Economic Participation of Non-royal Women in the Achaemenid Period according to Persepolis Tablets

The information about Achaemenid women based on the works of Greek authors, Persepolis treasury and fortification tablets involves some objects such as seals and statues which are not only a few, but also most of them are related to the position of the queens and royal women. Meanwhile, less attention has been paid to non-royal women as a significant part of the Achaemind society. The present survey, aiming to study the economic participation of non-royal women in the Achaemenid period according to Persepolis tablets, is going to answer the basic question that “What were the non-royal women’s jobs in Achaemenid society?” In this survey, 49 tablets, out of 161 studied tablets, relating to the women’s job and salary information are presented separately in the tables 1 and 2. We have come to some conclusions by collecting data through library research and using functionalism theory and descriptive-analytic method. Considering the two factors of having a job and receiving salary, the survey’s findings indicate that women participated in different occupations and various job categories based on their expertise and abilities, and for every job they did, they received specific amount of ration including barely, beer and rarely meat and sometimes, the salary was in the form of silver.