Societies in Persian literature

Societies in Persian literature

Historical Novel, Iranian Society, and Centralization: Reading Salahshour (The Brave) in the light of Centralization and State Building in the First Pahlavi Era

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Abdolrasoul Shakeri 1
mohammadali Ramezani 2
1 Assistant Professor of Persian Literature, Department of Literary Studies, The Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities, SAMT, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Sociology Environmental and Historical studies department, the Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities (SAMR), Tehran, Iran
10.30488/sipl.2025.551445.1103
Abstract
In the current article, the author analyzed Abdolhossein Sanatizadeh Kermani’s Salahshour (The Brave)- a historical novel (1924)- in relation to state-building and centralization in the first Pahalavi era. The study drew on the sociology of literature as its theoretical framework to examine the novel. According to this theoretical approach, a historical novel mirrors the social structure and its crises. Recognizing the relationship between historical fiction and the formation of the modern nation-state, the present study provided background information on nationalism and the Persian historical novels. The study scrutinized Salahshour (The Brave) to examine the representation of state-building features through content analysis. To do so, it focused on centralization given its significance in the novel. Reading the novel in this way demonstrated the tension between the multiple orders and Parthian feudalism (the consequence of Alexander the Great’s divisive policies) on the one hand, and the unity that Sassanid Ardashir restored through socio-cultural unification on the other. Return to Zoroastrianism, the revival of common symbols like ‘Derafsh Kaviani’ (the standard of Kavah), the standardization of the constitution, and the consolidation of sovereignty are the themes that are in syn with Reza Shah’s centralizing policies (such as renovating the army, spreading bureaucracy, cultural nationalism, and a standardized legal system). Moreover, these themes inform the novel’s ideological harmony with the state’s consolidation process. Besides the centralization (the central theme of the novel), the novel also showcases other characteristics of national identity (such as land, common history, the bond between religion and the kingdom, as well as common law and common symbols), positioning them against ‘others’ such as the Greeks, the Seleucids, and the Parthians, threatening indepence and solidarity. The study concludes that Salahshour (the Brave) does not exploit the past to recreate it impartially, but to legitimize the centralized nation-state. To achieve this, it draws on Ardashir Babakan’s success in establishing the Sasanid government as a model for modern unity.
Keywords
Historical Novel Centralization Nation
State Reza Shah Pahlavi National Identity
Subjects
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