The formation of modern Shahnameh Studies in Iran When the flames of the First World War more or less engulfed the whole world, several freedom-seeking Iranians, known as nationalists, gathered in Berlin, Germany, to encourage their countrymen to be united against the Russian and British armies and be friends of the German army, have faith in the Germans and go to their help. At that time the north and south of Iran were in control of the Russian and British armies, and the west and northwest of Iran had become a hotbed for the German and Ottoman troops.
Those Iranians in Germany, at that time, have become famous in the contemporary history of Iran as “Berlinians”; People like Hassan Taghizadeh, Kazemzadeh, Iranshahr, Ebrahim Pordavoud, Mohammad Qazvini, Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh, Esmail Amirkhizi, and several others. This group of Iranians made some efforts to advance their goals. One of those efforts was the publication of of a good-looking journal, with beautiful printing and passionate writings, called “Kaveh,” which was typewritten in a printing house in Berlin. “Kaveh” existed in two separate periods. Its first period, which lasted until 1916, contained the news of the war and the victory of the Germans, the efforts of Iranian nationalists, praising Germany and condemning the Russians and British. Kaveh’s second life was from 1920 to 1922 AD (1298 to 1300 Iranian calendar) and had a completely different format and style. Its articles were about ancient and modern Iranian literature and literary studies in the style of Orientalists.
It was during the second life of “Kaveh” that the first steps were taken in modern studies of the shahnameh studies were taken, based on examining manuscripts and research on scientific articles. The traditional method of research on Shahnameh, which had no scientific basis and was no better than the unedited writings of the predecessors, was put aside.
In the second period of Kaveh magazine Hassan Taghizadeh, under the pen name “Mohasel”, published a series of articles about Ferdowsi’s life and his writing of the Shahnameh, which was full of life and innovation, compared to those days. It is not far from the truth if we say that Taghizadeh’s writings about Shahnameh taught the young Iranian writers and researchers to take a scientific look at this text. Some of those writings were later reprinted in 1313 with the help of Shadervan Habib Yaghmai. In 1390, Iraj Afshar published all of them in the multi-volume collection “Essays of Taghizadeh” (a separate volume was entitled Ferdowsi and his shahnameh). Taghizadeh wrote about Shahnameh again. However, they have lost their freshness now, and it is known that they are not free of mistakes; as we have mentioned, they are the first scientific efforts in the field of Shahnameh research, and from this point of view, they are valuable and essential.
One of the events that had a rare and novel impact on knowledge of the Shahnameh was publication of Theodor Noldeke’s (a famous orientalist) book. The broad scope of the German Noldeke’s research (1830 – 1836 AD) on the Shahnameh led to significant achievements. In his book he tried to separate the life of Ferdowsi and the compilation of the Shahnameh from the legends and fabricated stories of the predecessors and to know the content of the Shahnameh correctly and scientifically. This does not mean that everything Nöldeke has said is true and unmistakable, but, it can be a reminder of the scientific value of his book in those early days of modern Shahnameh studeis. His book was translated into Farsi under the title “Iran’s national Epic”. By Bozorg Alavi, a famous Iranian writer, who knew German and taught at the University of Berlin. It was published in 1312 (1933). Translation of this book is known to be one of the most significant events in Shahnameh studies in Iran.
The second significant event of Shahnamehology in Iran was holding of the Ferdowsi’s Millenium Congress in 1313 (1934), in Tehran and Toos. In this congress, which was held on the 1000th anniversary of Ferdowsi’s birth, famous Shahnamehologists worldwide came to Iran. The purpose was to advance modern Shahnamehology by presenting scientific papers. People like: Evgenii Eduardovich Bertels, Jan Rypka, Arthur Emanuel Christensen, Henri Massé, Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsk, and others. Besides them, there were also Iranian professors were also present; like saeed Nafisi, Jalaluddin Homayi, Badiul Zaman Forouzanfar, Mohammad Moein, Gholamreza Rashidyasmi, Ali Dashti, and many others. This Congress was another step towards scientific knowledge of the Shahnameh.
