Pre-Islamic Symbols in Pictorial Carpets of Iranian Kings

 Many Iranian carpets with motifs of pre-Islamic mythological kings are available in museums, almost all of which have the same structure. These kings are depicted with their ancient names and with metaphysical beings, which have three levels. First, the position of the king and Farrah Kiani, second, Goblin/Divan place, and third, soldiers' place. In such carpets, the transformation of pre-Islamic metaphysical concepts has led to symbolic forms. This research, which was compiled to identify the mythical kings in the pictorial carpets of Iran, seeks to answer the following questions: "Using the medium function of the carpet, how did the Iranian carpet designers convey the aforementioned triple layering and what are the symbols of protecting the god Mehr and the goddess Nahid from the kings of the Islamic eras in these carpets"?

 This research is qualitative and fundamental. The data is collected from libraries and the National Carpet Museum of Iran using the descriptive-analytical approach.

 The existence of pre-Islamic symbols in combination with the story of Semitic prophets, mixed with the images of the kings of the Islamic era of Iran in motifs such as a luminous sphere behind the throne belonging to the first level, goblins in the middle part, soldiers and ministers in the last level, is one of the unique combinations of Iranian pictorial carpets. In the thought of carpet designers, metaphysical forces like a bridge have provided a means of transferring pre-Islamic concepts to the motifs of Islamic kings.

 The mythology and visual knowledge of the designers of Iranian pictorial carpets have led to transferring metaphysical concepts found in the myths of pre-Islamic kings and Semitic prophets to the motifs of Islamic kings, where the symbol of the goddess Nahid is in the form of a pool of water and the goddess Mehr is in the form of a luminous sphere.