Langer, Jennifer (2013) Exile from exile: the representation of cultural memory in literary texts by exiled Iranian Jewish women. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/17841 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. EXILE FROM EXILE: THE REPRESENTATION OF CULTURAL MEMORY IN LITERARY TEXTS BY EXILED IRANIAN JEWISH WOMEN JENNIFER LANGER Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2013 Shahin’s Ardashir-nameh, Iran, 17th century; Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary Centre for Gender Studies School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ____________________________ Date:_________________ 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... 7 ORTHOGRAPHY AND NOTES ON STYLE .......................................................... 8 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 9 I. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................................ 11 II. Contribution ............................................................................................................................................... 14 III. Literary Texts and Authors ...................................................................................................................... 16 (a) Synopses .................................................................................................................................................... 16 (b) Author Biographies ................................................................................................................................... 22 IV. Methodologies ........................................................................................................................................... 23 V. Thesis Structure ......................................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER TWO HISTORY OF IRANIAN JEWS ................................................. 33 I Cultural Memory versus History: The Early History of Jews in Iran ............................................................. 35 720-550 BCE ................................................................................................................................................ 40 (a) Impact of Pre-Islamic History on the Authors and Iranian Jews ................................................................. 40 Achaemenids (550-330 BCE) ........................................................................................................................ 40 Seleucids and Parthian Arsacids (330 BCE-226 CE) ................................................................................... 46 Sasanians (226-642 CE) ............................................................................................................................... 47 Caliphs (642-847 CE) ................................................................................................................................... 52 Taharids, Saffarids, Samanids, Daylamites, Buyids, Ghaznavids (847-1038 CE) ......................................... 56 Seljuqs (1038-1157 CE)................................................................................................................................ 57 Mongols (1220-1335), Timurids (1381-1452), Turkmen (1452-1501) ........................................................ 58 Safavids (1501-1724) ..................................................................................................................................... 58 Afsharids and Zands (1722-1794 CE) ......................................................................................................... 62 Nadir Shah (r. 1736-1747) ........................................................................................................................... 62 Zands (1750-1794) ........................................................................................................................................ 63 Qajars (1795-1925) ....................................................................................................................................... 64 II Modern History of the Jews of Iran .............................................................................................................. 71 Pahlavis (1925-1979) .................................................................................................................................... 71 Islamic Revolution and Republic - 1979 to circa 1989 ..................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER THREE TRAUMA ................................................................................ 90 I. Trauma Theories ......................................................................................................................................... 90 II. Mahaleh ..................................................................................................................................................... 93 (a) Gendered Anti-Semitism ......................................................................................................................... 105 III. Out of the Mahaleh ................................................................................................................................. 109 (a) Jewish Gendered Trauma ........................................................................................................................ 118 IV. Islamic Revolution and Regime ............................................................................................................... 121 (c) Jewish Female Trauma ............................................................................................................................ 162 CHAPTER FOUR NOSTALGIA ............................................................................. 167 I. Nostalgia Theory ....................................................................................................................................... 167 III. Gendered Nostalgia................................................................................................................................. 181 CHAPTER FIVE EXILE AND DIASPORA ........................................................... 193 I. Exile and Diaspora Theory ....................................................................................................................... 193 3 II. Exile ........................................................................................................................................................ 196 (a) Exile and Women .................................................................................................................................. 197 III. Diaspora ................................................................................................................................................. 207 (a) Jewish Diaspora ...................................................................................................................................... 208 (b) The Orientalist and Occidental Gaze ...................................................................................................... 213 (c) Fractured Iranian Diaspora..................................................................................................................... 218 IV. Gendered Iranian Jewish Diaspora ......................................................................................................... 221 (a) Gendered Orientalist and Other Gazes ................................................................................................... 221 (b) Troubled Gendered Diaspora .................................................................................................................. 225 CHAPTER SIX LAYERS OF MEMORY: JEWISH PALIMPSEST ...................... 232 I. Biblical Queen Esther ...............................................................................................................................