The rise of christianity
A very useful interactive map: http://explorethemed.com/christian.asp
You might find the writings of St Jerome of interest. He describes in detail exactly how an upper-class girl should be raised as a 'good Christian' with the aim of her becoming a nun. Jerome had a spot of bother with his teachings when he was based in Rome, as his exortations to fasting and self-neglect contributed to the early death of Blaesilla, his client's daughter. Oops. Brushing that little difficulty aside, his 'Letter 107, to Laeta' contains some truly eye-popping tips on how to raise a girl. Jerome had to decamp to Palestine after the teensy problemette with Blaesilla. From there he continued to hold forth at great length about the general sinfulness of women, and his notions on women being covered up to prevent them tempting men into bad ways became fashionable in the eastern Mediterranean. |
Mecca and Medina were trading posts on the routes between the wealthy eastern Mediterranean and the silk, spice and incense producers.
So we shouldn't be too surprised that the idea that women's sinfulness should be veiled from view got exported across the deserts of Arabia and became embedded in Islam. |