The Conceptual Metaphor of "Justice" and "Oppression" in the Etiquette of the Kings Relying on Qāboosnameh, Siasatnāmeh and Nasihatolmolook

In Iranian culture, justice has always been emphasized and it has been reflected in pre-Islamic literature in the form of advice letters. The etiquette of the kings, such as the Siasatnāmeh, the Qāboos, and the Nasihatolmolook were written under the influence of pre-Islamic works and culture, and expressed the same themes in the form of concepts and metaphors. The present study examines the conceptual metaphors of "justice" and "oppression" from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. In this research, an attempt has been made to extract the conceptual metaphors of justice and oppression based on Lycaf and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor in the three mentioned literary works and to analyze them by using Fairclough method. The findings of this study show that the major origins are related to nature, ethics, wisdom and religion and these metaphors rooted in the ancient Iranian ideas that believed in two sources of good and evil. The importance of these materials in the religious thought of Iranians led them use religious and non-religious books, including letters of advice, and to the literary and moral works such as Siasatnāmeh, the Qāboos, and the Nasihatolmolook later on in the Islamic Period. The concept of justice and oppression, as one of the most significant ideas of ancient Iran, survived in the form of conceptual metaphors and the cultural and religious theme of the ancient Iranians passed on to next generations are given in this study.