Examining the Status of Women in the Family and Society in the Sassanian Period

Many of the contemporary authors and researchers such as C. Bartholomae (the author of the book “Zum sassanidischem Recht”) and Arthur Christensen (the author of the book “Iran in the Sassanian Period”), believe that women had a very bad status in the Sassanian period, being dealt with as slaves or objects. However, studying the religious and non-religious resources of this period, including Avesta and Matikan-e-Hazar Datastan (The Digest of a Thousand Points of Law), we realise that, in that period, women could testify in court and express their opinion about marriage, while a father could not coerce her daughter into marrying someone. Also, a girl could marry someone she loved without her father’s permission; after marriage, she could do business or even divorce her husband. Therefore, it is shown that women had a suitable status in the Sassanid society