Role of Ferdowsi and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh in Reinforcement and Reproduction of Iranian Identity

National Identity means sense of dependence and loyalty to the common elements and symbols in a nation within the defined politically defined boundaries. National identity has different historical, cultural, social, geographical and political aspects. Land, history, religion and faith, language and literature, symbols and rituals, customs and rituals, values and beliefs, and government are considered as the most important elements of the national identity of a nation. Meanwhile, culturalhistorical dimension of the national identity including historical territory, myths, symbols, historical events, the ancient language and cultural heritage are more important. Transferring these elements, mainly historical, to the next generations in order to strengthen and reproduce the national identity is very necessary and literary, social, cultural and historical works of thinkers are considered as a basic source in this concern. Among the Iranian fine works, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is considered as an exception from the viewpoint of the existence of historical-cultural elements of Iranian identity. In this paper, attempts are made to study and analyze the role and position of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh in strengthening and reproducing the Iranian identity with a descriptiveanalytical approach.