Document Type : علمی- پژوهشی
Author
Department of Culture and Ancient Languages, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Among fine Persian works, the theme of any work is not as closely related to the subject of "Iranian nationality" and "Iranians national identity" as Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. Elements and national symbols such as "land" with specific geographical boundaries (whether mythical or real), customs and traditions, history, common national language and finally the position of people, religion and government, have been reflected everywhere in this great and unique poem. In this regard, Shahnameh has rightly been considered as the "document of national identity of Iranians". But to what extent the survival of the "Iranian nation" may owe much to the sage of Tus and his Shahnameh is a question that, although difficult to answer in the first place, seems to be possible to provide a suitable answer to it with a brief review of the development of the phenomena that led to the formation of "Iranian nation" in the ancient world and consequently, the compilation and arrangement of legends and narratives recounted through the legendry history of Iran about the formation of the nation and various cultural manifestations of the Iranian nation.
Highlights
Ferdowsi and the national identity of Iranians[1]
Introduction
There are various reasons for our deep interest and attachment to Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh; One of these reasons and perhaps the most important one of them is that Shahnameh, while being the highest and most glorious example of Persian poetry, has been incorporated into the Persian language and is sometimes rightly considered as the agent and guarantor of its survival among the Iranian public. It is obvious that the manifestation of such patriotic feelings and passion in our national epic is due to the existence of a country called Iran and a single nation called the “Iranian nation” which, despite being composed of different ethnic groups and tribes with different languages and dialects, because of their unity in culture and nationality, they all consider themselves Iranians, and the Persian language, which has been tied to Iranian culture and nationality throughout the ups and downs of Iran’s history is not considered as a language belonging to a particular nation or tribe, but as their national and common language. This language does not belong to a specific ethnic group, but historical evidence and indisputable linguistic evidence prove that all ethnic groups living in Greater Iran, from the eastern states of Khorasan, Merv, Herat, Sughd, Balkh and Khorezm to the states of north and northwest, i.e. Tabarestan, Deylaman, Gilan, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and also central and southwestern states, all have a great and undeniable share in the development of Persian language and its transformation into a common national language. What will be briefly discussed in the present article is a brief overview of the development of the phenomena that led to the formation of the “Iranian nation” in the ancient world and, consequently, the compilation of myths and legends that through the narrative history of the evolution of nationality, civilization, traditions, customs and other cultural manifestations of the Iranian nation have been recounted and have formed the Iranian national epic as manifested in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh; And finally, if possible, to provide an answer to the question of how much the survival of the Iranian nation and, consequently, the Persian language owes to Ferdowsi
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[1] Čangiz Moulâyi: Professor Old Iranian Culture and Languages; University of Tabriz
cmowlaee@yahoo.com.au
Discussion
All the evidence presented in the text of the pre-Islamic works indicate that the Iranians had achieved a clear mental understanding of the concept of “homeland” and “nationality” and had turned their racial identity into an objective reality, in such a way that they manifested and reflected it in their social life in the form of values such as patriotism, bravery and courage and adherence to the name, national pride and self-sacrifice, and in order to preserve these national feelings, they also took it to the realm of religious experiences, and in the pantheon of Zoroastrian Gods, they considered a special deity called dahyuma for their nationality and homeland, which can be considered as a kind of nation-god. To reinforce this national feeling, they believed in a supernatural magical force called Farrah, which we encounter in Avestan texts of two types, and interestingly, both types are reflected in some way in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh: one is Kayâni Farrah, which is the glory of the kings. This Farrah belongs only to the kings of Iran and legitimizes their monarchy. The other is “Iranian Farrah” which protects the Iranian nation and their land from the invasion of enemies and pests and disasters and guarantees the goodness and prosperity and of Iran and the pride and prosperity of the Iranian people. According to Avesta, both types of Farrah are inaccessible to foreigners and non-Iranians; According to the testimony of Zâmyâd-Yašt (97-29), Afrâsiâb tried hard to get it, but failed. There is evidence that western Iranians also believed in this magical power; Among these evidences, we can mention the special Persian and Median names that appear in Greek sources like Άριοφάρνης, (Justi 1895: 25) which is the Greek form of the proper name *Ariya.farnah meaning “possessing the Iranian Glory” and probably has a Median origin. The use of the golden hawk with open wings as a symbol of the Iranian flag in the Achaemenid period, which is mentioned in the report of Xenophon (1972: 98), is another proof of this claim.
