Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns

摘要

The study of the Mongol queens or khatuns and Mongolian women in general in the period of the Mongol Empire has long been overlooked. While an occasional article or chapter appeared in the past, it is only in the last few years that the metaphorical veil has been removed from these remarkable women in an ever increasing body of scholarship. Women in Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335 is one of the few monographs examining women in the Mongol Empire and the first with a focus on the Mongols in the western empire. De Nicola's work seeks to understand the role of the queens of khatuns from the pre-imperial period until the demise of the Ilkhanate. The focus on the title of khatun (Mongolian for queen) or khatun (the form adopted by De Nicola rather than khawatin in Persian) is appropriate as much of what we know about Mongolian women in the medieval period is drawn from the royalty. While the first two chapters includes pre-dissolution queens, with the establishment of the Ilkhanate, De Nicola focuses his attention on Iran but also considers the larger historic picture by discussing how the khatun institution affected the Middle East.