Nasr" and "Sad Dar Bandash" indicates the concern of Zoroastrian religious organizations about family problems because the authors of these two texts, in transmitting the written heritage of Zoroastrianism, have asked women to fulfill their marital and family duties in a tone different from Middle Persian texts such as the Ardawirafnameh and the Pahlavi narration, and in this regard, women's worship and religious duty have been explicitly considered to be obedience to their husbands' commands, and they should kneel in supplication before their husbands during religious prayers and obtain duties from them. In this way, the religion of men, in writing and reproducing the jurisprudential concepts of Zoroastrian family rights, has firmly called on women to obey their husbands in various fatwas and has warned rebellious and disobedient women of severe punishments in fatwas.
Keywords
Subjects

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Volume 17, Issue 1 - Serial Number 33
Spring and Summer 2026-2027
April 2026
Pages 327-354

  • Receive Date 12 August 2024
  • Revise Date 03 May 2025
  • Accept Date 20 May 2025