Imagology of Iranians of Safavid era through the study on Persian Proverbs and Idioms in Raphael Du Mans' Travelogue

Rafael Du Mans is one of the first Frenchmen who traveled to Iran during the Safavid era and wrote the results of his long-term stay in Isfahan in his work entitled Iran's Situation in 1660 by French language. This work became the source of many images of Iranians in other French travelogues, so it is necessary to analyze and study the images of Iranians from various points of view. In this research, we have identified and classified the Persian proverbs and idioms mentioned by Du Mans in his work, and based on the knowledge of imagology and by referring to historical sources and examining intertextual signs, we have explained the reasons for emergence and spread among Iranians in order to to gain information about the people and society of Safavid Iran, on the one hand, and to clarify the reasons for Du Mans 's attitude towards Iranians on the other hand. Based on this, a total number of 6 proverbs and 11 idioms in Persian were identified in Du Mans’ Travelogue consisting of 12 direct and 5 indirect imaging. Among these 17 proverbs and idioms, 12 are negative which expresses Du Mans’ negative view of Iranians. The reasons for this view can first be traced to the purpose of Du Man's trip and his European arrogance. Also, after classifying the genesis of proverbs and idioms, it was found that most of them have a cultural background that expresses the priority of this issue for the author.