The Reflection of Sassanid Political and Social Rituals in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Persian Language and LiteratureUniversity of Bojnord

2 Master's student in Persian language and literature, Faculty of Humanities, University of Bojnord. Bojnord, Iran

10.29252/kavosh.2025.21829.3592

Abstract

One of the largest and most powerful Iranian empires was the long-standing Sassanid dynasty whose rule started with the ascension of Ardashir to the throne five and a half centuries after the Achaemenian Empire. The Sassanid Empire added a brilliant chapter to the history of Iran and created a rich political and social culture, the results of which became everlasting in the Iranian history. The most important factor in the stability of this empire was the officialization of Zoroastrianism and connecting this religion to politics which greatly influenced other political and social factors. One of the most reliable sources on the Sassanid political and social culture is Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Using an analytical-descriptive method, this study seeks to delineate the most significant political and social rituals which were common in the Sassanid period. The data are extracted from reliable history books, and then their conformity with Ferdowsi’s accounts in Shahnameh is evaluated. The results of the research show that, in terms of political culture, rituals such as the connection between religion and politics in the management of the country, the rites of coronation and ascension to the throne, and the etiquettes of appearing in the king’s court as well as, in terms of social culture, customs related to the birth, marriage, burial and mourning were the most significant rituals in the Sassanid period, which are reflected in the Shahnameh too.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Books
Christensen, A. (1995). L’empire des Sassanides. Le peuple, l’état, la cour (M. Minovi, Trans.). Tehran: Research Institute for Human Sciences and Cultural Studies. [in Persian]
Christensen, A. (2004). L'Iran sous les Sassanides (G. Rashid Yasemi, Trans.). Tehran: Amir Kabir. [in Persian]
Daryaei, T. (2004). Sasanian dynasty (M. Saqeb-far, Trans.), Tehran: Qoqnus. [in Persian]
Daryaei, T. (2013a). The Sasanian. Tehran: Tous. [in Persian]
Daryaei, T. (2013b). The Sasanian empire. Tehran: Forouzan Rouz. [in Persian]
Diakonoff, I. M., Christensen, A., Minorsky, V., Zarrinkoub, A., Mashkour, J., Shamim, A. A., Bayani, S. & Harvi, J. (2012). Iranian history from the perspective of the historians (N. Hosseini, Ed.). Tehran: Zharf. [in Persian]
Ferdowsi, A. (2007). Shahnameh (Vols. 2, 6, 7 & 8) (J. Khaleqi Motlaq, Ed.), Tehran: Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia. [in Persian]
Ghaffari, Z. (2010). The Sasanian and the rituals of the Anoushiravan’s court with an emphasis on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Mashhad: Sokhan-gostar. [in Persian]
Massé, H. (1996). Ferdowsi and the national epic (M. Rowshan-zamir, Trans.). Tabriz: Tabriz University Press. [in Persian]
Mazaheri, A. A. (1998). Iranian family in the pre-Islamic period (A. Tavakkol, Trans.). Tehran: Qatreh. [in Persian]
Moqaddasi, M. T. (1995). Creation and history (Vol. 2) (M. R. Shafiei Kadkani, Trans.). Tehran: Agah. [in Persian]
Nafisi, S. (2009). The history of Sasanian civilization. Tehran: Ketab-e Parseh. [in Persian]
Pirnia, H. (1983). Ancient Iranians or the history of Iran from the antiquity to the fall of the Sasanian empire. Tehran: Donya-ye Ketab. [in Persian]
Plutarch (2001). Iranians and Greeks as narrated by Plutarch (A. Kasravi, Trans.). Tehran: Jami Publications. [in Persian]
Rezaei, A. (1999). Iranian’s history: From antiquity to the fall of the Sasanian empire (Vol. 1). Tehran: Dorr. [in Persian]
Riahi, M. A. (2014). Ferdowsi. Tehran: Tarh-e Now. [in Persian]
Rypka, J. (1976). History of Iranian literature (E. Shahabi, Trans.). Tehran: The Institute for Translation and Publication. [in Persian]
The paradise of wisdom (2001). (A. Tafazzoli, Trans.; Z. Amuzegar, Ed.). Tehran: Tous. [in Persian]
Yar-Shater, E. et. al. (2004). The Cambridge history of Iran: The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods (H. Anousheh, Trans.). Tehran: Amir Kabir. [in Persian]
 
Articles
Aslani, N. & Zarshenas, Z. (2017). The influence of the social situation in Sassanid period on the formation of religious advice. Zaban-shenakht, 2, 55–77. [in Persian]
Daryaei, T. (2012). Secrets of the house of Sasan: When was Ardashir ruling over Estakhr? in The untold history of Sasanian empire (A. Haqqani & M. Fazeli Birjandi, Trans.). Tehran: Ketab-e Parseh, 17–27. [in Persian]
Khaleqi Motlaq, J. (1987). Appearing in court and its rituals in Iran. Iran-nameh, 19, 392–438. [in Persian]
Shadigou, S., Darabi, S. Ahmadi Pour-anari, Z. & Parvaneh, F. (2022). The reflection of political and social issues in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Political Sociology of Iran, 11, 4235–4250. [in Persian]
 
Journal of Kavoshnameh in Persian Language and Literature
Volume 26, Issue 66 - Serial Number 66
December 2025
Pages 145-179

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics