worn with gold circlets to lessen the sense of subjection. But the iron
bracelet does not thus lose its significance, for the woman has
everything to remind her of her secondary place in society. Sir Monier
Monier-Williams gives the following summary of woman's life in India:
"In regard to women, the general feeling is that they are the necessary
machines for producing children (Manu, lx: 96), and without children
there could be no due performance of the funeral rites essential to the
peace of a man's soul after death. This is secured by early marriage. If
the law required the consent of boys and girls before the marriage
ceremony they might decline to give it. Hence, girls are betrothed at
three or four years of age and go through the marriage ceremony at seven
to boys of whom they know nothing; and if these boy husbands die the
girls remain widows all their lives."
Since the boys soon find out their superiority to their mothers, the
latter have little part in shaping the characters of the children, and
therefore comparatively small influence in moulding the destiny of the
people. Wherever the cow is exalted and the woman degraded a nation can
hope for little from its women. "We all believe," says a prominent
Hindoo, "in the sanctity of the cow and in the depravity of woman."
Unwelcomed at her arrival and often harassed and kept in subjection till
her death, she can contribute little to the welfare of her people. It
may be said, however, that the Hindoo woman is in the main satisfied
with her lot, and is the mainstay of Hindooism.
VIII
BESIDE THE PERSIAN GULF
It is a familiar remark that the essential difference between the
civilization of the East and that of the West is disclosed in the status
of woman in each of these regions of the earth. Erman, in writing of the
women of Egypt, broadly remarks that in the West woman is "the companion
of man, while in the East she is his servant and toy. In the West at one
time, the esteem in which woman was held rose to a cult, while in the
East, the question has frequently been earnestly discussed whether woman
really belonged to the human race." But he justly adds, this is not
absolutely fair, either to the East or to the West. While in India woman
has been denied a soul, and among the Teutonic tribes she was honored
with a superstitious reverence, yet not all the veneration can be
accounted upon the one side, nor all the degradation upon the other.
Among the primitive Aryan peoples woman's place appears to have been no
mean one. The early traditions of the women of Bactria, ancient Iran,
and the region of the Oxus converge with those preserved in the Rigveda
of the Hindoos to indicate a high degree of respect for woman, for
marriage, and for the other domestic virtues.
The science of comparative philology has helped us to discover some of
the primitive ideas attached to the names of the female members of the
household. The root _ma_, _matar_, "mother," signifies the _creatrix_,
"she who brings children into the world." The coming of a girl into the
countries bordering on the Persian Gulf does not seem to have been the
matter of regret that it was so frequently in the Orient; for the name
"sister" appears to be connected with _svasti_, "good," or "good
fortune"; while the daughter manifestly held the important place, in the
pastoral life of the times, of milkmaid, from _duhitar_, "she who brings
the milk from the cows."
Lenormant, writing of this ancient period, says: "Marriage was a
consecrated and free act, preceded by betrothal and symbolized by the
joining of hands. The husband, in the presence of the priest, both while
the priestly office was invested in the head of the family, and also
after the priesthood became separate, took the right hand of the bride,
pronouncing certain sacred formulae; the bride was then conducted on a
wagon drawn by two white oxen. The father of the bride presented a cow
to his son-in-law, this was intended originally for the wedding feast,
but in later times it was taken to the house of the bridegroom; this was
the dowry, an emblem of agricultural richness. The bride's hair was
parted with a dart; she was conducted around the domestic hearth and was
then received at the door of her new abode with a present of fire and
water."
Many of these ancient customs which prevailed in the regions of Irania
in the earliest times existed in the various branches of the
Indo-European family in their scattered locations. There may be
mentioned the fire ordeal, such a trial as that through which the
virtuous Sita, heroine of the _Ramayana_, was compelled by her
suspicious husband King Rama to pass in order to destroy his suspicions.
There were two methods of testing a woman's virtue. By the first, she
must pass unharmed through a trench filled with live coals. In the
second, a succession of concentric circles, about ten inches apart, was
marked out. A red-hot lance head, or another piece of similarly heated
metal, must be carried by the accused woman without being burnt across
the first eight circles and thrown into the ninth, and it must even then
be sufficiently hot to scorch the grass within the last circle. If the
hand that bore the red-hot metal was not burnt, the innocence of the
accused was established.
