Social Representation of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh; The Study of Social Creation and Evolution Trend of Iranian Society in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh

Sociologists believe that social life of human beings is started with hunting and gathering food societies and then it has been complicated by social changes in the course of time. The trajectory of the Shahnameh stories reflects this feature exactly. These stories begin with the most primitive types of societies (hunting and gathering food societies) and through social changes develop into other societies named after kings. Social changes in their turn are the result of material and intellectual innovations. In this research attempt has been made to discuss different periods of the evolution of societies and specifically Iran from the viewpoint of Ferdowsi. To this end we chose qualitative method and mimesis technique. In representing a literary text we make use of other writings of the author and his experiences to prepare a framework for reconstructing and interpreting the text. This research used the same technique to represent and elicit sociological concepts of the Shahnameh. Results show the transition from pastoral communities to the era of kings which is coincident with rapid social changes. Although sociology has not been a scientific discipline at that time, the evolution of social life is depicted so vividly in the Shahnameh that it indicates collective identity, national solidarity, formation of Iranian society and it's changes in the history of mankind.