Analysis and Interpretation of Zoroastrian Rituals in Verse Romance of Vis O Rāmin

The verse romance of Vis O Rāmin</em> composed by Fakr Al-Din As,</sup> ad Gorgāni during the reign of the Saljuq Sultan togrel I (died 455 A.H.) is based on a Pahlavi written text. As Iranian-born Abū Nuwās (the Arab-speaking poet, died 198 A.H.) had mentioned the names Rāmin and Vis in one of his Fārsiāt</em> (i.e. the Arabic poems in which he used to use Persian words), it is obvious that the story had existed before Gorgāni recomposed it into a verse romance. The now existing story includes some hints to the ancient Iranian rituals and beliefs like most of the remained stories from ancient times, but hasn't yet been under the attention of scholars as it deserves. Under the influence of highlighted Zoroastrian concepts in the romance, some scholars have studied these rituals. In addition, other Zurvanite beliefs in it have been explored by Helmer Ringgren about 50 years ago for the first time. In this research the authors have tried through a descriptive-analytical approach to trace the Zoroastrian rituals in this verse romance by referring to Zoroastrian sources, Islamic historiographies and recent researches. The results of the study revealed that the Zoroastrian rituals are recorded according to ancient sources and Zoroastrian narratives.