Iranianism, politics and expedient power in the “Denkard” (book3)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 assistant professor, political science, shahid chamran university of ahvaz,ahvaz,iran

2 assistant professor, shahid chamran university of ahvaz. Ahvaz, Iran

10.22103/jic.2024.23444.1328

Abstract

Reaching a comprehensive understanding of the place of national identity and self-awareness, as well as the patterns of governance and ways of political thought of ancient Iranians, is an undeniable necessity in understanding the rise and fall of Iran and the decline and revival of its civilization over the millennia. While there is not much left from the political writings of ancient Iran, such as Khodayname and Aein-name, one of the valuable sources in reaching such an understanding are Zoroastrian religious texts and writings, which at the same time contain valuable discussions and references in the politics and political thinking of Iran. One of these writings is Denkard. Emphasizing on the third book of Denkard (DK3), in this research we tried to get closer to the answer to the main question, what is the position of "Iranianism" in the t DK3 and what are the requirements of proper governance in it? With an analytical-causal method and focusing on the rereading of the DK3 and with a half-look at Machiavelli's instructions about the homeland and politics, we came to the conclusion that Iranianism, awareness of the Iranian identity and the need to protect it as a fundamental value exist in this text. In DK3, in the direction of the prosperity and authority of ancient Iran, the requirements of powerful and efficient governance, and some secrets of expedient politics such as justice and wisdom, valuable views have been presented that give a clear picture of the details of ancient Iran political thought.

Keywords

Iranian Civilization Research
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Serial Number 12
February 2025
Pages 141-161

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