Women of Iran’s Pre-Islamic Empires

This chapter investigates women’s roles in the Aryan migrations and ancient Iran’s Persian, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires. It considers the social environment of early Zoroastrian tradition, and the roles of women and goddesses in Zoroastrian myth. The chapter surveys archaeological clues and written records concerning the political, military, religious, and economic initiatives of women in each of Persia’s four main pre-Islamic empires. The Persepolis Fortification tablets provide especially detailed glimpses regarding the roles of female workers, supervisors, and business managers. The ancient Greek literature shows European surprise or dismay over the major administrative or military roles played by some Persian women.