Anthropologist Pedram Khosronejad has embarked on a unusual and controversial topic in Iranian studies,developing a narrative on African slavery in Persia through archival photography, interviews and scattered text. Here he curates from his burgeoning collectionThe African slave trade in the Persian Gulf began well before the Islamic period. Mediaeval accounts refer sporadically to slaves working as household servants, and bodyguards,militiamen and sailors in the Persian Gulf including what is nowadays southern Iran. The practice lasted, and evolved, and through many centuries.
[br] In Iran’s modern history,Africans were integral to elite households. Black men were mostly eunuchs working inside the king’s harem and houses, while black women were servants to Iranian women.
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Source: theguardian.com