The status of poets, writers, and literary works undergoes change throughout literary history and over time. Dominant discourses and the audience’s horizon of expectation alter the position of authors and transform the reception of literary works. The Shāhnāmeh as a  hypertext and a cultural reference for the revitalization of Iranian national identity concepts, has maintained a presence throughout history. The question of why and how Ferdowsi and the Shāhnāmeh were received in Persian poetry and prose during the Safavid period constitutes the subject of this study. Using a descriptive - analytical method, this research examines and analysis the various “receptions” and differing horizons of expectation of  readers toward the Shāhnāmeh and Ferdowsi within the temporal framework of the Safavid period. The findings indicate that the horizon of expectation and the reception of the Shāhnāmeh during the Safavid era were consistently dynamic and elicited diverse viewpoints. Positive receptions were shaped by such factors as the recognition of the Shāhnāmeh as a document of the national language, the poet’s artistic mastery, and his adherence to Shiʿism. Conversely, the presence of national myths and narratives in contrast to religious accounts, the tension between mysticism and epic and the personal sentiments and motives of certain readers contributed to negative receptions.
Keywords: Shāhnāmeh, Ferdowsi, national identity, Reception theory, Safavid period.
Introduction
Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh as one of the major hypertexts of Persian language and culture, has maintained a continuous and influential presence throughout Iranian history. This epic work encompassing the three principal components of national identity (national language and literature, national history and mythology and national wisdom) has become a source for the revitalization of identity-forming concepts.From the perspective of Reception Theory, readers in different historical periods, in accordance with their respective horizons of expectation, have produced diverse and sometimes contradictory receptions of the Shāhnāmeh. Some have emphasized the artistic and philosophical dimensions of the work, while others, influenced by narratives surrounding Ferdowsi and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni or by personal motives, have adopted differing positions.The Safavid era as one of the turning points in Iranian history, constituted a field of discursive contestation regarding this work. In this period the Shāhnāmeh, on the one hand, attracted the attention of rulers due to the poet’s Shiʿi affiliation and its capacity to revive the grandeur of ancient Iran; on the other hand, it faced criticism and even prohibition from certain jurists because of its pre-Islamic cultural elements. Drawing upon Jauss’s Reception Theory, this study analyzes the reasons for and the manner of these differing receptions of Ferdowsi and the Shāhnāmeh in the Safavid period.
 
Materials & Methods
This study examines the various receptions of Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh during the Safavid period as reflected in extant sources from that era. These receptions include both supportive and critical perspectives expressed by the intellectuals and poets of the time, each shaped by their respective horizons of expectation and their relationship to the three components of national identity, as well as by personal factors such as bias or jealousy.The research employs a descriptive-analytical  method grounded in Hans Robert Jauss’s Reception Theory.  First, the diverse receptions of the Shāhnāmeh in the Safavid period were collected and categorized.These receptions were then analyzed according to two principal criteria: first, the three components of national identity and the reader’s relation to them; second, the personal and psychological factors influencing the formation of negative reception.The aim is to demonstrate how differing horizons of expectation within the historical context of the Safavid era led to diverse and sometimes contradictory receptions of this hypertext. Within the framework of hermeneutic literary historiography, this study thus presents an account of the history of the readership of the Shāhnāmeh during this specific period.
 
Discussion & result
Every literary text is connected to history in two respects: first, the period in which the text was created; and second, the subsequent life or fate of the text after its composition and the manner of its presence in history. The present study examines the fate of Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh and its mode of historical presence based on Jauss’s Reception Theory. According to this theory, every literary text, over time and depending on readers’ horizons of expectation, acquires diverse meanings and interpretations.In the Safavid period, multiple factors shaped readers horizons of expectation and the nature of their reception of the Shāhnāmeh. On the one hand, the components of national identity (national language and literature, national history and mythology, and national wisdom) strongly present in the epic provided grounds for positive reception. On the other hand, the dominant religious orientation of Safavid society and prevailing mystical tendencies stood in tension with the national and pre-Islamic content of the Shāhnāmeh, leading to negative receptions.The findings show that positive receptions were primarily directed toward Ferdowsi’s poetic artistry, his role in preserving national history and mythology, and the wisdom embedded in the epic. In contrast, negative receptions were largely shaped by the perceived conflict between the content of the Shāhnāmeh and religious values or by the opposition between epic and mysticism. Some recipients adopted an eclectic approach, praising Ferdowsi’s artistry while criticizing the content of his work. Moreover, narratives concerning the relationship between Ferdowsi and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni influenced readers’ perceptions of both the epic and the poet. Some aligned themselves with Ferdowsi, others with Mahmud, and still others criticized both, thereby articulating different positions. In certain instances, personal factors such as jealousy or bias also played a role in shaping negative reception. Thus differing horizons of expectation within the historical context of the Safavid era resulted in diverse and at times contradictory receptions of this hypertext.
 
Conclusion
As an enduring hypertext, Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh encountered a distinct horizon of expectation during the Safavid period. The alignment of Ferdowsi’s Shiʿi affiliation with the official Shiʿism of the Safavids, together with the epic’s role in fostering national cohesion, contributed to positive reception. Conversely, the influence of Sufism and the authority of jurists challenged the mythological and pre-Islamic content of the Shāhnāmeh, giving rise to negative receptions.Some poets motivated by jealousy of Ferdowsi’s stature, directed criticism toward him. Others distinguished between poetic artistry and the content of the work, praising Ferdowsi while criticizing the substance of the Shāhnāmeh. The reinterpretation of the episode involving Ferdowsi and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in panegyrics likewise reflected the horizon of expectation of the period; Safavid poets, in praising their patrons, referred to this episode to articulate their own reception of it and depending on their horizon of expectation, either affirmed or critiqued the narrative.