Favour of Ferdowsi's Shāhnāmeh and the Shāhnāmeh-Composition during the Mongol Rule of Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Javad Abbasi
• Javad Rashki Ali Abad

10.22067/jls.v43i2.8394

Abstract

Starting from the 6th century A.H., and especially starting from the Mongol era onward, along with the flourishing of historiography, historical shāhnāmeh-composition also became a point of interest, and shāhnāmehs appeared with the aim of recording historical events. In the composition of these shāhnāmehs, Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh was like a model for the shāhnāmeh-writers, and due to this the spirit of the ruler had a direct or an indirect affect on the historical compositions. This is despite the fact that the Mongol myths and epics had com in to the compositions of this era, which was dependant on the subject of these shāhnāmehs, which was the Mongol people and the rulers, which had rose from there. Examination of the content of these versified histories can assist in shedding light on some new dimensions of the Iranian literary history, as well as the historical changes taking place in the given work. Among these, some of the poetic works that are still remaining in the manuscript form have more new materials. The Chengizid Shāhnāmeh and the Shahanshāhnāmeh are the two important examples of such shāhnāmehs, which have been composed about the history of the Mongols. The given article introduces, breaks-down, and analysis these two works in order to show the level of the shāhnāmehs-composition during the period discussed.

Key words: Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh, composition of epics, versified history, Shahanshāhnāmeh, Chengizid Shāhnāmeh, Shams al-Din Kāshāni, Ahmad Tabrizi, Mongols, Ilkhānid Rule.

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