In the legendary period of Persia's history woman performs an honorable
and--it is needless to add--a romantic part. Indeed, there has been an
interest of romance attached to Persia from the early days when
Herodotus travelled and Xenophon gave the world his _Cyropaedia_.
Persia's great epic poets, notably Firdausi in _Shahnamah_, have
preserved many of the early traditions of this land. More particularly
do the deeds which gather about the name of Shah Jamshid, one of the
earliest of Persian rulers, stand out in bold character. According to
the ancient legend, it was he who not only introduced the handicrafts of
weaving, of embroidering upon woollen, cotton, and silken stuffs, but
also it was he who divided the people into the four social
strata,--priests, warriors, traders, and husbandmen. Both these
contributions to Persia's early history may be said to be of prime
importance in the development of the womanhood of the country. Of this
king many interesting stories are related, episodes in which heroic
womanhood conspicuously figures. War and love, deeds of daring and of
chivalry hold a large place in the Persian legends.
The thrilling stories of King Jamshid's meeting with the irresistible
daughter of Gureng, King of Zabulistan; of their love and marriage; the
legend of the fair Tahmimah, daughter of the King of Semangan, and how
she fascinated and led captive the love of the youthful warrior Rustam,
whose fame had come to her ears; the unhappy trick by which she deceived
her absent husband, saying that the infant born to them was a girl, so
that the child might be left with her,--a deception which ended in the
tragedy of young Suhrab's death at the hands of his own father; Rustam
and Tahmimah's death from grief; the romantic finding of a queen for
King Kai Kaus, a lady who was to become the mother of King Saiawush; the
story of Byzun and the fair Princess Manijeh--all these, and more,
render the Persian epic literature rich in tales of love and chivalry.
It is out of the long and bloody struggles between the Iranians and the
Turanians, who for over ten centuries battled for supremacy, that the
early epic stories have largely sprung. There was no prejudice in the
ancient days of Persia against a strenuous as well as an amatory life
for womankind.
In the chapter upon the women of the Assyro-Babylonian people, the story
of Semiramis, the illustrious queen, has been told. So widespread was
the legend, however, that it belongs to the Persians as well as to the
inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The story was well known in
the region of Armenia, and may have been introduced into Persian history
because of its political value.
Among the early women of distinction must be named Homai, who has
indeed been identified with "the Persian Semiramis." She was a princess
of renown and daughter of Bahman, and to her has been given the credit
of being the author of a collection of tales known as _Hezar Afsane_,
which comprises about two hundred stories told upon a thousand nights.
It is from this collection by the Princess Homai that many suppose the
_Arabian Nights_ was constructed. How much of the material from the
former went to make up the latter is not capable of present proof, but
that the general idea and plan and some of the names, and the groundwork
of many of the tales, were borrowed from the work of the Persian
princess seems quite certain. Homai is mentioned in the Avesta, the
sacred book of the Persians; and the Persian poet Firdausi makes her the
daughter as well as wife of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Her mother is said to
have been a Jewess, Shahrazaad, among the captives brought from
Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. She is reported as having
delivered her nation from captivity, and has been identified with Esther
of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as with Shahrazaad the Jewess of the
_Arabian Nights_. Professor Gottheil thinks that the case here is well
made out by Kuenen and others. The period of Cyrus the Great brings us
upon the borderland between legend and history. Very romantic is the
story told by Herodotus concerning the mother of Cyrus. Astyages, the
Medean king, had a daughter named Mandane. This young woman was given in
marriage to Cambyses, son of Theispes. Shortly after this, King Astyages
had a dream in which there appeared a vine springing from his daughter
Mandane and spreading till it had overshadowed all Asia. Wishing to know
the meaning of this unusual dream, Astyages received from the Magi the
interpretation that a son of Mandane should some day reign in his place.
