🌀On Foot or on Horseback? The Honorable Way of Dueling in Pre-Islamic Iran based on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh
🔺Author: Joanna Szklarz; Patryk Skupniewicz; Katarzyna Maksymiuk
Duels, despite their cultural visibility and symbolic significance, were never a common nor universal form of conflict resolution. In the Iranian tradition, as presented in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, however, they hold a special place as an element of the hero’s ethos. This raises questions about the extent of the practice of such encounters and about their ritual, whether the fighting took place on foot or on horseback. The article addresses this issue in the context of pre-Islamic Iran, juxtaposing three perspectives: the narrative of Ferdowsi’s epic, historical accounts concerning rulers and commanders, and the iconography of reliefs.
🔗https://www.caspianjournal.ir/article_232196.html
🔗https://doi.org/10.22034/cj.2025.553489.1029
1November 3, 2025 419 5
