Mythological and Social Principles ofExogamy in Shahnameh, Its Norms and Anomalies

Marriage and its narrated forms in Shahnameh, like many social phenomena, have mythological and social bases that determine their intellectual infrastructure and theoretical basis and explain whether they are norm or anomalies. Marriages narrated in Shahnameh can be classified into two general groups: endogamy and exogamy. In this article, while studying the important types of exogamy in Shahnameh, by searching for their mythological and social foundations, the normality or abnormality of each according to Ferdowsi and some of the characters is examined.  For Iranians, exogamy has mythological and social foundations; Its mythological basis is derived from the mixing of divine forces with demons in the myth of creation and its social basis is rooted in the social customs of the matriarchal era, in which men sought to acquire the originality and rule by bonding with women of other countries. The most important types of exogamy in Shahnameh can be seen in two forms of temporary marriage and polygamy. The former is based on the myth of the union of man with fairies and from a social point of view represents the efforts of other tribes to obtain the lineage and race of the enemy hero to overcome him and his country. In this research, it was found that polygamy in Shahnameh has no mythical basis and its social basis is rooted in the traditions and customs of the patriarchal period that According to it, men have turned to polygamy in order to have more children and more labor. Ferdowsi and several other figures in the Shahnameh have considered the excessive polygamy of kings to be abnormal due to the oppression and harm it inflicts on women.