Alarmed at this, the king called a trusted servant, Harpagus, and
commanded that he make plans to put to death the infant to which Mandane
was soon to give birth; and the wife of Cambyses was closely guarded.
Harpagus, however, unwilling himself to be guilty of so bloody a crime,
directed that a herdsman of the king expose the infant son on a desert
mountain, where its death would be certain. The herdsman, however,
instead of leaving the little one to perish, reared him himself instead
of his own stillborn son. The child received the name of Agradates, but
later that of Cyrus, who by his achievements won the cognomen "The
Great." According to Ctesias, Cyrus, after defeating Astyages, married
his daughter Amytis, who had been the wife of a Mede named Spitaces,
whom Cyrus put to death. Herodotus, as we have seen, says that the
mother of Cyrus was a daughter of Astyages. The two statements may be
both correct, however, since an Oriental conqueror would not hesitate to
marry his mother's sister if the procedure gave him greater power over a
conquered territory.
It was a woman, according to Herodotus, who at length brought the great
conqueror Cyrus to his end. Desiring to vanquish the Massagetae, a
warlike tribe inhabiting the steppes north of the river Jaxartes, he
sent out his army, with the greater confidence of victory since this
people was then governed by a woman. When the Queen of the Massagetae,
Tomyris, perceived the approach of the large army of Persians and the
work of building bridges across the Jaxartes, she sent a herald to
Cyrus, proposing a fair and open contest between the two forces, on
whichever side of the river Cyrus might select. Cyrus chose the side
of the river next the Massagetae, but made use of a piece of strategy by
which the Massagetae were defeated and the queen's son, who led in the
battle, was captured. Queen Tomyris, on hearing of the disaster, wrote a
bitter message to Cyrus, and threatened revenge that would be most
direful if her son were not returned alive. Cyrus gave no heed to the
threat. Thereupon, Tomyris mobilized all the forces of her kingdom
against the Persian army. "Of all the combats in which the barbarians
have ever engaged among themselves," says the ancient historian, "I
reckon this to have been the fiercest." First, the armies stood apart
and shot their deadly arrows. When the quivers were all emptied, the
forces joined in hand-to-hand encounter with lances and daggers, neither
yielding, till at length the army of the queen prevailed by the
destruction of the larger part of the Persian army. Cyrus himself was
slain; and as Tomyris passed his bloody corpse, she heaped insults upon
it, saying: "I live, and have conquered thee in fight; and yet by thee I
am ruined, for thou tookest my son with guile; but thus I make good my
threat, and give thee thy fill of blood."
The story of Araspes and Panthea, related by Xenophon, is one of the
earliest pieces of romantic fiction. It is told in the _Cyropaedia_, and
is intended to illustrate the steadfastness and virtue of the great
Cyrus. Among the early gifts to the conqueror was a Susian lady, wife of
Abradates, King of the Susians, and regarded as the most beautiful woman
in Asia. Cyrus, never having yet seen her, committed her to the care of
Araspes till he might call for her. But the guardian fell so in love
with his fair ward that he feared the displeasure of Cyrus. The king,
however, astutely seizing upon his supposed anger toward Araspes,
decides to send him, as if a fugitive, to the enemy, that information
might be received by Araspes and communicated to him. Moreover, Panthea
now sends to Cyrus a message that her own husband Abradates would
himself become a fast friend to her lord, should he be allowed the
privilege of coming to him. Thus Cyrus, unlike many another king and
warrior, by supreme self-control in the matter of his loves gained
friends and subdued enemies.
The kings of Persia, while usually marrying but one legal wife, enjoyed
the universal custom of supporting a vast harem, and of inviting into it
daughters of neighboring kings. Usually the purposes were peaceful, but
sometimes they were of a hostile character. This was the case when
Cambyses, having resolved to carry out his father's plan of making a
conquest of Egypt, demanded of Amasis, Egypt's king, his daughter in
marriage, hoping thereby to pick a quarrel. Amasis replied by sending,
not his own daughter, but another damsel of his realm, who, unable or
unwilling to keep the secret, divulged to Cambyses the deception that
had been practised upon him. The Persian king desired no better pretext
for war, and the marriage trick was avenged by Egypt's fall.
