The Iranian national history must not be confused with the History of Iran as investigated by modern historians. Instead, it is a nationalist historiography in which historial elements are freely blended with myths and legends to create both an idealized narravtive about the nation of Iran[4] as well as an entertaining story.[5] Overall, this narrative anachronistically combines the Iron age conditions of the heroic Avestan period, where most of the stories originated, with the feudal conditions of the Sasanian empire from late Antiquity.[6]
Sources
The historical tradition of pre-Islamic Iran was mostly oral and no contemporary history books have survided.[7] The oldest references are found in the Avesta, in particular the so called legendary Yashts.[8] The Zoroastrian perspective is also presented in 9th-10th century works like the Denkard, the Bundahishn and the Ayadgar-i Zariran.[9] The ultimate representation of Iran's national history is, however, often thought to be reflected in the Khwaday-Namag, a Sasanian era history book.[3] This work is now lost, but its content can be reconstructed from later references by Muslim historians.[10] Although not a history book, the Iranian national tradition is most prominently told in the Shahnameh (completed in 1010), the national epic of Greater Iran.[11]
Development
The stories, characters and tropes which are found in the national history grew out of older traditions. For instance, characters like Jamshid (av. Yima), Fereydun (av. Thraētaona) and Kay Kavus (av. Kavi Usan) are also found in the Old Indic tradition as Yama, Trita, and Kavya Ushanas. They are, therefore, considered, to go back to the shared Indo-Iranian myths. Likewise, a motive like Rostam being tragically forced to kill his own son Sohrab, is also found in the Old GermanHildebrandslied, suggesting an origin in the even older Indo-European myths.[12] Specific stories, however, are first found in the oldest Iranian literary source, namely the Avesta.[13]
Geographical horizon of the early Iranians during the Young Avestan period
The Avesta already contains a large number of characters and stories known from the national tradition.[14] Although it does not present them in a single coherent narrative, the numerous allusion to the myths and legends of the early Iranians demonstrate that the core of the national tradition had already formed during the Young Avestan period.[15] This comprises in particular the reign of the mythical Pishdadians and Kayanians rulers[16] as well as the conflict between the Iranians and their archenemy, the Turanians.
Similar to the Medes, who do not appear in the historical tradition, the Achaemenids do only apper faintly, a fact which has puzzled many historians.[17] It is, therefore, not clear, what, if any, impact they had on its development. It has, however, been speculated that the mythical division of the world into 12,000 years was adopted by the Iranians from the Babylonians during the Achaemenid period.[18]
Following the conquest of Alexander the Great, Greater Iran came under the rule of the HellenisticSeleucid dynasty. This changed with the rise of the Arsacids, a dynasty from Parthia, who conquered Iran and created the Parthian Empire. Like the Achaemenids, the Arsacids had a mostly oral epic tradition, performed by courtly minstrels called gusans.[19] It is, therefore, not known what impact this period had on the historical tradition. One possible example is the popular Iranian hero Rostam, a figure which does not appear in the Avesta,[20] but has been connected to the Parthian era.[21] Another such figure might be Goudarz, who also does not appear in the Avesta but has several connections to the Parthians.[22]
Geopolitical situation of the Sasanian Empire around 600 CE
The national tradition achieved its final form during the Sasanian period when it was written down in a courtly historiography.[23] As a result, it anachronistically fuses the heroic and legendary stories of the Avestan period with the political and courtly conditions of the much later Sasanian era. This includes Sasanian era place names or the role of the Zoroastrian clergy in Sasanian court affairs.[24]
In particular the geopolitical conditions of the Avestan period were adapted to the very different circumstances of the much later Sasanian era. One example is the enmity between Sasanian Iran and the Roman Empire. Since the Romans do not appear in the Avesta, they became identified with the Sairima, a people which, during the Avestan period, were living west of the Iranians. Furthermore, during Sasanian times, Turkic tribes had began to settle in Transoxiania, the region inhabitated by the Turanians in the Avesta. As a result, they became increasingly identified with them, an identification, which became common during Islamic times.[25]
Chronology
The national history of Iran is typically divided into three distinct ages. The first one is a mythical age, which comprises the initiation of the cosmic struggle between good and evil and the rule of the first dynasty, the Pishdadians.[26] The second one is a legendary or heroic age. It comprises the so called Kayanian epic cycle, and features many Iranian heroes like Rostam and Goudarz.[27] The last one is the historical age, which begins with the invasion of Alexander the Great and contains historical rulers of the Arsacid and Sasanian dynasties.[28]
