gender roles and women's status in central asia and anatolia

367 Pages·2007·8.58 MB·English

GENDER ROLES AND WOMEN’S STATUS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND
ANATOLIA BETWEEN THE THIRTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH
CENTURIES

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

NİLGÜN DALKESEN

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

AUGUST 20
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.

Prof. Dr. Seçil Karal Akgün
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.

Prof. Dr. İsenbike Togan
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members
Prof. Dr. Emine Gürsoy-Naskali (MARMARA, LIT)
Prof. Dr. İsenbike Togan (METU, HIST)
Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit (METU, SOC)
Prof. Dr. Özer Ergenç (BİLKENT, HIST)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Soykut (METU, HIST)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I
also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited
and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : Nilgün Dalkesen

Signature :
iii
ABSTRACT

GENDER ROLES AND WOMEN’S STATUS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND
ANATOLIA BETWEEN THE THIRTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH
CENTURIES

Dalkesen, Nilgün
Ph.D., Department of History
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. İsenbike Togan
August 2007, 352 Pages

This study examines changing gender roles and women’s status under the light
of töre/yasa and sharī‘a among the Inner Asian Turkic and Mongolian societies
and Ottomans in Anatolia especially between the thirteenth and the first half of
the sixteenth centuries. In this frame, this study traces gender roles and
women’s status in Inner Asia before the influence of Islamic culture and
civilizations by using oral and written sources as well as anthropological
studies. It also focuses on the formation of töre and yasa among Inner Asian
societies and sharī‘a in the Muslim world. Finally, this study investigates
gender roles and women’s status in relation with customary (yasa/töre and örf-i
sultani) and religious laws (sharī‘a ) among the Mongol Ilkhans, Timurids and
Ottomans. Gender roles and women’s status are examined according to
political, social and cultural characteristics of these dynasties from a
comparative perspective.

Keywords: Gender, Women’s Studies, Muslim Women, Turkish Women,
Islamic and pre-Islamic Dichotomy, Yasa, Töre, Örf-i Sultani, Marriage
Patterns, Levirate, Hypergamy, Hypogamy, Hierogamy, Dowry, Bride Service,
Bride Price, Mongols, Ilkhans, Timurids, Temür, Osman Beg, Ottomans, Tribal
Societies in Inner Asia, Terken Khatun, Baghdad Khatun, Padshah Khatun,
Delshad Khatun, Amir Chopan, Satı Bik, Khanzada, Saray Mulk Khanum,
Gawharshad, Hürrem Sultan, Mal Khatun.
iv
ÖZ

ONÜÇÜNCÜ VE ONALTINCI YÜZYILLAR ARASINDA ORTA ASYA VE
ANADOLUDA KADIN-ERKEK ROLLERİ VE KADINLARIN STATÜSÜ

Dalkesen, Nilgün
Doktora, Tarih Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. İsenbike Togan
Ağustos, 2007, 352 Sayfa

Bu çalışma Türk ve Moğol toplumlarında değişen kadın erkek (toplumsal
cinsiyet) rollerini ve kadının konumunu töre/yasa ve şeriat uygulamaları
çerçevesinde incelemektedir. Bu amaçla, bu çalışmada İslam kültür ve
medeniyetinin tesiri altına girmemiş olan Orta Asya Türk ve Moğol toplumları
arasında değişen kadın ve erkek rolleri, sözlü ve yazılı kaynaklara dayanarak
sosyolojik ve antropolojik veriler ışığında değerlendirmeye çalışılmıştır.
Ayrıca, töre ve Cengiz Han yasa’sının oluşumu ve içeriği; daha sonra ise
şeriat’ın oluşumu ve Türk ve Moğol topluluklarının İslam kültür ve
medeniyetinin etkisi altına girmeleri incelenmiştir. Daha sonra, birbirlerinden
sosyal ve siyasal ve kültürel bakımdan farklı İlhanlı, Timur ve Osmanlı
hanedanlıkları içerisinde, kadın erkek rolleri ve kadınların konumu
karşılaştırmalı bir açıdan çalışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Kadın Çalışmaları, Toplumsal Cinsiyet, Müslüman Kadın,
Türk ve Moğol Kadınları, İslam Öncesi ve Sonrası İkilemi, Yasa, Töre, Örf-i
Sultani, Evlenme Biçimleri, Kayın Alma Evliliği , Hipergami, Hipogami,
Hiyerogami, Çeyiz, Güvey Hizmeti, Başlık Parası, Moğollar, İlhanlılar,
Timurlular, Timur, Osmanlılar, Terken Hatun, Bağdat Hatun, Padişah Hatun,
Dilşad Hatun, Emir Çoban, Satı Bik, Hanzade, Saray Mülk Hanım, Gevherşad,
Mal Hatun

v
To My Parents

vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I want to thank my advisor İsenbike Togan as she encouraged me to
pursue my Ph.D while I was a teaching in a high school and she supported me
in the Ph.D program continuously. Her wisdom, knowledge and commitment to
the highest standards inspired and motivated me. She was always there to listen
and gave advice. It has been privilege to work with her. Secondly, I want to
thank Cemal Kafadar who is responsible for helping my acceptance to the
Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies as a research scholar. He
also shared his vision and invaluable comments with me. I also wish to express
my warm and sincere thanks to Beatrice Frobes Manz who volunteered to guide
me in my studies in Boston. She listened to me with a warm patience, and
encouraged me to work more effectively and productively with her comments. I
would also like to thank my thesis committee: Yıldız Ecevit's theoretical
discussions helped the consolidation of the theoretical basis of this study; Özer
Ergenç showed me to approach the Ottoman history from a different
perspective; Emine Gürsoy Naskali encouraged me to further study the oral
sources of the Inner Asian societies; and Mustafa Soykut provided me with a
wider perspective to view historical events.

