The Connection between Banu Goshasp Name and the Heroic Texts, and Its Composition Period

Banu Goshasp Name is a heroic poem including more than a thousand verses about the bravery of Banu Ghashsp, Rostam’s daughter. At present, there is no information about the writer of this poem, but researchers have debated and speculated about the time of its composition. Some scholars have attributed Banu Goshasp Name to the 5th century, but some others have attributed it to the sixth century because it is not mentioned in the book Mojmal al-Tavarikh, which mentions some old heroic texts. They have also provided reasons to prove their hypothesis. However, one of the most recent studies has attributed the composition of Banu Goshasp Name to the seventh and eighth centuries. Another controversial point about Banu Goshasp Name is that this poem, which has no beginning and no end, actually belongs to a larger poem named Faramarzname-ye-Kuchak. In this article, with regard to the reasons such as the existence of verses from other heroic poems in Banu Goshasp Name, the connection of the final verses of Tahminehname with the beginning of Banu Goshasp Name, as well as a number of popular thematic stories that can be seen in narrative scrolls, we illustrate that Banu Goshasp Name was composed later than the time that has been imagined so far. Then, by examining and matching its narrative themes with folklore texts, we argue that the source of the narrations of Banu Goshasp Name is oral and folk narrations, and contrary to the popular belief, it is of no antiquity and originality.