The mythical age begins with the first world king Gayomard, although in some accounts he is merely the prototype of humans created by Ahura Mazda. He is either followed by Siyamak, his son, or the first two actual humans Mashya and Mashyana. The Pishdadian dynasty then starts with Hoshang, either the son or grandson of Siyamak.[29] He is followed by other Pishdadians, who rule the earth by virtue of their possion of the royal glory. The most important of those is Jamshid (av. Yima), who rules for many centurires, establishes the classes of Iranian society and institutes Nowruz.[30] However, he eventually falls from grace, loses the royal glory and is killed and dismembered by Dahak (av. Aži Dahāka). Dahak, a chief agent of Ahriman, then rules the world for a thousand years until overthrown in a rebellion led by Kava.[31]
The new ruler is Fereydun, who divides the world between his three sons, namely Tur, who rules over Turan in the North, Salm (av. Sarm) who rules over the West (later identified with Rome) and Eraj (av. Airiia), who rules over Iran in the South. Tur and Salm conspire to murder Eraj, which starts the long rivalry between the Turanians and Iranians. This war starts with Afrasiab (av. Fraŋrasyan) invading Iran under its new ruler Manuchihr (av. Manuščiθra). The war goes in the Turanian's favor until Afrasiab agrees to have the dispute settled by having Arish (av. Erekhsha), the best archer of the Iranians, shoot an arrow to determine the new border between the two countries. Arish, with divine help, manages to make the arrow fly for over a day, eventually landing at the Oxus river, making it the border between Turan and Iran. However, the war eventually resumes and many heroes on both sides get killed.[32]
The heroic age is based around the Kayanian epic cycle, known from the Avesta, enriched by the stories originally associated with the houses of Rostam and Goudarz. It begins with the birth of Rostam and the accession of Kay Kavad to the throne, signaling the beginning of the Kayanian dynasty. The first part of the heroic age sees Rostam's many adventures as well as a renewal of the war between Turan and Iran until Afrasiab is eventually killed by Kay Khosrow.[33]
The second part of the heroic age centers around the rule of Goshtasp (av. Vištaspa), who protects the new religion of the prophet Zarathustra. Since the Turanians reject the new religion, hostilities resume under the new Turanian leader Arjasp and many heroes on both sides get killed. This part also includes the tragic fight between the two Iranian heroes Rostam and Esfandiyar (av. Spəntōδāta). Esfandiyar gets killed, but Rostam likewise dies shortly after. This inner-Iranian fighting continues under Kay Bahman leading to many deaths. The heroic age ends with the two last Kayanian rulers Dara I and Dara II, loosely based on Darius I and Darius III. The latter is killed by Alexander the Great, thus, signaling the arrival of the historic age.[34]
The historic age
The historic age is the last one and the only one which contains verifiable historical facts. It starts with the conquest of Iran by Alexander the Great, which is presented by merging two different accounts, one positive and one negative. The positive account of Alexander is based on the Alexander Romance, where Alexander becomes a legitimate king of Iran, by marrying the daughter of the last king, and undertakes many adventures. The negative account is based on the Zoroastrian perspective in which he is called Alexander the Accursed and appears as an agent of Ahriman, bend on destroying Iran.[35]
The rule of Alexander is not followed by Seleucids but immidiately by the Parthians. Only few historical facts are correclty remembered from this time and a number of events seem to be placed elsewhere.[36] The historical knowledge about the following Sasanian dynasty is substantially better. The chronology of the different kings is largely accurate as are some of the accounts associated with them.[37] Overall, however, the narrative continues to focus on delivering an uplifting and moralizing story rather than providing a truly historical account.[38]
Themes
Iran's national tradition reached its definite form during the Sasanian period of Iranian history and is, consequently, strongly informed by the ideals of the Sasanian monarchy.[39] The rule of the king and his legitimacy through the royal glory are prominent themes[40] as is the social division into several classes.[41] In addition, its stories are infused with a distinct Zoroastrian framework. This means that the struggles of individual heroes are depicted as part of the cosmic battle between the supreme god Ahura Mazda and his adversary Ahriman.[42]
References
Citations
↑Yarshater 1983, p. 359: "By national history is meant [...] the history of Iran as conceived by the Iranians themselves and embedded in Iranian historical tradition".
↑Yarshater 2004, "Iranians were in possession of a historical tradition that combined a mixture of myth, legend, and factual history".
12Shahbazi 1990, "the Xwaday-namag, the Sasanians' "fullest expression" of the Iranian national tradition".
