A Social History of Sexual Relations in Iran

Book Description:

This study illuminates the 2,500-year social history of sexual relations in Iran. Marriage, temporary marriage, prostitution, and homosexuality are all discussed, as well as the often unintended result of these relations--sexually transmitted diseases. A Social History of Sexual Relations in Iran uses travelers accounts, Iranian and international archival sources, as well as government data, to bring together, in detail, and within the context of Iranian culture and religion, the nature, variety, and problems of sexual relations in Iran over the ages. Finally, Willem Floor summarizes the issues that Iranian society faces today--which are not dissimilar to that of many other industrial nations--the challenge to the male claim to dominance over women; change in the age of marriage; premarital sex; rising divorce rates; rising promiscuity; prostitution; sexually transmitted diseases; homosexuality; and street children.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
CHAPTER ONE
Marriage In Iran: A Family Affair
Imperial Iran
Achaemenid Period (559 330 BCE)
Parthian (227 BCE 224 CE) And Sasanian Periods (226 651)
Islamic Period (651 To Date)
Premarital Sex
Islamic Rules Concerning Marriage Contract Equality
Marriage Restrictions (Family, Other Relationships, And Religion)
Socio-Economic Selection Criteria
Preference For Consanguineous Marriage
Virgins Only
Age
Widows May Also Apply
Beauty
How To Select A Partner
Polygyny
Royal Prerogatives In Selecting Women
Bedroom Do’s And Don’ts
Erotic Stimulants
Marital Bliss
Adultery
Divorce
Chapter Two
Temporary Marriage A Formal Affair
Islamic Iran
What Is Temporary Marriage?
Safavid Afsharid Zand Period (1501 1794)
Qajar Period (1794-1925)
Temporary Marriage And Christians And Jews (1520s 1900)
Pahlavi Period (1925 1979)
Islamic Republic Of Iran (1979 To Date)
CHAPTER THREE
Prostitutionan and Extra-Marital Affair
Imperial Iran
Achaemenid Parthian
Sasanian Period (559 BCE 651 CE)
Islamic Period
Caliphate Until The Mongol Period (653 1258) Mongol Ilkhanid Timurid Turkman Period (1258 1500)
Who Were The Prostitutes?
In Which Towns Did Prostitutes Work?
The Wages Of Sin
Was There A Red Light District?
Streetwalkers And Others
What About Non-Moslem Males?
Did Prostitutes Wear Special Dress?
Prostitution: A Taxing Affair
Were Prostitutes Protected?
Were Dancing And Singing Girls Prostitutes?
Bans On Prostitution
Afsharid Zand Period (1736 1794)
Qajar Period (1794 1925)
Pahlavi Period (1925 1979)
Islamic Republic Of Iran (1979 To Date)
Abuse