Representation of Gender and Space in Historical Texts from the Ilkhanid Period

Many texts in various fields were written in the Ilkhanid period which by examining them, it would be possible to obtain a clear understanding of the social and political situation of the period in question. Three historical texts will be discussed in this research which narrate political history of the Mongols: Tārikh-e Jahāngoshāy-e Jovaini as a first document written in early Ilkhanid period; Jāmiʿ al-Tavārikh (Tārikh-e Mobārak-e Qāzāni) as a text referring to the age of Ilkhans’ conversion to Islam; and Tārikh-e Uljāytu (History of Uljaytu) for events of late Ilkhanid period. In this research, an attempt has been made to understand the relationship between the presence of men and women in different spaces to recognize the gender-oriented spaces regarding the mentioned historical texts remained from this period. Furthermore, a study on the relations of women’s presence in public events has been carried out.  The social role of women has also been considered in this research.
Among the various spaces represented in the mentioned texts, two main categories were recognized. First, spaces related to the Mongol traditions like ordu (royal camp), yurt and quriltai; and next, individual Iranian-Islamic traditional spaces like urban spaces, palaces, harems and bazaars. In general, private spaces for ordinary people were not mentioned in the texts, except in the narrations related to Ilchi-khaneh (embassy). After the Ilkhans’ conversion to Islam, some structures like Abwāb al-Birr (literally meaning: “doors to beneficence and mercy”) appeared. During the reign of Qāzān Khān Kharābāt-khāneh (pot-house) and Ilchi-khāneh also appeared and organized in urban spaces. According to the texts, the ratio of women to men in the represented areas is higher than their presence in Islamic urban spaces.
The conflict between the Mongol tradition and Islamic law can be seen in the placement of women in spaces represented in the texts of the late Ilkhanids. For instance, in bazaars the Mongol women were present in free style, while other women appeared with hijab (wearing a veil). This conflict was also evident in palaces, as mentioned in Ibn-e Bazzāz’s narration. Spatial gender segregation is not observed in the royal camp or ordu.
In general, it seems that the role of Mongol women after converting to Islam did not change significantly in the upper social classes, and women still had their own courts and camps. Private spaces like harem were generally used in places when narrators have referred to the history of the Iranian and Muslim rulers. This is fairly evident in the history of Jahāngoshāy.
Unfortunately, it seems that historians have not paid much attention to the presence of men and women of ordinary classes in public spaces. But according to Islamic traditions, lack of the presence of women in public spaces seems obvious. Such a matter can be seen in the text by Ibn al-Ikhwa. Therefore, when comparing Islamic traditions with the regulations of Genghis, we will recognize the free presence of women alongside men in public spaces.