Study of Historical and Ideological Theme in Amir Arsalān Story

Amir Arsalān-e-Nāmdār fiction is one of the luckiest romances in popular style. Apparently, it is created by Mirza Mohammad Ali Naqib al-mamālek, the court storyteller or naqqāl bāashi of Naser al-din Shāh and written down by Fakhar al-dowleh, a daughter of Shāh. Mohammad Jafar Mahjub, the editor of the standard edition of Amir Arsalān, confirmed. Since popular literature can be considered as a window to reflect the social life of people, the messages from this type of literature are usually in accordance with the historical, cultural and ideological facts about people of the their territory and time. In this study, the author has focused on the historical, cultural and ideological background of popular literature. She illustrates the relation between the historical reports given from Amir Arsalān ibn Davood Saljouqi, Malekshāh Saljouqi’s life and the underlying subjective motives of Amir Arsalān-e-Nāmdār. Considering the most important component in historical literature and the story of Amir Arsalān, this study concludes that the historical story of Arsalān ibn Davood Saljouqi and Malekshāh has been transferred to a romance story through time while the story has been narrated, written or unwritten, before it has eventually been written in Nāseri era.