The Shahnameh Foundation:” another attempt to know about the Shahnameh
In the summer of 1350, the plan to establish a research institute about the Shahnameh was approved, and the Institute, named “Scientific and cultural foundation of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh”, started its work that same year. The Shahnameh Foundation’s objectives were to publish an edited scholarly text of the Shahnameh, scientific research on the “National Epic of Iran”, take copies of old manuscripts of the Shahnameh from all over the world; establish a comprehensive library for Shahnameh scholars; and many other activities. The Shahnameh Foundation also published a magazine called Simorgh, continuing writings entirely about Shahnameh.
The board of trustees of the Shahnameh Foundation was Mojtaba Minavi, Parviz Natal Khanleri, Yahya Mahdavi, Abbas Zaryab Khoei, Mohammad Amin Riahi, and Mehdi Forough. Mojtaba Minavi was the head of the foundation in the beginning, and after his death in February 1355, Dr. Mohammad Amin Riahi, an outstanding Shahnamehologist, succeeded him. But the Shahnameh Foundation did not live long, and its work discontinued with the emergence of the political events. Despite its short life, the Foundation published many scientific research papers and more worthwhile effrorts in art. It also edited and published a few of the Shahnameh stories (the stories of Rostam and Sohrab, Froud, Bijan, and Manijeh, and later the story of Siavash).
Names of Shahnameh scholars
Several other events were influential in advancing modern Shahnameh studies; events such as editing of the Shahnameh with the help of Russian scholars and under the supervision of Bertels and Abdul Hossein Noushin (from 1960 to 1971), which has become famous as the “Moscow Shahnameh”; Publication of “Pazh” magazine with the efforts of Kheradsaraye Ferdowsi (Ferdowsi Research Center) and the “Shahnameh study” magazine in the same decade and with the efforts of Dr Mohammad Reza Rashed Mohasel (both published in Khorasan) are other essential steps in modern Shahnamehology. The efforts of Shahnameh scholars of the current generation should not be forgotten either; People like Saeed Hamidian, Mohammad Jaafar Yahaghi, Jalaluddin Kezazi, Gadhamali Sarami, Mostafa Jeyhouni, Sajjad Aydanlu, Abolfazl Khatibi, Arash Akbari Mofakher, Farzin Ghafouri, Hossein Shahidi Mazandarani, Bahare Mokhtarian, Mehri Behfar, and many others. The series of short articles entitled “Pioneers in Research of the Shahnameh” will be about the efforts of the previous generation of Shahnamehologists; Those who took the initial complex steps and paved the way for other researchers; People like Mojtaba Minavi, Malik Al-Shaarai Bahar, Mohammad Ali Eslami Nodoshan, Shahrukh Moskob, Mohammad Debirsiyaghi, Abolqasem Anjavi Shirazi, Mehrdad Bahar, Rahim Rezazadeh Malek and several other professors, all of whom were the founders of modern Shahnamehology in Iran.
1- Mojtaba Minavi; Hardworking in editing the Shahnameh
2- Malek al-Shoaraye Bahar; Passionate admirer of Ferdowsi and Shahnameh
3- Shahrokh Maskoob; A new approach to Shahnameh
4- Mohammad Ali Eslami Nodoushan; Looking at Iran through the lens of Shahnameh
5- Dr. Mohammad Dabirsiaghi; Traditional Shahnamehology
6- Rahim Rezazadeh Malek; from chronology to Shahnameh Studies
7- Enjavi Shirazi; collecting folk stories about Ferdowsi and Shahnameh
8- Mehrdad Bahar; In the Shadow of Myths
9- Saeed Nafisi; A look at the Shahnameh along with a lot of literary research
10- Iraj Afshar; A hand on Shahnameh study
