The historical background of the story of the battle of Rostam and Kamus-e Keshani in Shahnameh

The narratives of the Shahnameh are indirectly taken from the Sassanid Xwadāy-Nāmags and other scattered sources of this period, which were themselves made during the Sassanid period under the influence of some influential families and reflect the history of ancient Iran under the influence of the epic and mythological view of Iranians to history. The story of the battle between Rostam and Kamus-e Keshani is one of these traditions that has its roots in the history of the Arshakid period. The main question of the current research is, what is the historical background of the story of the battle between Rostam and Kamus-e Keshani in Shahnameh? The findings of this article will show that this story is a reflection of the battle between the Arshakids and the Kushans during the time of Balash IV and Kanishka, which ended in favor of the Iranians with the bravery of the Suren family in Sistan and the Gudarz family in Gorgan. The actions of the Suren family in this event were later attributed to the personality of Rostam, the actions of the Gudarzians were attributed to their ancestor, and the name of Kanishka entered to the national history of Iran with the pronunciation of Kamus.
 
Keywords: Arshakids, Kushanids, Indo-Parthians, Rostam, Kamus.
 
Introduction:
Shahnameh is one of the most prominent epic works in world literature that rewrites the history of pre-Islamic Iran according to the understanding of Iranians in the late Sassanid period and the early Islamic period from ancient times. Various researchers have given different opinions about the sources used by Ferdowsi in writing the Shahnameh; But it is clear that Ferdowsi has used not only written sources but also oral sources to complete his work. Ferdowsi's most important source for writing his work was Abu Mansouri's prose Shahnameh, which itself relied on the Sasanian era's Xwadāy-Nāmag tradition. Therefore, the Shahnameh is directly or indirectly influenced by the historiography of the Sasanian period, and this historiography, which was completed in several stages, relied more on the epic and religious framework that the authors of the Sasanian Xwadāy-Nāmags used them according to the needs of the day.
 
Materials and Methods:
The main source of the current research is the story of the battle between Rostam and Kamos-e Keshani in the Shahnameh, which Ferdowsi or his main source Abu Mansouri probably took and added to their work as a complete and separate story. In addition to the data of Shahnameh, some other Islamic sources such as Tabari have also mentioned the mentioned story, which can be used to complete the article. Few but important Chinese and Buddhist sources will also be used to find the roots of the story in Kushan history. It is worth mentioning that the present research method is analytical.
 
Discussion and Risult:
In the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi reports the story of the battle of Rostam and Kamus Keshani in an epic format, whereby during the battles related to the revenge of Siavash, the Iranians and the Turanians clashed with each other, and the Turanians used the Chinese, the Keshanians and Other surrounding tribes to strengthen their forces. One of the commanders of the Turani army in this battle is Kamus-e Keshani, the story of his battle with Rostam has been reported with great pomp and during this battle, Kamus was captured by Rostam and finally killed. Usually, the opinion of the researchers is that Ferdowsi was faithful to his sources and therefore his narration of this story can be attributed to Abu Mansouri's Shahnameh and beyond that to the epic literature of the Sasanian period. At the end of the Sassanid period, the tradition of historiography flourished in Iran, and historical narratives in a religious and epic framework were included in a book known as Xwadāy-Nāmag according to the needs of the day. The tradition of oral history, which is the origin of historiography in the Sassanid period, conveys events in a spaceless and timeless format, which means that a specific event at a specific time may be transferred to time according to the needs of the Poet and moved to another place. Researchers usually consider the Shahnameh's Kashanis to be the Kushans who formed a large state for themselves in the east of the Iranian plateau from the Parthian to Sassanid period and sometimes competed with the Iranians. These competitions are included in a number of Chinese and Buddhist sources. In the middle of the 2nd century AD, the Parthian king Balash IV started a battle with the most famous Kushan king, Kanishka, which, according to Buddhist sources, ended in the loss of the Parthians. Kanishka's name closely resembles that of Kamus, and his territory is compatible with the territory mentioned for the invading Turani army in the Shahnameh. On the other hand, two important families in the Shahnameh, namely Sam and Gudarz, who play a key role in the battle with Turanian and Kamus, also play a key role in the battle of Blash IV with Kanishka. Kanishka's death in an unspecified event near the battle with Blash IV can also be reconciled with the story of his death by the Iranians. Since the events of the Shahnameh reflect the history of Iran in an epic format and the history of the Parthians or warriors is also reflected in them, the historical context of the story of the battle of Rostam and Kamus-e Keshani in the Shahnameh is the battle between the Parthians and the Kushans during the reign of Blash IV and Kanishka.
 
Conclusion:
Ferdowsi, who uses older sources and was faithful to them as much as possible, has organized the story of the battle of Rostam and Kamus-e Keshani. According to the nature of oral history, the events can be described in different formats of time and place, and therefore it was possible that a story was adapted from a historical event and inserted into another story. The battles of Iranians and Turanians in Avesta gradually took root in the history of Iran and were combined with the events of the historical periods of Iran from Achaemenid to Sasanian. The battle of the Parthian Blash IV with the help of the families of Sam and Gudarz with Kanishka of Kushani is also reflected in the Shahnameh as the battle of Rostam with Kamus-e Keshani and its generalities can be used to understand the view of the Parthians towards the powerful eastern neighbor.