The wives of the kings sometimes exerted much influence in the realm,
either for good or bad. Amestris, the only lawful wife of Xerxes, is
said to have been instrumental in the death of her husband by the hands
of two of his chief men. Amestris was his own cousin. That she
instigated this murder is not at all improbable, since there was ample
ground for jealousy on her part because of the notorious gallantries of
Xerxes. Indeed, the Hebrew Book of Esther draws a picture of the
corruptions of his court which in general outline is certainly true to
the facts.
Royal personages sometimes married their own sisters. This, however,
was contrary to the ancient custom. Cambyses, who succeeded Cyrus upon
the throne, fell in love with Meroe, his youngest sister, and wished to
marry her. Not wishing to fly in the face of the custom of the Persians,
he called together the judges of the empire and inquired of them whether
there might not be a law which allowed the marriage of brother and
sister. The judges informed him that there was no such law among the
Persians, but that there was a law allowing the king to do whatever he
pleased. Disgusted and enraged, the king ordered his sister to be put to
death; so that if marriage with her was prohibited to him, it might not
be possible to a lesser man. This was no surprise, however, to a people
who had known of the cruelties of this tyrant, whose own brother Smerdis
had been brutally executed at his command. Cambyses having died of a
self-inflicted wound, his successor, known as the Pseudo-Smerdis, or
Gomates, married all his predecessor's wives--a common custom among
Oriental monarchs; for the harem might easily be regarded as a part of
the spoils of conquest, or of the inheritance, as the case might be.
Gomates kept his numerous wives confined in separate apartments, for the
intrigues of the seraglio were the bane of the Persian as of the other
Oriental dynasties.
When Darius I. came into possession of the Persian throne he proceeded
to add dignity to his kingly claims by marrying Atossa, daughter of
Cyrus, who had already been successively the wife of her brother
Cambyses and of the false claimant Smerdis. Such political and
incestuous marriages became quite common in Persia. One might marry not
only a sister, but a daughter, and even a mother. At the instigation of
Parysatis, Artaxerxes II., her son, married his own daughter.
Atossa figures in an interesting story, which may, however, lack
historic truthfulness. Democedes, a physician of Crotona, had healed the
injured foot of Darius, and was now called upon to visit Atossa in an
illness. Democedes, anxious to return to his native land, sees his
opportunity. Atossa, healed of her malady, is induced to appear before
Darius and reproach him for idly sitting still and not extending the
Persian dominion. "A man who is young," said she, "and lord of vast
kingdoms should do some great thing, that the Persians may know it is a
man who rules over them." Darius replied that he was even then preparing
an expedition against the Scythians. "Nay," answered his wife, "do not
fight against the Scythians, for I have heard of the beauty of the women
of Hellas and desire to have Athenian and Spartan maidens among my
slaves, and thou hast here one who above all men can show thee how thou
mayest do this--I mean he who hath healed thy foot." Atossa prevailed.
But the expedition was only a reconnoitring party sent out in ships to
Greece and Italy. Democedes reached his home, and sent Darius word that
he could not return, because he had married the daughter of Milon the
wrestler; but the expedition met only with disaster.
That Persian women of royalty often took no inconsiderable part in
political and military activity is illustrated by many examples from the
days of Persia's strength. Xenophon has immortalized the zeal of
Parysatis in her efforts at placing her son Cyrus, the younger, upon the
throne, and her plottings in his behalf against his elder brother
Artaxerxes. Parysatis failed, but won no small power even in her
unsuccessful efforts.
Alexander the Great, on his Eastern campaign, seemed as willing to
marry the daughters of conquered princes of the East as to be worshipped
as a god by his obedient followers. Indeed, he would frequently give
respite to a strenuous life of conquest by marrying an Oriental woman.
