Analysis and Critiques of the SocialSemiotics inMakhzan al-Asrar by Nizami Based on Pierre Giroux’s Theory of Identity

One of the new approaches of text analysis in the fields of semiotics,is social semiotics with an interdisciplinary function.One of the important theories in the discussion of social semiotics, which examines the status and function of signs in society, belongs to Pierre Giraud who classified signs in a society into identity and social etiquette.Identity marks represent the individual’s distinction from other individuals in society,which shows the organizationof society and relations between individuals and groups and is formed according tothe dominant atmosphere of society in human nature.The aim of the current research is to find the social signs of identity in Makhzan al-Asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries), a classical literary texts for studying societies, ethics and their impact on human identity, based on Pierre Giroud's view. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this research extracted the social signs of identity from the stories of the Makhzan al-Asrar. The findings showed that Nizami used the identity symbols of the group, names, titles, occupations and religious in order of frequency to distinguish different types of human functions from those of society and even other beings, and showed the interaction of identity and society with each other which was reflected in the form of moral vices and virtues in the behavior of members of his ideal or contemporary society.