Normal and Abnormal Manners of Iranian Culture in the Sassanid Texts with Prophetic and Apocalyptic Themes
Subject Areas : Persian Language and Literature
1 - Master of Ancient Language and Culture University of Tehran
Keywords:
Abstract :
Other than cultural oppressions of various kinds, the assault of enemies against a country, in addition to desolation and severe economic damages, sometimes irreversible, is a key factor to drastic changes in the ideological, social, political and ritual basis of the society. To avoid the skepticism crept into the body of the community, there arises a literary genre called Apocalypse and Prophecy. Middle Persian literature is richer than its predecessors in this aspect. These texts contain standards accepted by the Zoroastrian community of Iran at the time, deviation from which was considered the catastrophe resulting in the collapse of the Iranian society. To attain these standards, the Pahlavi books of Ardā Wirāz Nāmag, Zand ī Wahman Yasn, Ayādgār ī Jāmāspīg, Jāmāsp Nāmag, Šāh Bahrām ī Warjāwand as well as the Sassanian inscriptions of Mobedān Mobed Kirdīr were surveyed. Considering the theme, the patterns of the above mentioned texts classified under the two basic notions of Good and Evil, went under three further subtitles of Thoughts, Words and Deeds. Obviously, ideological viewpoints and religious doctrines and principles were to be classified under the category of Thoughts; speech and utterance under Words; and social, political, economic, ethics and ritual matters under Deeds.
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