↑Yarshater 2004, "[T]he traditional history was intended not only to preserve and promote the ideals of the kingdom and its religion, but also to amuse and delight its own audience".
↑Yarshater 2004, "In many other respects, the traditional history of the Pišdādid and Kayānid eras mirrors anachronistically the conditions prevailing in the Sasanid times when the Ḵʷadāy-nāmag was composed".
↑Hintze 2014, "The mythical and legendary history of the Iranian people as related in the Yašts largely agrees with that of the Persian epic, especially Ferdowsī's Šāh-nāma".
↑Yarshater 2004, "The traditional history is reflected also in a number of Zoroastrian works written [in] the 9th-10th centuries based on Sasanid tradition. Chief among these are Dēnkard (Books III, VII, and IX in particular), Bundahišn (especially chaps. xxxii and xxxv), and Ayād-gār ī Zarērān".
↑Yarshater 2004, "This pre-Islamic history of Persia, ultimately derived from the Ḵwadāy-nāmag, has been narrated also by writers in Arabic and Persian and at various lengths".
↑Yarshater 2004, "Ferdowsi’s Šāh-nāma (completed in 1010) [...] contains the most extensive rendition of the traditional history".
↑de Blois 1998, "The hymns (Yašts) of the Avesta contain numerous allusions to the deeds of the heroic and demonic figures known to us from the Šāh-nāma[.] From these references the content of the oldest form of the heroic legends can be reconstructed to a certain extent".
↑Skjærvø 2000, "References to the kauuis in the Avesta are found in the yašts in the lists of heroes who sacrificed to various deities for certain rewards. The lists go from [...] the later Pishdadids [...] before coming to the kauuis".
↑Park 2023, "The absence of the Achaemenids in Iranian history has puzzled many modern historians".
↑Shahbazi 2003, "Applying this scheme to their own idea of history, the Iranians placed the creation of the world at the beginning of this 12,000 year period". sfn error: no target: CITEREFShahbazi2003 (help)
↑Sims-Williams & Sims-Williams 2015, p. 249: "Unlike many other heroes of the Šhahnama, Rustam does not appear in the legends told or alluded to in the Avesta".
↑Yarshater 2004, "[They] continued to be orally transmitted until towards the end of the Sasanid period, when they were committed to writing in a semi-official book called Ḵwadāy-nāmag".
↑Yarshater 2004, "In many other respects, the traditional history of the Pišdādid and Kayānid eras mirrors anachronistically the conditions prevailing in the Sasanid times".
↑Yarshater 2004, "[I]n Islamic times because of the penetration of the Turkic people into Central Asia, where the Turanians were supposed to have lived, Turan (Turān) became erroneously identified with the Turks".
↑Yarshater 2004, "(1) The mythological part and the cosmogonic account of the world kings".
↑Yarshater 2004, "(2) The heroic era that comprises the Kayānid period and constitutes the largest part of the traditional history with fascinating episodes in which the great warriors of the era [...] are the main protagonists".
↑Yarshater 2004, "(3) The historical part that basically conforms to factual history".
↑Shahbazi 2003, "Their history was not remembered beyond a mere king list [...] but incidents from their periods were re-interpreted as events of the earlier times". sfn error: no target: CITEREFShahbazi2003 (help)
↑Yarshater 2004, "In the account of the kings, the entertaining, the rhetorical, the moralizing, and the fanciful exceed historical facts and objective details of foreign policy, military logistics, and dateable events".
↑Yarshater 2004, "As expected, the Ḵwadāy-nāmag reflected and supported the ideology of the Sasanid Persia".
↑Yarshater 2004, "Absolute obedience to the king, who enjoyed divine rights through the agency of the royal farr".
↑Yarshater 2004, "It also served to confirm and promote the strict observance of the distinction between social classes, which was deemed necessary to maintain social order".
↑Shahbazi 2003, "The concept of history was based on moral and intellectual foundations, which assigned man a significant place in the universe by making him a partner with the Creator Ahura Mazdā (q.v.) in the cosmic fight against Ahriman and his emissaries". sfn error: no target: CITEREFShahbazi2003 (help)
Bibliography
de Blois, François (1998). "EPICS". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol.VIII. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp.474–477.
Hatto, A. T. (1973). "On the Excellence of the "Hildebrandslied": A Comparative Study in Dynamics". The Modern Language Review. 68 (4): 820–838. JSTOR3726048.
Sims-Williams, Nicholas; Sims-Williams, Ursula (2015). "Rustam and his zīn-i palang". From Aṣl to Zāʼid: Essays in Honour of Éva M. Jeremiaś. Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. pp.249–258.
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