Achaemenids in Shahname And National Traditions

Since there is no trace of Achaemenids in Shahnameh and Khodaynameh in the Sasanid era and since the beginnings of the studies on Sasanid dynasty the discussion revolved around whether Sasanian had any knowledge of Achaemenids or not.  Certain figures such as Noldeke, Memzan, and Yarshater denied this awareness and certain others such as Fry, Shahbazi, and Zarrinkoub persisted upon this knowledge.  Some like Daryaei, taking a more moderate approach, believe that Sasanian had consciously ignored Achaemanids memorial so that they could trace their genealogy to Kianis who were an ancient dynasty in the east Iran.  Certain evidence and documents show that the earliest Sasanians were definitely aware of the existence of Achaemenids and related themselves to them, however the later Sasanids by deliberate distortion of history and by transforming characters have changed the Achaemenid portraits due to their own taste to achieve their political and religious purposes.  Nevertheless, Achaemeinds new image and identity remained in the Sasanid historiography and found their way to Islamic era.   Deliberate distortions made in history of Iran by Sasanids are proved today, and upon studying the evidence one can discover the extent and the reason for this manipulation.  The purpose of this article is to prove the existence of outstanding figures in Achaemenids dynasty namely, Cyrus and Darius in the new Sasanid-Islamic historiography, and also to detect records that approve Achaemenids’ existence within the Sasanid sources.  This requires a thorough research into the thought processes of Sasanids during their reign upon adopting an apprehensive approach.