The Elamite cuneiform tablets from Persepolis, dating to around 500 BCE, afford an unprecedented view on life in the heartland of the Achaemenid empire. Among the many topics in Achaemenid research revolutionized by the new documents is the position of women, especially those that belonged to the royal family. Two women were particularly conspicuous: Irtashtuna, one of wives of Darius I, and Irdabama, plausibly his mother. They held several estates, commanded large workforces, travelled on their own, and headed their own court and economic institution. Part of their “biography” becomes visible through the archival documents, but also by means of the seals impressed on the clay tablets.

Note: Please do not distribute the recording of Courts and Estates of Achaemenid Women.

The lecture will discuss the anthropological study conducted among Zoroastrian women settled in the United States of America, which since the mid-20th century has been accommodating migrants and refugees practicing Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian migration is connected with the transfer of religious practices to the new continent and their transformation and reevaluation in a new context. As institutional Zoroastrianism has been male-dominated, it is particularly interesting to explore how women transform religion through their practices and how they challenge the traditional way of understanding Zoroastrianism.