Middle-East-msg - 11/17/99 Information and referances about the period Middle East. NOTE: See also the files: Arabs-msg, Ethiopia-msg, Islamic-bib, Moors-msg, Palestine-msg, Sythians-msg, ME-dance-msg, Islamic-Feast-art, ME-feasts-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefanšs Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: Lord Stefan li Rous RSVE60@email.sps.mot.com stefan@texas.net ************************************************************************ From: keikos@aol.com (Keiko S) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: middle eastern persona Date: 3 Jun 1995 18:39:35 -0400 Yes, they did. They had property rights, and custom dictated that a married woman had a right to total privacy. Even her husband was not allowed in her section of the living quarters uninvited, and she owned the cooking utensils and the tent itself. The dress code was in her favor, too, strange as it may seem. All those layers are insulating and keep you safe from sunburn, and the fact that your shape is pretty much concealed means you don't get ogled. Also, if you want to get into mischief, you're almost completely anonymous in the everyday outdoor wear. Modesty and propriety were expected of the men as well as the women. She kept her dowry as her personal property, and if there was a divorce, it went with her, as well as the bride price the groom paid originally in order to get married. The husband could take other wives, but only if he could support them equally and separately. Does that seem liberal enough? Considering the state of the times and the European codes which were extremely oppressive of women. Keiko S (Kadijah) From: Simone89@aol.com Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 11:09:48 EDT Subject: Fwd: D. Ayalon, "Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans" To: atlantia@atlantia.sca.org Here is the updated information on the "Eunuchs" book that several gentles requested. Simone --------- Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 10:22:30 -0400 Reply-To: H-NET List on Islamic Lands of the Medieval Period From: Steven Judd Subject: D. Ayalon, "Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans" The Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Institute of Asian and African Studies The Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation wishes to announce the publication of Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans: A study of power relationships by David Ayalon The Magnes Press 1999; 376 pp., including bibliography and index. (distributed by The Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation at the Institute of Asian andAfrican Studies of the Hebrew University.) The study of the eunuch phenomenon in Islam is still in its infancy in spite of its unique importance within Muslim civilization until the early twentieth century. There has existed an aversion to the study of the subject among scholars in general. For its study within Islam, there was yet another obstacle: the misunderstandings of the terms by which eunuchs were designated. The book covers a period from the beginning of Islam until the beginning of the sixteenth century, and deals mainly with eunuchs in the major centers of Islam in the East (Umayyads, 'Abbasids, Seljuks, Zangids, Ayy=FDbis, Mamluks and, to some extent, the Fatimids of Egypt). It is not a history of the eunuchs in that wide area, but is rather concerned with the power accumulated by the eunuchs militarily, socially and even economically (especially as trustees of financial affairs and property). The ultimate aim of the study is to bring out the close ties connecting the harem, the eunuchs and the Mamluks. In all these areas, the dominant element had been slaves (Islamized and often enfranchised) who were imported from beyond the frontiers of Islam. The eunuchs were usually the trainers of the young Mamluk=FDsand quite often their commanders. The Mamluks themselves, in various and changing forms, constituted the mainstay of Islam's military might through the greatest part of its history. The book also discusses castrations, the eunuchs' prices, and their so-called sexual life, romances and marriages. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ORDER FORM The price of the volume is $38. Postage and handling: $2 for the first volume and $1 for each additional volume. Members of the association "From Jahiliyya to Islam" will pay $27 + $2 (direct sales only, not through booksellers). Cheques payable to the Schloessinger Memorial Foundation should be sent to the Director of Publications, The Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation, Institute of Asian and African Studies, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91905, Israel. Please note that we do not accept Eurocheques, but personal and institutional cheques are acceptable. Inquiries: E-mail: msjsai@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il / fax: +972-2-588-3658 Please send ______ copies of "Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans" Name: _______________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________ Steven C. Judd Assistant Professor of History Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT 06515 ph: 203/392-5605 fax: 203/392-5670 judd@scsu.ctstateu.edu Edited by Mark S. Harris Middle-East-msg 3