Mardavij and restoration of Iranian identity with an emphasis on the social conditions of the 4th century

Haseli, Zahra; Aghili, Seyed Ahmad

doi:10.30466/jhf.2024.55380.1004

Mardavij and restoration of Iranian identity with an emphasis on the social conditions of the 4th century

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Zahra Haseli ¹
Seyed Ahmad Aghili ²

¹ Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

² Center of Islamic Sciences and Persian Literature, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

10.30466/jhf.2024.55380.1004

Abstract

Mardavij was one of the political contenders and the founder of the Ziyarian dynasty in the years 319 to 323 AH. After gaining power, he took actions such as celebrating pre-Islamic Iranian rituals, placing the crown on his head and opposing the Abbasid caliph. Also, from the reports in the historical sources, it appears that after he marched to Khuzestan in 323 AH and expelled the Caliph's agents from that area; He intended to capture Baghdad and revive the Sassanid Empire. Some of Mordavij's political actions can be influenced by his tendencies and belonging to Iran's ancient past. According to his actions, which will be analyzed in this article, this attachment can be considered as his tendency to recover the Iranian identity. Looking at Iranian culture before Islam is one of the most obvious aspects of the 4th century of Hijri (AH) and it should be considered as the ruling spirit of this era, which has been the standard of value and attention by most of the rulers of this era. In addition, the 4th century of Hijri should be considered the peak of Iran's culture and civilization after Islam. The prominent features of this century and its remarkable progress in various fields are not hidden from anyone. Richard Fry, a prominent Iranologist, describes this period as "the golden age of Iranian culture and civilization". Also, many thinkers refer to this period as the "renaissance era of Iranian culture and civilization". Undoubtedly, the social situation is one of the basic and influential factors in the changes and emergence of different tendencies in society. This article, with a historical-analytical approach, first examines the actions affected by the tendency to restore Iranian identity in Mardovij's reign and then examines the influence of the social and cultural conditions of the fourth century in the creation of this tendency.

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