I am grateful to Elif Ekin Akşit-Vural for her help during this study for sharing
her experience of the dissertation writing endeavor with me; her grammatical
revision of the thesis; and for listening to my complaints and frustrations.
Thank you Elif for everything. I would also like to thank Himmet Taşkömür,
who helped me to read the Persian sources and provided me his unpublished
translation on Hürrem Sultan's Vakfiyya in Palestine, İlker Evrim Binbaş who
helped me with the bibliography and Selim Karahasanoğlu who read sections
from my dissertation and encouraged me with his comments. I would like to
thank Güçlü Tülüveli for he listened to me, helped me with sources,
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commented on my subject, and most important, he boosted my morale when I
most needed it. I also want to thank Zeynel Doğan for his technical support and
Özden Erdoğan for sharıng her sources generously wıth me, my friends Leyla
Güzel, S. Buket Meydan, Belgin Alsancak, Sual Bora, Güner Coşkunsu, Tracy
Smith, Martha and Tom Barret for all kinds of support. Last, but, not least, I
would like to thank my family; my parents Mehmet Ali Dalkesen and Emine
Dalkesen, my brothers Aydın and Orhan and my sisters Emine and İslim.

Lastly and mostly I would like to thank the Turkish Academy of Sciences
(TÜBA) which awarded me with a scholarship and supported my studies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAGIARISM…………………………………………………………………iii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………....iv
ÖZ……………………………………………………………………………….v
DEDICATION………………………………………………………………....vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………..vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………ix
A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION, TRANSLATIONS AND DATES…....xiv
ABBREVIATIONS OF JOURNALS AND REFRENCE WORKS……..……xv
CHAPTERS
1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………....1
1.1 Contemporary Developments in Women’s Studies in General……....2
1.2 Basic Approaches to Muslim Women’s Studies in General………....7
1.2.1 Islam as Women’s Benefactor…………...……………………9
1.2.2 Pre-Islamic Traditions Evaluated in a Positive Light …...…..13
1.3 Studies Related to Women in Turkey and Central Asia.…………….16
1.4. From Women’s History to Gender History: Reflections on
Muslim Women ……………………………………………………….20
1.4.1 Beyond the Dichotomy of pre- and after- Islam……………..21
1.4.2 Tribal and State Traditions as a Tool of Analysis……………23
1.4.2.1 Customary Law (yasa, töre) and Islamic Law
Sharī‘a in Inner Asian Tribal and State Formations………...24
1.4.2.2 Gender Strategies in State Formations ………….......25

2. GENDER RELATIONS REGULATED BY CUSTOMARY LAW:
AS REFLECTED THROUGH LEGENDS AND HISTORICAL
RECORDS…………………………………………………………………….30
2.1 Definition ………………………………………..…………..……...32
2.1.1 Women in the Northerly Group………………..……………33
2.1.2 Women in the Southerly Group……………………………..35
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2.2 Gender Relations in a Historical Perspective ……………………….37
2.2.1 The “Northerly” Group as Reflected in Legends……...…….40
2.1.1 Hakas’ Altın Arığ Legend……………………………...41
2.1.2 Yakut’s Er-Sogotoh Legend…………………………..46
2.2.2 The First Group of Altai Legends……...……………………50
2.2.2.1 Maaday Kara Legend………………………………..53
2.2.2.2 Er-Samr and Ak Tayçı Legends……………………..54
2.2.2.3 Kökin Erkey Legend…………………………………56
2.2.3 The Second Group of Altai Legends………………………...56
2.2.3.1 Altay Buuçay Legend………………………………..57
2.3.3.2 Közüyke Legend……………………………………..59
2.3 The “Southerly” Group as Reflected in Historical Source ………....60
2.3.1 The Xiongnu (Huns)…………………………………...62
2.3.2 The Early Türk (Göktürks) ………………………........64
2.3.3 Uighurs ………………………………………………..69
2.4 Consolidation of Patrilineality through Supernatural
Female Beings…………………………………………………………...70
2.5 Marriage Patterns …………………………………………………..76
2.5.1 Polygamy…………………………………………………….79
2.5.2 Exogamy, Bride Price, Bride Service and Dowry …………..82
2.5.3 Levirate and Widow Marriage………………………………86
2.5.4 Gender Roles in these Societies……………………………..90

3. FROM CUSTOMARY LAW OF THE NORTHERLY AND SOUTHERLY
SOCIETIES TO UNIVERSALISTIC YASA (JASAGH) ……………………..96
3.1 Social, Political and Economic Transformations of the Turkic and
Mongol Societies …………………………………..................................96
3.1.1 Chinggis Khan and the Mongols …………………………..103
x