The Daughters of Yazdajird: the Formation of the Legend of Shahrbānū and the Early Islamic World

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  • ヤズデギルドの娘たち--シャフルバーヌー傳承の形成と初期イスラーム世界
  • ヤズデギルド ノ ムスメタチ シャフルバーヌー デンショウ ノ ケイセイ ト ショキ イスラーム セカイ
  • ヤズデギルドの娘たち--シャフルバーヌー伝承の形成と初期イスラーム世界

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Abstract

It is widely believed in contemporary Iran that Zayn al-'Abidin 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib ('Ali al-Asghar), the fourth Imam of Twelver Shi'ism, was the son of the third Imam, al-Husayn and Shahrbanu, a daughter of the Sasanian Emperor Yazdajird b. Shafriyar. In seeking to trace the formation of the legend, one sees that the mother of 'Ali al-Asghar was taken to have been a slave until the first half of 9th century, but in the latter half of the 9th century the legend that she was the daughter of Yazdajird b. Shafriyar appeared. It is clear that after the latter half of the 10th century this belief and the name of Shahrbanu had become fixed. Analyzing various legends more thoroughly in regard to the legend of the daughter of Yazdajird, it becomes clear that she also was taken to have been one of the female slaves who had been sent to Medina as a prize of war and distributed to the victors. It can be understood that the tradition regarding the social status of female slaves that is seen in the early legends, became the basis out of which the legends about Yazdajird's daughter grew. In addition, Yazdajird's blood served the role of elevating the blood line of 'Ali al-Asghar. In contrast, in regard to the legends of Yazid b. al-Walid, the Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty, who was also said to be a descendant of the same Yazdajird, Yazdajird's Sasanian Persian blood was thought to have denigrated the Caliph's noble Arab blood. Behind this discourse was a prejudice against the mixed blood of someone born of a non-Arab slave woman. In contrast, by praising the Islamic ethics and the purity of the character of 'Ali al-Asghar, there emerged a discourse that would cancel out the one that he was the son of a non-Arab slave. With the background of the non-Arab mawali advance in society and the increasing social role of those with mixed Arab blood due to the establishment of the 'Abbasid Dynasty, social tensions between Arab and non-Arab populations increased, and, At the same time, traditional Arab values were challenged with the adoption and spread of Islamic society, and additionally an integrated sense of values was born by the mixing of polar-opposites, the blood of Arab and non-Arab people. The process of development in the legend of Shahrbanu reflects these social changes.

Journal

  • 東洋史研究

    東洋史研究 67 (2), 362-333, 2008-09

    東洋史研究会

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