Title: Farāmarz, the Sistāni hero : texts and traditions of the Farāmarznāme and the Persian epic cycle /
Authors: Zutphen, Marjolijn van (Marjolijn Elisabeth), 1973-
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2014
Subjects: Farāmarz.; Firdawsī.; Shāhnāmah (Firdawsī); Epic literature, Persian; Persian literature.; Civilization
Abstract: In Farāmarz, the Sistāni Hero, Marjolijn van Zutphen discusses the manuscripts, storylines and main themes of the shorter and the longer Farāmarznāme (c. 1100), in relation to Ferdowsi's Shāhnāme and several other later maṡnawis about the warriors from Sistān (the Persian Epic Cycle). Farāmarz, a secondary figure of the Shāhnāme, gained importance in later epic traditions and as the invincible protagonist of both Farāmarznāmes reached a status that equalled, if not surpassed, that of his famous father Rostam. Van Zutphen further shows how Farāmarz displays parallels to the fictional figures of Garshāsp (his ancestor) and Eskandar and argues that some story elements of Farāmarz's Indian conquest may be rooted in historical events from both the Parthian and the Ghaznawid period.
Contents: Preface; Notes on Transcription, Dates, Quotations, and Bibliographical Citations; Chronological Table; Map of Greater Iran and Northern India; List of Tables and Figures; Introduction; Part 1 Ferdowsi's Shāhnāme and the Persian Epic Cycle: Texts and Origins; Chapter 1 The History of the Kings, the Sistāni Cycle, and the Manuscript Tradition; 1 Ferdowsi's Shāhnāme, Its Origins, and Supposed Sources; 2 Parthian Origins of the Sistāni Cycle: Tentative Links to Historical Events; 3 Shāhnāme Manuscripts and Editions: Reconstructions and Reinterpretations