Abstract:

The Safavid society’s approach to sexuality and gender has made it a reference for the
“pre-modern” discourse, in which gender and sexuality manifest—in contemporary terminology—
queerness and fluidity. While it is important not to romanticize the image of the Orient as a queer
heaven, it is possible to consider Safavid society as an important site of inquiry that offers valuable
insights on pre-colonial gender and sexuality. A less discussed topic in Safavid literature on gender
and sexuality is gendered and sexual slavery. This study conducts a review of primary and secondary
literature on the Safavid period, including Western travelogues. The paper aims to outline the
relations between existing forms of captivity and factors such as gender and ethnic background. The
research explores the prevalence of slavery reported in Safavid literature and how slaves’ positions
were defined within social hierarchies.

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Published by Ladan Rahbari