From Epic to Resistance
The Shahnameh as a Memory of Modern Iranian Civilization
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between Persian literary memory and the formation of the narrative of modern Iranian resistance amid global geopolitical pressures. So far, Iran's resilience has more often been explained through military factors, state ideology, and geopolitical strategy, while the cultural-civilizational dimension has received relatively little attention in contemporary Iranian studies. This study seeks to answer the question of how the Persian literary tradition, especially Ferdowsi's Shahnameh epic, contributes to the formation of the collective identity and psychological resilience of modern Iranian society. This study uses a historical-interpretive approach to understand the relationship between the classical Persian literary tradition and the formation of modern Iranian political identity. The results show that Shahnameh serves not only as a classic post-Islamic literary work, but also as a symbolic archive that reproduces the values of heroism, dignity, sacrifice, and resistance in the contemporary Iranian political imagination. The study also shows that the resilience of modern Iran was formed through the interaction between the memory of Persian civilization and Shia political theology. This article contributes to the development of the study of cultural geopolitics and civilizational resilience in contemporary Middle East studies.
Downloads
References
Alexander, J.C. (2004). Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Arnason, J.P. (2003). Civilizations in Dispute: Historical Questions and Theoretical Traditions. Leiden: Brill.
Assmann, J. (2011). Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bell, D.A. (2015). The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Dabashi, H. (2012). The World of Persian Literary Humanism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dabashi, H. (2015). Persophilia: Persian Culture on the Global Scene. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Davis, D. (2006). Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings. New York: Viking.
Ehteshami, A. & Hinnebusch, R. (2019). Syria and Iran: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System. London: Routledge.
Eisenstadt, M. (2011). The Strategic Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Operational and Policy Implications. Quantico, VA: Middle East Studies, Marine Corps University.
Emerson, C. (2008). The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fathollah-Nejad, A. (2021). Iran in an Emerging New World Order: From Ahmadinejad to Rouhani. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ferdowsi, A. 1386 [2007]. Shahnameh-ye Ferdowsi. Tehran: Entesharat-e Sokhan.
Hafez, S.M. 1387 [2008]. Divan-e Hafez. Tehran: Entesharat-e Javidan.
Halbwachs, M. (1992). On Collective Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Huntington, S.P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Johnston, A.I. (1995). Cultural Realism: Strategic Culture and Grand Strategy in Chinese History. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Katzenstein, P.J. (ed.) (2010). Civilizations in World Politics: Plural and Pluralist Perspectives. London: Routledge.
Keddie, N.R. (2006). Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Kiberd, D. (1996). Inventing Ireland: The Literature of the Modern Nation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Nasr, V. (2006). The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future. New York: W.W. Norton.
Ó Tuathail, G. (1996). Critical Geopolitics: The Politics of Writing Global Space. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Parsi, T. (2017). Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Press TV. 2026. Leader: Epic of Third Sacred Defense Proof Shahnameh Is Iran's Reality. [online] Dalam: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/15/768654/Leader---Epic-of-third-sacred-defense--proof-Shahnameh-is-Iran-s-reality [Diakses 15 Mei 2026].
Ricoeur, P. (2004). Memory, History, Forgetting. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rumi, J.M.B. 1386 [2007]. Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. Tehran: Entesharat-e Amir Kabir.
Saadi, M. 1385 [2006]. Golestan-e Saadi. Tehran: Entesharat-e Kharazmi.
Said, E.W. (1993). Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books.
Tavakoli-Targhi, M. (2001). Refashioning Iran: Orientalism, Occidentalism and Historiography. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Wendt, A. (1999). Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
