The Records about Archery in the Shāhnāma

Abstract

The Shāhnāma is an important source written in Iran in the XI. century. The work deals with ancient Iranian mythology and the stories of ancient Iranian shahs. Abū al-Qāsim Ferdowsī, the author of the source, mentions many arms terms in his book. The subject of this study is about archery terms in the Shāhnāma. In the part of the research about the bows, the terms denoting bow equipment, bow types such as nāvak, charkh, kamān-e Chāchī, bows belonging to the shahs, the words denoting bow equipment in a figurative sense and people who use the bow are examined. In the section about the arrows, the words denoting the arrow, arrow types such as tīr-e nāvak, gāw-dom, tīr-e jawshan, the words that indicate the arrowhead and the terms that symbolize the arrow in a figurative sense are studied. The aim of this study is to clarify the arm terms in the Shāhnāma and to contribute to a better understanding of the source.