While Alexander was engaged in his Phoenician campaign, Darius wrote
Alexander a letter offering him not only all lands west of the Euphrates
River, but also his own daughter, Statira, as the price of peace. It was
on this occasion that the famous dialogue between Alexander and his
general Parmenion occurred. The latter had advised that the offer of
Darius be accepted and no further risk of battle be undertaken. "Were I
Alexander," said Parmenion, "I should take these terms." "So should I,
if I were Parmenion," said Alexander; "but as I am not Parmenion, but
Alexander, I cannot." Accordingly, he wrote to Darius in reply to his
offer: "You offer me a part of your possession, when I am lord of all;
and if I choose to marry your daughter, I shall do so whether you give
consent or not." Events justified Alexander's boast, for both the
territory and the daughter fell into the hands of the Macedonian victor.
It was not, however, till the conqueror reached the palace city of Susa,
on his return from India, that he celebrated his marriage with Statira,
a daughter of Darius and Parysatis, who herself was daughter of Ochus,
predecessor of Darius. Alexander wished to encourage such unions with
Persian women, and went so far as to offer to his soldiers a full
payment of all debts to those who would take to themselves Persian
wives--an argument which appealed powerfully to the extravagant
spendthrifts, but was of little force with the sober and provident of
his followers. Many of the former availed themselves of their general's
offer and followed his illustrious example. Ten thousand soldiers
received presents for marrying Eastern wives, and at least eighty of
Alexander's courtiers celebrated their marriage to Persian wives while
at Susa.
The intermarriage of Greeks with Persian women was desired by Alexander
as one means of welding together the Greeks and the Persians into one
united empire. In the opinion of the Greeks, however, a union between
the sons of Hellas and the daughters of the East could not be regarded
as a regular marriage; and yet, Roxana, the Bactrian, was exalted to be
Alexander's queen. The spirit of the East, however, conquered the
conquerors, and polygamy was introduced among the Greek invaders,
Alexander himself having married three wives of the East, Roxana,
Statira, and Parysatis. The most noteworthy matrimonial coup of
Alexander during his Eastern conquest was, of course, that with Roxana.
Her son, born after Alexander's death, and called by the name of his
father, laid claim to the title of "the great king"; but Alexander's
Eastern plans, so far as they looked toward a universal empire, melted
away in the early morning of their conception.
After the decline of the Graeco-Persian power and the rise of Parthian
supremacy, we enter a new epoch in Persian history. The Parthians had
long been a rude, nomadic people. Their women were uncultured, and
played little part, except in a physical way, in the new era that dawned
upon the land of proud Persia. The Parthian women were, however, sturdy,
self-sacrificing, and brave, adapted well to the dashing character of
the Parthian warrior, whose tactics in battle struck terror to the
stoutest hearts, even among the brave Greeks and the well-nigh
invincible Romans.
Following the downfall of the Parthians comes, under Ardeshir, the rise
of the Sassanian dynasty, which many suppose to be a revival of the once
glorious line of Achaemenian kings. It was not long before woman began to
figure prominently in the new history. Sapor I., son of Ardeshir, or the
Sassanian Artaxerxes, as he is called, finding difficulty in bringing
the province of Hatra under his sway, receives an overture from the
daughter of Manizen, the ruler of Hatra, an ambitious young
woman,--without moral scruples,--with intimation that if she were made
Queen of Persia she would promise to betray her father's forces into
Sapor's hands. The compact was faithfully carried out by the damsel; but
Sapor, when he came into possession of Hatra, ordered the traitress to
be put to death, instead of marrying her, for Sapor not unnaturally felt
that he could not be safe on his throne with such a wife. It was during
the reign of Sapor that a new element was injected into Persian social
and religious life which was destined somewhat later to influence almost
every home in Persia. This was the rise of Manicheism, named for its
founder Manes.
This was a new form of Christianity--a syncretic faith into which
entered a little of Zoroastrianism, somewhat of Judaism, a modicum of
Buddhism, and some Christianity. Manes's teachings seemed so plausible
that many were swept away by them; they appeared to be destined to shake
the older faiths from their foundations, and they changed many of the
customs as well as portions of the worship of the people. Manes was a
zealous patron of the decorative arts. The art of weaving carpets of
silk and of wool, which has given employment to so many female fingers
from that day to this, and the fine embroideries which have made Persia
famous are to be attributed in no small degree to the influence of
Manes.