The Sistani Cycle of Epics and Iran’s National History: On the Margins of Historiography (Studies in Persian Cultural History, 7)

This work examines the entire corpus of the Sistani Cycle of Epics , both parts included in Ferdowsi's Shāhnāmeh and those appearing in separate manuscripts. It argues that the so-called "epic literature" of Iran constitutes a kind of historiography, encapsulating reflections of watershed events of Iran's antiquity. By examining the symbiotic relationship of the texts' content and form, the underpinning discourse of the various stories is revealed to have been shaped by polemics of political legitimacy and religious conflict. This discourse, however, is not abstract. The stories narrate, within their generic constraint, some of the affairs of the Sistani kingdom and its relationship to the Parthian throne, mainly from the first century BCE to the end of the second century CE. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Notes on Transliteration 12 List of Figures 13 Abbreviations 14 Introduction 16 Chapter 1 The Historical Context 26 1.1 The Scythio-Parthian Kingdom of Sistan 27 1.2 The Ruling Family in Sistan in Ancient Times 43 1.3 The Family of Suren, the Family of Rostam 49 1.4 The Other Parthian Family 53 1.5 Reflections of Parthian History in the SCE 57 Chapter 2 The Appropriation of an Avestan Hero and the Birth of the House of Rostam 60 2.1 Garshāsp’s Genealogy 63 2.2 Garshāsp and the Founding of Sistan 65 2.3 The Repertoire of Heroic Motifs 69 2.4 Another Version of the Story/History 76 2.5 Footprints of a Religious Conflict 81 Chapter 3 The Zenith of Suren Power 85 3.1 Rostam’s Early Heroic Career 87 3.1.1 Babr-e Bayān 87 3.1.2 Kok-e Kuhzād 91 3.1.3 The Haft-Khān 94 3.2 Historical Reflections 97 3.2.1 A Time of Alliance 97 3.2.2 The Special Status of the House of Rostam 103 3.2.3 The Beginning of the End: The Advent of Lohrāsp 115 Chapter 4 The Downtrodden Sistani Heroes 131 4.1 Borzu 135 4.2 Jahāngir 148 4.3 Shahriyār 150 Chapter 5 The Polemics of Making Heroes and Anti-Heroes 160 5.1 Farāmarz in Qannuj 161 5.2 Transformation of Heroic Imagery 166 5.3 Farāmarz and Bahman: The Final Showdown 179 5.4 Bahman the Anti-Hero Par Excellence 200 Epilogue 209 Appendix A The Sistani Cycle of Epics: Stories and Their Manuscripts 212 Rostam Stories not Included in the Shāhnāmeh 212 Garshāspnāmeh 213 Bahmannāmeh 214 Farāmarznāmeh 215 Bānu-Goshaspnāmeh 218 Borzunāmeh 220 Shahriyārnāmeh 221 Jahāngirnāmeh 223 Appendix B Narrations of Bahman’s Reign 224 1 Ḥamza al-Iṣfahāni 224 2 Al-Thaʿālibi 224 3 Al-Ṭabari 226 4 Al-Dinawari 227 5 Gardizi 227 6 Balʿami 228 7 Ibn Balkhi 228 8 Masʿudi 229 9 Mujmal al-Tawārikh wa’l Qiṣṣaṣ 229 Figures 231 Bibliography 238 Index 247