Traces of Iranian identity in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh

Shahnameh was in fact an attempt to rediscover the Iranian ancient history and Identity, which had been threatened by alien invaders. In the present article, through a statistical study of Ferdowsi's understanding of Iran expressed here and there in the Shahnameh, the writer has endeavored to present a definition of Iran and the Iranian identity from the perspective of this national epic as well as in different periods. It is argued that the concept of Iran that is not yet recognized in the mythological part of the Shahnameh gradually becomes clear in later times, going through certain transformations, which are elaborated in some detail and substantiated by exemplary quotations in this article.