Ancient Persian Literature Authors’ Faults in Introducing Abu Sa'id Abolkheir

In Iranian culture, Abu Sa'id Abolkheir has possessed a similar stand as that of Socrates in Greek culture. They have both been mentioned and cited in a large number of books, even though they have not written a single text. Abu Sa'id Abolkheir’s roles in ancient Persian literature can be seen in three different ways: his remaining works have either known sources, with no discrepancy between them and their sources in term of content, have no specific sources, or have specific sources but with a great discrepancy between them and the sources. The aim of the present investigation was to identify the so-called discrepancies and the reasons behind them. The obtained results revealed that among the several main factors which caused such slips of the pen, untidiness and shuffle of people’s lives along with quotation of what has been heard, instead of citing valid sources, and also using second hand sources instead of original sources, have played the most significant roles.