Explaining the presence of Shia identity elements in the illustration of the Shia ship image from Tahmasabi's Shahnameh

Among the events that occurred in the Iranian society simultaneous with the formation of the Safawid government was the emergence of the idea of the “Shiite governance”. At that time, Shiism was the most important theme in formation of the Iranian identity whose pictorial manifestation can be seen in the artistic depiction of the illustrations of that era. This study aims at analysis of how the transformations and evolutions in the themes of the Shiite identity and turning some of them into the symbols and motifs in pictorial account of Mirza Ali’s work entitled ‘Saving Ship’. The research method was based on the descriptive-analytical nature and the method of gathering library data. This study is seeking to find an answer to the following question: “How is the course of evolution in the Shiite themes and their turning into symbols and motifs in the depiction of the ‘Shi‘a ship’ and what is its relationship with the epic elements in the literary text of Shahnama”? The results of this study suggest that in the aforementioned era, the Shiism was considered as the most important theme forming and consolidating the Iranians’ collective identity, and this factor was manifested in the literature and art, especially in depiction of the pictorial books in that era in the form of motifs and symbols, leading to legitimating the Safawid government. This legitimation through old paradigmatic references and establishing links between the elements of epic and religious texts in evident and hidden artistic forms led to proving and consolidating the doctrines and messages of the motif, its special social purposes and religious discourse.