Abstract

Marzban-name includes old tales and narratives. It is believed that this book was originally written in one of the middle – Persian dialects. As Varavini says it was first written in Tabari language and after that it was translated into New-Persian by Saad ed Din Varavini and Malatyvi. By investigating its stories, it becomes obvious that, according to Varavini, Marzban-name has very old origin, even older than what Varavini claimed. This archaism is very obvious in the content of most of the main and secondary stories and also in its ironical structure. In this paper, by mythological- historical and socio- cultural analysis of Marzban-name, it is tried to find the origin of most stories and narratives which reflect the Iranian beliefs and ideas of neighbors whose culture has affected Iranian culture of that time. In addition, by referring to social, cultural and religious conventions of Iranians before Islam, the approximate date of this work which certainly refers to pre- Islamic period and Sasani-age would be estimated.