Ashura Rituals in the Seljuk Period: Grounds and Opportunities for Persistence

With the fall of the government of Buyyids (ruled: 334-447 AH) and the rise to power of the Seljuks (ruled: 431-590 AH), holding Ashura rituals, despite the strictures of the ruling body in the first half of the Seljuk era, continued among the Twelvers, and has been more or less reported in historical sources. The present study deals with the Ashura rituals of the Seljuk era, the grounds and opportunities for persistence and holding Ashura ceremonies, the types of mourning of Imam Hoseyn (AS), the mourning by Hanafi and Shafi'i Sunnis, the mourning by women, the recounting of managheb (virtues), the chanting of lamentation and ta'ziyeh (condolence theater). Based on the descriptive-analytical method, the research findings show that there were grounds and opportunities in the Seljuk period that caused the persistence of Ashura rituals. The purpose of this research is Ashura rituals, the grounds and opportunities that have caused the continuation of these rituals. Ashura rites have been spontaneous in this era. Whenever the Shiites found suitable political conditions and opportunities, they would hold mourning rituals for Imam Hoseyn (AS) during Muharram, especially on the day of Ashura. The same Ashura rituals that existed in the time of Buyyids, have been more or less continuous in this period and have not been interrupted