Studying the Economic Structures of ArdaVirafnameh

ArdaVirafnameh is one the Pahlavi texts of Sassanid era which describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (named ArdaViraf) through the heaven and hell. Although the book contains a religious theme, yet a good number of economic structures of Sassanid system of governance could be found there. The present paper is a library-oriented one which through content analysis seeks to trace economic structures of Sassanid system of governance in the book of ArdaVirafnameh. Accordingly, it aims at evaluating the validity of the book of ArdaVirafnameh. In this study, the economic patterns of the book were initially studied and then compared with the economic structures of Sassanid system of governance. The findings of the study reveal that the economic patterns of the book are in harmony and alignment with the economic structures of Sassanid system of governance. Hence, the book of ArdaVirafnameh could be considered by the researchers as a valid source for studying the economic structures of Sassanid system of governance.