Baghdad in Travelogues of Female Iranian Hadjis: Social Life and Sect
Fatma BatkitarBaghdad, portrayed by Yaqoubi (d. AH 292/AD 905) in Kitâb al-Buldân as “having no peer in the East and the West”, continued to be described throughout centuries as “heaven on Earth.” Important for many reasons, this city and its surroundings became the topic of travelogues (seyahatname) of three female Iranian hadjis as they travelled to the region. The first travelogue written by these three female authors who lived during the Qajar Dynasty is Safarnama-ye Makkah by Mihrimah Khanom; Rūznāma-ye Safar-e ʿAtabāt va-Makkah travelogue by Sakineh Sultan; Rūznāma-ye Safar-e Hajj: Atabāt va Darbār-e Nāsırī by Aliye Khanom Shirazi. Based on these three travelogues, this study analyzed these authors’ observations regarding the social life in Baghdad and their perception of various sects. In the work, we first addressed why the city and its surroundings were important for Iranians. Finally, we introduced the writers of the travelogues analysed in this work and discussed in detail the chapters of their works regarding Baghdad and its surroundings.
İranlı Kadın Hacıların Seyahatnâmelerinde Bağdat: Sosyal Hayat ve Mezhep
Fatma BatkitarKitâbü’l-Büldân’da Ya‘kūbî (ö 292/905)’nin“doğuda ve batıda benzeri olmayan” şeklinde tavsif ettiği Bağdat, asırlar sonra yine seyahatnâmelerde “yeryüzündeki cennet” olarak anılmaya devam etmiş bir şehirdir. Pek çok bakımdan önemli bir şehir olan Bağdat ve çevresi, üç İranlı kadın hacının yaptıkları ziyaretlerini yazdığı seyahatnâmelerde konu edilmiştir. Kaçarlar Hanedanı döneminde yaşayan bu üç kadın müellif tarafından yazılan ilk seyahatnâme Mihrimah Hanım’a ait olan Sefernâme-yi Mekke’dir; Rûznâme-i Sefer-i Atabât ve Mekke seyahatnâmesi ise Sekine Sultan’a; Rûznâme-yi Sefer-i Hac: Atabât ve Derbâr-i Nâsırî de Aliye Hanım Şirazî’ye aittir. Çalışma söz konusu üç seyahatnâmeden hareketle müelliflerin Bağdat’ın sosyal hayatı hakkındaki mülahazalarını ve mezhep algılarını analiz etmeyi hedeflemektedir. Bağdat ve civarının önemi ve özellikle İranlılar için neden önemli olduğundan bahisle konu açıklanmıştır. Ardından seyahatnâme yazarları kısaca tanıtılarak eserlerinin Bağdat ve çevresini konu alan bölümleri ayrıntılarıyla ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır.
Travelogues apart from being a literary genre are prominent also for the information they provide social scientists. Those texts which are a product of individual testimony also serve as sources of first-hand information regarding the period they were written in. This genre, developed as various travellers wrote down their voyages taking place in different periods, forms a large body of literature. Muslims wrote about their hajj pilgrimages and visits they made to sacred places, which brought about a significant portion of works in this genre.
The Qajar Empire period was one in which travelogues were in high demand. The hajj travelogues made up a significant part of the texts that were produced during that time. The travelogues made by female authors were scarce. The works of three female authors constituted a rarity due to the female perspective and perception in which they presented themselves and as such, they fill an important gap. Moreover, these works are clear evidence that women did author works in that period.
The chapters dedicated to Baghdad and its surroundings in the travelogues of three female hajjahs from the Qajar period who started their journey to visit the holy sites in the last quarter of the 19th century are labelled as original and unique due to the different perspective they offered of Baghdad at the time. The first travelogue writer is Mihrimah Khanom who wrote Safarnama-ye Makkah. She started her journey in 1880/1297. Another author was Sakineh Sultan who titled her work Rūznāma-ye Safar-e ʿAtabāt va-Makkah. The starting date of her travel was 1899/1317. The last work to be considered in this study is that of Aliye Khanom Shirazi, the title of which is Rūznāma-ye Safar-e Hajj: Atabāt va Darbār-e Nāsırī. The journey of this author started in 1892/1309.
From the notes that the authors usually kept daily, we obtained information regarding the haj route, how the haj was organised, the information on sects, the perception of women, their national identities, and private lives. At the same time, they provided important information on religious and educated female followers of the Shia denomination themselves. These texts contained a broad range of information that provided important information on Baghdad and its surroundings, as it was stated previously.
The role and importance of Iraq and Baghdad in human history are in the open. The region is of even greater importance for the followers of Shia Islam. In this work, we analyzed the impression the region left on three women authors while they visited it for religious purposes. The article starts with an explanation of why Baghdad and its surroundings are so important to Shias, the majority of whom are Iranians. The period’s social life, the interactions between local subjects, and the social status of Iranians in the region are the focus of the following subchapter titled Social Life. The last subchapter is dedicated to the issue of denominations and sects, which continues to be important even today.
