• Acknowledgements; Note on transliteration and translation; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the three ketarim; Part 1. Versions of the Past: Visions of the Future: 2. Institutions and their instruments; 3. History as propaganda: the rabbinic version; 4. Other positions, other priorities; Part II. From Theory to Practice: the Struggle for Supremacy: 5. The first phase (c.135 BCE–c.100 CE); 6. Rabbis and priests (c.100 CE–c.300 CE); 7. Rabbis and appointed rulers (c.100 CE–c.400 CE); Part III. Ensuring Hegemony: 8. The institutionalisation of rabbinic authority; 9. Patterns of succession and pageants of installation; Afterword: a symbol and its resonance; Bibliography, Index.

"A very illuminating historical account of the ways in which gender has played a central role in Iranian politics. The processes of veiling, unveiling and reveiling provide a rich background around which much more is analyzed –from the efforts to control women’s sexuality, to factors affecting women’s labor force participation, to the active and important role played by women’s agency at many levels. Sedghi has accumulated an enormous amount of information that documents Iran’s development path and the historical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped women’s lives, gender dynamics and gender politics throughout the twentieth century and up to the present. The book is likely to become a key text for anyone interested not only in Iran and the Muslim world, but also in the wider issues of gender and development and of feminist politics." -Lourdes Benería, Cornell University

• Acknowledgements; Note on transliteration and translation; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the three ketarim; Part 1. Versions of the Past: Visions of the Future: 2. Institutions and their instruments; 3. History as propaganda: the rabbinic version; 4. Other positions, other priorities; Part II. From Theory to Practice: the Struggle for Supremacy: 5. The first phase (c.135 BCE–c.100 CE); 6. Rabbis and priests (c.100 CE–c.300 CE); 7. Rabbis and appointed rulers (c.100 CE–c.400 CE); Part III. Ensuring Hegemony: 8. The institutionalisation of rabbinic authority; 9. Patterns of succession and pageants of installation; Afterword: a symbol and its resonance; Bibliography, Index.

"A very illuminating historical account of the ways in which gender has played a central role in Iranian politics. The processes of veiling, unveiling and reveiling provide a rich background around which much more is analyzed –from the efforts to control women’s sexuality, to factors affecting women’s labor force participation, to the active and important role played by women’s agency at many levels. Sedghi has accumulated an enormous amount of information that documents Iran’s development path and the historical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped women’s lives, gender dynamics and gender politics throughout the twentieth century and up to the present. The book is likely to become a key text for anyone interested not only in Iran and the Muslim world, but also in the wider issues of gender and development and of feminist politics." -Lourdes Benería, Cornell University

• Acknowledgements; Note on transliteration and translation; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the three ketarim; Part 1. Versions of the Past: Visions of the Future: 2. Institutions and their instruments; 3. History as propaganda: the rabbinic version; 4. Other positions, other priorities; Part II. From Theory to Practice: the Struggle for Supremacy: 5. The first phase (c.135 BCE–c.100 CE); 6. Rabbis and priests (c.100 CE–c.300 CE); 7. Rabbis and appointed rulers (c.100 CE–c.400 CE); Part III. Ensuring Hegemony: 8. The institutionalisation of rabbinic authority; 9. Patterns of succession and pageants of installation; Afterword: a symbol and its resonance; Bibliography, Index.

"A very illuminating historical account of the ways in which gender has played a central role in Iranian politics. The processes of veiling, unveiling and reveiling provide a rich background around which much more is analyzed –from the efforts to control women’s sexuality, to factors affecting women’s labor force participation, to the active and important role played by women’s agency at many levels. Sedghi has accumulated an enormous amount of information that documents Iran’s development path and the historical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped women’s lives, gender dynamics and gender politics throughout the twentieth century and up to the present. The book is likely to become a key text for anyone interested not only in Iran and the Muslim world, but also in the wider issues of gender and development and of feminist politics." -Lourdes Benería, Cornell University