The Journal of Epic Literature
Year:2015 | Volume:10 | Issue:18|Papers Count:7

One of ancient sects of Persia which once spread its realms outside Iran is the Manichean sect. Towards the end of Ashkanians’ reign in Babylonian Mardinu Mani was born and claimed himself a prophet but according to Shahnameh, he is a skilled painter who came from China to Iran during the Shapur Zolaktaf’s era. This information is not only incorrect but also according to the remarks attributed to Mani in a debate and provided by a certain Zoroaster priest about which Ferdowsi gives its account his statements do not agree with the Manichean beliefs. The priest introduces Mani as a believer in a God out of which light and darkness emerged from its core. This belief which the priest condemns Mani for belongs to Zorvanism and Manicheans themselves are hostile towards it. According to the Manavi text, they believe that if we accept Urmazd and Ahriman to be emerged from one entity and as the Zorvanists think a demon taught Urmazd to run the world, that is to say that good and evil are intermingled and neither part is absolute good or evil, nor conscious or unconscious and this necessitates nothingness since the law of causality no longer is applicable. The priest continues his reproach and tells Mani that if Ahriman is a twin of Urmazd, then one can regard night, a symbol of Ahriman as day, a symbol of day therefore one cannot distinguish between truthfulness and untruthfulness. The priest’s account about Mani’s beliefs and his criticism is the same criticism that followers of Mani tell about Zorvanism.

As exaggeration is one of the inevitable devices in describing the warfare scenes, unlike habits or supernatural habits are the integral pillars of epic poetry. Supernatural habits in this paper consist of heavenly forces, earthly forces, human factors and magical affairs studied in Shahnameh and in several religious epics such as Heydari attacks of Bazel Mashhadi, Heydari attacks of Raji Kermani, Khavarannameh and Alinameh. The themes of this epic device are more pronounced in Shahnameh which was composed under the influence of the ancient culture of Iran than its counterparts in religious epics and in reverse, the frequency of earthly forces, human factors and magical affairs in Shahnameh are more striking.

With respect to its infinite time and space span, Shahnameh Ferdowsi portrays variety of events. The cast of significant characters play their roles through different actions and human reactions hence the Shahnameh is an appropriate choice for those researches interested in interdisciplinary study of literature and science of psychology of personality. In describing main characters in Shahnameh, Ferdowsi had employed such semiology and imagery that with psychological analysis one can penetrate into the hidden layers of their psyche and personality. This shows how the composer is thorough and with his immaculate insight sees through the human nature and psyche. In this respect, the anti social character of Sudabeh is examined in order to find correspondence with those who suffer from anti social personality disorder.

In mythological texts, Kayumars is introduced as the first man, prophet and the first king. In Farsi and Arabic texts remaining from the first centuries after Islam, often he is introduced as the first King. It seems that this side of Kayumars’ character could be the remnants of the narratives and informal and non- governmental Khodaynamehs prior to Islam which was most common in the Eastern Iran and to which one has no access. Also in Zoroastrian books left behind from the last centuries of the Sassanid reign and the first centuries after Islam which was written in Pahlavi language, Kayumars appears as the first man created by Ahuramazda and upon his acceptance of the Mazdaei religion, he brings salvation to the mankind. However it must be taken into account that all these narratives are the outcome of the thought processes of the official writers and priests in the Sassanid era. The heroic narratives in the eastern Iran which recognizes Kayumars as the first king in the Pishdadi dynasty are not far from the priests’ narratives in the western Iran in terms of time. Now the question arises that whether these narratives in the earlier times were as such? Was Kayumars regarded as the first creature, created by the Ahuramazda in those first days?This article attempts to put forward a theory in which Kayumars is part of the mythological archetype of the sacred marriage between the “God of heavens” and the “Goddess of the Earth” that caused the growth of plants or birth of humans from the Earth’s core and it is believed that Kayumars in this ancient myth, is the name of the seed from the God of the heavens.

Upon studying sources in the Islamic period such as Tarkhe Tabari and Gharar- ol-sayr especially their correspondence with Shahnameh it is revealed that ancient Persian Kings made speeches and gave sermons during the act of coronation. The original Pahlavi document of these sermons are not available however due to the fact that a summary or parts of these sermons was narrated in the Farsi and Arabic sources relevant to Iran’s history, especially in Shahnameh, one can determine their components. Therefore, this study attempts to study the content and main themes of these sermons based on Shahnameh and its correspondence with Tarikhe Tabari and Gharar- ol-sayr.

Razmnameh Kanizak is a national epic and a narrative from Yadegare Zariran. This epic is part of the manuscript verse Haft Lashkar (seven Army) in Gorani language and is a reflection of a literary genre of composing Shahnameh in the west of Iran.The structure of the Razmnameh and its dramatic approach in two perspectives are reminiscent of Yadegare Zariran. A close look shows that the middle part is exactly a narrative from Yadegare Zariran in Pahlavi and in which Zoroastrianism is renounced and a change of name has occurred. In this perspective Razmnameh in comparison with Shahnameh and Gharar-ol-sayr is closer to the Pahlavi Yadegare Zariran, however a more general look at Razmnameh brings to mind the three stories of Goshtasp and Arjasp, Esfandyar and Arjasp and the seven trials of Esfandyar, which could be named the Parthian version of Yadegare Zariran. In this perspective, the Parthian version in transference to Khodaynameh and Shahnameh Abu Mansuri has lost its main structure but Razmnameh Kanizak has kept its Parthian structure and is the key to the first intact version of Yadegare Zariran.

Character and plot are the most important elements of fiction. The fundamental corner stone of every literary work both in old and new fiction is character. In other words in a fiction without a character there would be no actions. In stories characters are dealt with in two ways direct or indirect. Shahnameh can be regarded as a fictional work teemed with characters and its uniqueness owes itself largely to the fact that Ferdowsi paid his utmost attention to create characters. Through characterization, the characteristics, temperaments, ideologies and other features of a character is revealed to the reader. This research therefore is an attempt to analyze Ferdowsi’s point of view towards characters and study types of characterization employed by him.