Representation of the political, religious, and cultural claims of Safavid rule in the folk tale of Hossein Kord Shabestari

Hossein Kord Shabestari's story is one of the fictional sources of the Safavid era and has a folk-epic theme. This story narrates the story of the heroes (Ayaran) of the era of Shah Abbas Safavid. The story is told in the historical context of Iran's conflict with the Ottomans, Uzbeks and Gurkhas of India. The two main axes of this story consist of the understanding and perception of national heroes of the need to defend the homeland against foreign aggression and to preserve the Safavid kingdom. A common feature of the two conceptual axes in the story is the connection to the Shiite religion and the land of Iran. This article seeks to represent and present the political, religious and cultural claims of the Safavids based on the pattern of classifying the elements of Propp's folk tales. The result of the research shows that the story of Hossein Kord reflects the public mind of Iranian religion, nationality and identity in the Safavid era.