A new look at the story of Khosroparviz and Bahram Chubin in Shahnameh from the point of view of modern historicism

Mohebbi, Abolfazl; Beigzadeh, Kalil

doi:10.30465/lir.2025.49367.1890

A new look at the story of Khosroparviz and Bahram Chubin in Shahnameh from the point of view of modern historicism

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abolfazl Mohebbi ¹

Kalil Beigzadeh ²

¹ PhD student, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Razi University, Kermanshah

10.30465/lir.2025.49367.1890

Abstract

Introduction
New historicism is a theory in the field of literary criticism and a subset of poststructuralism that was founded in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Steven Greenblatt. Unlike traditional historicism, which talks about the one-sided influence of history on literature, new historicism believes in the two-way influence of literature and history on each other. New historicists try to answer such questions when examining a text: Who is the author of this text? When was it written? What was the author's intention and purpose? (Unlike formalists, who considered giving importance to the author's intention to be a kind of fallacy), under what circumstances was it written? What pressures were exerted in such circumstances? What interests did the text in question have for the author or other groups in those circumstances? Who could have been the potential audience of this text? And who are its audience now? What possible impact has this text had and is having on its readers? What unconscious factors were effective in the formation of this text? To what extent does this text correspond to the evidence and data related to that period? And finally, to what extent does the text in question confirm the generally accepted picture of that period and to what extent does it contradict it?
Regarding the historical background of the formation of the Shahnameh, it should be said that in Khorasan during Ferdowsi’s time, that is, the fourth century, there were three ethnic groups: Iranian, Turkish, and Arab, and racial conflicts were ongoing between them. The three Iranian, Turkish, and Arab discourses each tried to dominate Khorasan, and the Khorasanians (Iranians) naturally felt anger and danger at the fact that their land was being invaded by the Turks and Arabs; therefore, in Khorasan during Ferdowsi’s time, we see wars and religious fanaticism on the one hand, and racial struggles on the other.
In Tous, Ferdowsi’s birthplace, the presence of the tombs of Imam Reza and Harun al-Rashid, who were symbols of Shiism and Sunnism, respectively, intensified religious conflicts. This was while the people of Tous also had a bad reputation for religious and political unrest and divisions. Neyshabour, which was the administrative center of Khorasan, was no less than Tous, and the Turks were one of the main elements of the unrest there. The existence of these pressures from Arab and Turkish discourse in Khorasan in the fourth century had prepared the ground for the formation of national and epic stories, and Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh was formed as a result of such a movement.
One of the most important issues of Ferdowsi’s time was the issue of the right to rule and the monarchy. Who really has the right to rule over the people? What characteristics should a ruler have? The noble and free Iranians, who were angered by Arab rule and their oppression, wanted to rule by an Iranian king and dynasty. The fourth century and the era of Ferdowsi are considered a period of honor for the Iranian race and nation and the preservation of national and racial politics.
Materials & Methods

In this research, relying on library studies and with an analytical-descriptive approach, we have tried to examine the story of Khosrow Parviz and Bahram Choubin in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh based on the critique of modern historicism, identify and analyze its discourses, and finally present a new understanding of its meaning.
In the research ahead, we intend to answer these questions: What discourses are reflected in the story in question and how is their conflict with each other? What are the dominant (in power) and marginal (outside power) discourses? And what is Ferdowsi's stance towards them and how is it expressed? Do the key characters in the story behave according to rules and laws or not? What are the linguistic expressions of the characters that reflect their worldview?
Discussion & Result
It seems that in this story, three discourses are represented: Bahram, Khosrow Parviz, and Gordieh, which are in conflict with each other, and each has its own specific linguistic interpretations. The fundamental conflict is between Bahram Choubin and Khosrow Parviz. Bahram represents the Parthian discourse on the one hand and the heroic discourse on the other. Khosrow Parviz also represents the royal discourse on the one hand and the Sasanian discourse on the other. At the beginning, Bahram's discourse is the dominant discourse of the story; but Khosrow later becomes the central discourse. Ferdowsi mentions all three people, namely Bahram Choubin, Khosrow Parviz, and Gordieh, well and with good and desirable qualities, and generally does not give preference to any one of them over the other. Among the characters, Bahram Choubin is a rebellious character who defies the rules.
Conclusion
Based on what has been said, it can be said that Ferdowsi challenged the official history of the Sassanid period by adding other narratives and did not act passively towards the basic narrative. By putting together inconsistent narratives, he created a broader and fresher narrative, the most important feature of which is polyphony. All of this indicates that although Ferdowsi respects Sassanid values, he is not limited to them. In the narrative that Ferdowsi constructed, various and inconsistent voices, each of which finds its own space to express itself. All of this creates a plot full of ups and downs and inflamed that well reflects the inflammation of Bahram Choubin's time.

Keywords

New Historicism

Ghetman

Ferdowsi'

s Shahnameh

Khosroparviz

Bahram Chubin

Subjects

Literary interdisciplinary research

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