Symbolic Analysis of Mirzasaleh's Shahnameh Illustrations based on Concepts of "Iranian Nationality, Wisdom, Justice and Chastity" from Peirce's Point of View

In ancient Iranian culture, in accordance with the social, political and economic conditions, a group of painters has devoted themselves to the Shahnameh writing and illustrating it in order to elevate the rich literature of this land and region. Tender and full of mystery, Iranian paintings will need to be interpreted and deciphered; regarding the problem statement, one of these cases is the Shahnameh known as Mirzasaleh in the library of Golestan Palace, which was unveiled in 1400. The purpose of this basic research is to introduce Mirzasaleh's Shahnameh, to know the pictorial symbols of the concepts of Iranian nationality, wisdom, justice and chastity in the four selected illustrations of Mizrasaleh's Shahnameh. The 1st question is: with what symbols and how are the four main concepts of Iranian nationality, wisdom, justice, and chastity represented in the selected paintings in the manner of the Isfahan school? Also, 2nd: which of the concepts of Iranian nationality, wisdom, justice and chastity are depicted the most in Mirzasaleh’s Shahnameh? The research method is descriptive, analytical, and qualitative, and the method of collecting documentary information is also based on Peirce's symbology approach. The fundamental research methodology leading to the discovery of facts and reality with the aim of expanding knowledge is descriptive-analytical and the information is collected in a documentary way. It is worth mentioning that, despite the availability of a total of 43 images, due to the limitations of the article structure as well as the magazine's writing instructions, only one image was selected for each concept, which, in addition to having a rich visual structure, is maximally related to each of the concepts of research and useful in better understanding the content of tables and analyses. The scope of the statistical population of this research is a total of 43 illustrations of Mirzasaleh's Shahnameh, which were analyzed qualitatively based on related indicators such as the titles and themes of illustrated assemblies, and in some cases quantitative methods were used to show the distribution method, as well as 4 illustrations related to the main purpose of the research. Although this version does not have a writing date, it was written and arranged in the Safavid era, the 11th century, by recognizing the calligrapher Mirzasaleh's style and by examining the style. But, it was re-bound and bound in the year 1329 under the seal of the government library in Qajar Iran. Considering the manifestation of various intellectual foundations, such as worshiping Yazdan, honoring wisdom, scientific excellence, kindness, etc. in the Shahnameh of Javadan Ferdowsi, this work is full of wisdom and lessons. In this research, despite the fact that other axes can be designed, only four of the concepts of this valuable document of Iranian culture and civilization, which have the most thematic and central connections with illustrations, have been examined. Mirzasaleh’s Shahnameh has to paid attention to. Therefore, the concepts of Iranian nationality, wisdom, justice and purity have been selected based on the author's inductive investigation in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh itself and inferences from other researches; the most important of which have been mentioned in the background of the research. It has been identified in a non-probabilistic way and analyzed with Peirce's semiotic approach. The continuous coexistence of Iranian painting with foreign Eastern and Western cultures and traditions in various historical periods, which has led to its implicit and objective influence, doubles the importance and necessity of research. For this reason, it can be acknowledged that due to the importance of knowing the culture of the past, examining the impact of the art of other countries and the lack of substantiated sources, paying attention to unknown cultural-artistic versions such as Mirzasaleh can always be a solution; because Ferdowsi's Shahnameh has been represented in a special period with beauty and delicacy, thoughtful adaptations and new innovations, and its analysis can potentially provide a platform for the analysis and interpretation of obvious and hidden symbols, as well as the reception of secret content. Also, exploring and finding visual symbols in line with Ferdowsi's rich, national and cultural discourse in Mirzasaleh's Shahnameh can help explain as much as possible the hidden concepts in the background of Iranian Islamic civilization.
The results of this study indicate that the four concepts mentioned in the form of symbolic characters such as Siavash, mythical creatures of myths such as dragons, symbolic elements such as color and symbolic tools of myths beyond the apparent meaning are illustrated based on the cultural conventions of ancient Iran and have the most semantic connection. It can also be acknowledged that among the review of the total of 43 images of Mirzasaleh's Shahnameh along with the analysis of 4 images in the body of the article, Iranian nationality is the most frequently displayed concept, and the concepts of justice and chastity have the least number of images.