Poetics and Politics of Iran’s National Epic, the Shāhnāmeh

1. Introduction
Mahmoud Omidsalar

2. Shāhnāmeh and the Presumptive Authority of the West
Mahmoud Omidsalar

3. An Epic’s Journey: A Brief History of the Shāhnāmeh’s Transmission
Mahmoud Omidsalar

4. At Home: The Shāhnāmeh in New Persian
Mahmoud Omidsalar

5. A Fierce Fidelity: Ferdowsi and His Archetype
Mahmoud Omidsalar

6. Why the Shāhnāmeh?
Mahmoud Omidsalar

7. The Man in the Myths
Mahmoud Omidsalar

8. The Poet, the Prince, and the Language
Mahmoud Omidsalar

9. Epic Unity: The Case Against Under-Analysis
Mahmoud Omidsalar

10. Sibling Rivalry
Mahmoud Omidsalar

11. Killing Demons, Deposing Kings: The Akvān Episode
Mahmoud Omidsalar

12. Of Lusting and Ousting
Mahmoud Omidsalar

13. Conclusion: Shāhnāmeh and the Tyranny of Eurocentrism
Mahmoud Omidsalar

Keywords: Literature, Postcolonial/World Literature, Sociology of Religion, History of the Middle East, Twentieth-Century Literature, Poetry and Poetics, Islam