The Speaker and The Shah: Ferdowsi's ‘Story of Mazdak’ in Light of Theories of Nationalism

Abstract

Challenging the current theories about Iranian Nationalism, I employ Nicola Miller's theory that defines nations as communities of shared knowledge to read Ferdowsi's story of Mazdak as a case in which Ferdowsi shows how Iran, or the notion of Iran, is saved by returning to and confirming the shared knowledge. In the story, King Qobad hires Mazdak as an advisor and advocates his new ideas about society. When Mazdak’s approach fails and results in chaos, Qobad’s son, Anushirvan, intervenes and reminds his father that Mazdak’s new worldview and his interpretation of the Iranian religion and tradition are destroying Iran. He further reminds him that Zoroastrianism, as a shared body of knowledge and values, has worked well for the country in the past. The King accepts the son’s criticism, and Iran once again finds its “righteous” path.