Investigating the Appearance of Iranian Women during the Safavid Era Based on Cultural Iconography (Case study: Travelogues of Sanson and Tavernier)

Identifying one’s “what and who” is a conscious process. Understanding the historical values of a nation or people is helpful in achieving their important cultural, social, political, and economic goals. The discipline of ccultural iconography investigates the culture of human societies and its characteristics through literary and artistic works. In the same way that world travelers such as Tavernier and Sanson have described the position, role and identity of Iranian women in the Safavid era in their travelogues, eastern travelers have included the image of Iranian women. However, they have also been judged based on mental stereotypes. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the position, role, and identity of Iranian women during the Safavid era in the travelogues of Tavernier and Sanson. It was conducted using a descriptive-analytical approach, based on the concept of cultural iconography. The real view and mental stereotypes of Iranian women during this period were analyzed, as beauty, marriage, fertility, and having sons were the most important demands placed on women in the patriarchal society of the era. Of course, the patriarchal society's treatment of women has been distinct in addition to beauty, marriage, acceptance of polygamy, and having sons. Court women are not passive; they consistently strive to acquire skills and participate in social arenas, including hunting, shooting, riding horses, embroidering etc. Travel writers have also attributed this lack of passivity to common women in mental stereotypes.