A Sociological Study of the Institution of Marriage in the Safavid Era

Marriage is an institution that has seen many ups and downs in different eras in its history; Including in the Safavid era, which is considered a new chapter in the history of Iran, and the changes and developments in it have left lasting effects on the social, political and religious institutions of Iran.The question raised here is what is the quality of the image of the institution of marriage in the Safavid era?The answer to this question in a descriptive-historical research approach and with the benefit of social and jurisprudential-legal studies will produce results.Marriage in the Safavid era is a function of the patterns of permanent marriage, temporary marriage, marriage through buying a wife, arranged marriage and exchange marriage with common features and effects specific to each one in this historical period.The most important rules in marriages have beenMahramiat (In Islam, a mahram is a member of one's family with whom marriage would be considered haram meaning illegal in Islam) based on consanguinity, intra-spouse and same-spouse relationship.Also, in addition to the multiplicity in the pattern, the multiplicity in the wives is also observed, and various factors have been involved in it.As mentioned in the narratives of foreign tourists, some elements can be listedas the reasons related to unity or multiplicity of choice of wife in the Safavid erasuch as wealth, being away from one's spouse and staying for a long time in another place, the difference in temperament of the people of the East compared to the people of the West, the transfer of a slave girl from other countries, the presence of the institution of temporary marriage and the desire to have many children.