The horse and its connection with the hero in the Shahnameh, based on five epic-lyrical stories (Zal and Rudabeh, Rostam and Tahmineh, Sohrab and Gordafrid, Siavash and Sudabeh, Bijan and Manijeh)

Gordgiean, Fahime; Toghiani, Ashagh; Khaboshani, Maryamosadat

doi:10.22034/rrl.2025.726559

The horse and its connection with the hero in the Shahnameh, based on five epic-lyrical stories (Zal and Rudabeh, Rostam and Tahmineh, Sohrab and Gordafrid, Siavash and Sudabeh, Bijan and Manijeh)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

fahime gordgiean ¹

ashagh toghiani ²

maryamosadat khaboshani ³

¹ Lecturer at Applied Scientific University

² Professor of Isfahan University

³ A graduate of Raban Persian literature

10.22034/rrl.2025.726559

Abstract

The horse, this noble and faithful steed from the long and lost millennia of Iranshahr's history, has always had a great place among Iranians, to the point where they consider it to be an Ahura creature and have sacrificed it many times at the feet of the gods. The role of the horse in the lyrical and epic literature of the ancient people has been very impressive; In such a way that in order to honor the horse, they used to draw the riders on the horses in the carvings and paintings on their dishesThe horse is considered sacred in the religions of Mithraism, Mazdasena, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and it has played a significant role in the good and evil, continuity, happiness and misfortune, and the death and life of many prophets and saints, kings and heroes. The horses of the warriors are everywhere in the Shahnameh or other lyrical works, Kuh Pima, Qovi Joteh, Pilten, Badpa, Tiztag, Rehwar, Bahush, Polad Susum, etc In this essay, the authors first gave an introduction about the importance and position of the horse among different nations and peoples, especially in the development of Iranian history, and then discussed the relationship between the warrior and the horse in epic-lyrical works, in several stories of the Shahnameh, as well as mythological, legendary, symbolic and human personality beliefs, the species of horses and their connection with the divine fur. The necessity and research objectives of this article are presented in a library method and in an analytical form...

Keywords

Horse

hero

epic

lyrical stories

Shahnameh