Societies in Persian literature

Societies in Persian literature

Social History Themes in the Ikhwānī Letters of the Middle Centuries of Iranian History (Case Study: al-Mukhtārāt min al-Rasāʾil)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Shahram Yousefifar 1
Yaser Mollazaei 2
1 History professor at Tehran university, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD Graduated in the Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.30488/sipl.2026.567634.1144
Abstract
Among historical sources, ikhwānī (fraternal) letters are considered as one of the most significant categories for the study of Iran’s social history. In these letters, through the articulation of personal circumstances and the everyday life of the writer addressed to the recipient, a context is created for the emergence and manifestation of a wide range of social data. The frequency of such data in ikhwānī correspondence provides uniquely valuable insight into the challenges, concerns, and issues shaping the daily lives of people. The present study seeks to answer the following question: What social categories concerning the condition of Iranian society in the seventh century AH are articulated in the ikhwānī letters of al-Mukhtārāt min al-Rasāʾil, and how did these categories contribute to the continuity and endurance of Iranian social life during that period? The objective of this article is to offer a descriptive-analytical reading of the dominant social categories in Iranian society, based on the ikhwānī letters contained in al-Mukhtārāt min al-Rasāʾil, drawing upon the theoretical framework of the “United Front” (ruy-e mottahedeh) approach. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data have been collected through library-based research. The findings indicate that Iranian society in the seventh century, when confronted with complex political, military, and social conditions, was able to sustain its social life by relying on collective and acquired bonds and loyalties. These included: the exchange of personal and individual titles (aimed at recalling hierarchical honorifics), confronting the turmoil of the age through the reinforcement of social ties, and the reaffirmation of familial duties and kinship bonds.
Keywords
Social History Ikhwānī Letters al
Mukhtārāt min al
Rasāʾil United Front Approach Iran
Subjects
Constable, Giles (1976), Letters and Letter-Collections, Turnhout: Belgique.
- Sims-Williams, N. (2012), “ANCIENT LETTERS,” Encyclopædia Iranica, II/1, pp. 7-9, available online athttp://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ancient-letters (accessed on 30 December 2012).