One of the most important factors that played a role in strengthening the foundations of “Iranian nationality” and patriotic feelings of Iranians, is the emergence of epic traditions in ancient Iran, the oldest examples of which can be seen in the Avestan Yašts. These narrations had a national aspect from the very beginning; However, in Zoroastrian religious circles, some of these narrations had a religious character. On the other hand, we know that in the final processing of these narrations in a coherent and uniform structure, the dualist thinking and perception of Zoroastrianism, which considered the whole universe as the result of confrontation between Goodness and Evil and the whole universe as the arena of the campaign of these two Spirits, was not ineffective. (see Sarkârâti 1378: 95-112). In fact, it is inspired by the way of thinking that Iranians also took the cosmic contradiction in the world of epics to the context of their political thoughts, and hence concepts such as “Iranian” and “Iranian / non-Iranian” and “alien” were formed and the epic world became the battlefield of Iran and Turân, and the same fate that according to the Iranian worldview was considered for the end of the battle of good and evil, was decided in the epic world for the battle of Iran and Turân. It is clear that the contrast between these two concepts in Iranian thought was fundamentally different from what was common among Greeks, for example, about insiders and outsiders. Since the difference that the Greeks made between the “Hellenes” and the “Berbers” was merely a linguistic difference; Whereas in Iranian thought, this confrontation and distinction, which in the first place had a national and epic aspect, was mixed with the religious beliefs of the people for good and evil, and finally concepts such “friend and foe” emerged from it.
As some scholars, quoting a quote attributed to Mohammed Hasanain Heikal, the Egyptian writer who is seemingly saying, “We Egyptians became Arabs because we did not have Ferdowsi” believe that if it were not for Ferdowsi, we Iranians would lose our national identity and national language and were caught in the fate of the Egyptians. However, it seems that our case and the case of the Egyptians are of two completely different categories. Because, unlike the Egyptians, we Iranians, as described above, had a national identity and a national narrative tradition centuries before Ferdowsi was born, the final form of which is in the Pahlavi Xwadây-nâme, a book probably compiled in the late Sassanids, and subsequently, it is reflected in the Persian and Arabic historical works of the Islamic period, including the Seniyy Moluk al-Arz wa al-Anbiyâ’ of Hamza Isfahâni, the History of Tabari, Qorra al-Siyar of θa’âlabi, and especially the Shahnameh of Abu-Mansour, who was the main source of Ferdowsi in his report. Although these stories were in some cases mixed with the religious beliefs of pre-Islamic Iranians, they were not fundamentally religious, and were entirely national in nature. After the fall of the Sassanid government and the gradual conversion of Iranians to Islam, since these stories and national traditions did not contradict the new Iranian religion, they remained among the people and the result was that we became Muslims, but because of ancient culture and traditions and stories that guaranteed our national identity, we remained Iranians. Otherwise, centuries before the Arab invasion of Iran, that is, after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire and the domination of the Greeks, and consequently the rise of the Seleucid dynasty in Iran, we had to change our identity.
Conclusion
The Iranian spirit and the culture of Iranians not only withstood the political and cultural aggression of foreigners, but became prouder and more prosperous than before. The reason for this could not be other than that the Iranians had undoubtedly achieved a kind of national self-awareness that ensured their survival. In fact, when Ferdowsi tried to compose Shahnameh, Persian language had reached such a level of development and maturity that it had found the capacity of the words of our national poet. In fact, with the help of this rich and mature language, Ferdowsi was able to use its capabilities and present his poetic genius in the form of Shahnameh. Therefore, I imagine that if we did not have Ferdowsi, given the national self-awareness we had achieved and the common national language we had, we would still remain Iranians, without any threat to our national identity; but no doubt we would not have the pride of having the largest national epic of the world.
References
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[1] Čangiz Moulâyi: Professor Old Iranian Culture and Languages; University of Tabriz
cmowlaee@yahoo.com.au
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