The Structure of the Story of Rustam and Zanün (From the Gathic Poems until the Gurani Rivayat)

The story of Rustam and Zanün is a masterpiece of the epic literature of Iran in Gurani. It has no counterpart in Avestan, Middle Persian, Zoroastrian Persian, the national epics, and oral documented literature. The story can be divided into two general parts, i.e. “the story of Rustam and Zanün” and “the story of Aẓīm-Shāh”. While there are several manuscripts and rivayats available at our disposal, the nonacquaintance of scribes and story-tellers of the connected structure of the story has caused the division of the story into two independent sections. The most complete version of this story appears in the manuscript of the Haft-Lashkar in Gurani with 2722 couplets. This story has a coherent structure. The outer structure of the story begins with the cycle of the kingship of Tūs in the land of Tūrān and ends with his second kingship in the land of Tūrān. The inner structure of the story has a bilateral symmetry due to the coming and return of Afrāsiāb, Rustam, and Kay-Khosrow. The core of the story begins after an introduction and an introductory story. Then, the two main stories are given. They are connected together by a connecting story. Finally, the story ends with a concluding story. In general, the outer and inner structure of the story has a symmetrical approach. The oldest and rarest example of such usage is the symmetrical structure of the Gathas.