دانشگاه اصفهان متن شناسی ادب فارسی 2476-3268 18 3 2026 08 23 Discourse Analysis of the Iranshahri Discourse in Manuchehri Damghani’s Divan تحلیل گفتمانِ ایران‌شهری در دیوان منوچهری دامغانی 103 122 30240 10.22108/rpll.2026.147272.2520 FA اسماعیل علی‌پور استادیار گروه آموزشی زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشکدۀ علوم انسانی، دانشگاه بجنورد، بجنورد، ایران Journal Article 2025 10 31 Abstract This study adopts an integrated framework of semiotics and discourse analysis, informed by Michel Foucault’s concepts of resemblance, recognition of the other, and quiproquo, to examine the representation and reproduction of the Iranshahri discourse in the Divan of Manuchehri Damghani (d. 432 AH), a major panegyric poet of the Ghaznavid period. The research identifies and categorizes semiotic systems of Iranian national identity into seven principal codes: Iranian geography, mythical figures, historical kings, Iranian festivals and rituals, the Iranian calendar, Iranian music, and other cultural signs (including language, games, and symbolic animals). A quantitative analysis of 402 instances across 216 verses demonstrates that Iranian music (107 cases), Iranian geography (79 cases), and the Iranian calendar (76) are the most frequently employed codes. The study argues that Manuchehri, writing in a political and cultural environment dominated by non-Iranian (Turkic) rulers and competing Islamic discourses, strategically reactivated pre-Islamic Iranian sign systems. This discursive reconstruction served four main functions: 1) reviving Iranian national identity; 2) mapping a symbolic “cultural Iran” grounded in territorial imagination; 3) legitimizing non-Iranian rulers by adorning them with Iranian ethical archetypes; and 4) defending the Persian language as a core marker of cultural selfhood. Consequently, Manuchehri emerges as a pioneering figure in articulating the Iranshahri discourse within panegyric poetry and in ensuring the continuity of Iranian identity in the early Islamic period. Keywords: Manuchehri Damghani; Iranshahri; Semiotics; Discourse Analysis. Introduction Persian literature of the early Islamic centuries functioned as a crucial site for the construction and negotiation of Iranian cultural identity. In this period, “Iran” was not merely a geographical designation but a symbolic construct shaped by mythological, historical, and cultural memory. Court poets of the Samanid and Ghaznavid eras, including Manuchehri Damghani (d. 432 AH/1040 CE), played a central role in sustaining this memory through the creative reactivation of Iranian sign systems. Although Manuchehri is traditionally known for his nature poetry, Arabic stylistic influences, and hedonistic imagery, this study contends that his Divan is deeply permeated by the Iranshahri discourse. The term Iranshahri refers to a civilizational discourse rooted in pre-Islamic Iranian identity, emphasizing mythology, kingship, ethical ideals, and cultural self-definition in contrast to the aniran (non-Iranian). This research goes beyond earlier descriptive studies by employing a combined semiotic–discursive methodology. It seeks to answer two main research questions: 1) Which semiotic systems reproduce the Iranshahri discourse in Manuchehri’s poetry? And 2) What ideological functions do these systems perform? Materials and Methods The primary corpus of this research is the complete Divan of Manuchehri Damghani. The theoretical framework integrates classical semiotics (Saussure and Peirce) with Foucault’s discourse theory. Foucault’s concept of resemblance is particularly significant. In History of Madness, he describes how an artificial social environment is constructed through signs, simulating reality within a confined space. Similarly, Manuchehri reconstructs the symbolic world of pre-Islamic Iran within the dominant discourse of the Ghaznavid court. Through poetic simulation, he creates a psychologically “real” cultural space for Iranian identity. Foucault’s notions of recognition of the other and quiproquo are also applied to verses in which Manuchehri appears to diminish Iranian heroes. Such rhetorical exaggerations paradoxically reinforce the symbolic authority of these figures by treating them as universal standards of comparison. Methodologically, the study first identified all verses containing Iranian cultural signs. These 402 instances were categorized into seven semiotic codes and subsequently analyzed through qualitative discourse analysis. Research Findings Geography and Territory: Manuchehri consistently presents Iran as a unified and expansive realm extending from China to the Mediterranean. This imagined geography reflects the Sassanian worldview rather than contemporary political realities, thereby constructing a symbolic “cultural Iran”. Mythical and Historical Figures: Figures such as Rostam, Fereydun, and Anushirvan function as ethical archetypes. By comparing his patrons to these heroes, Manuchehri not only flatters rulers but institutionalizes Iranian models of kingship as normative political ideals. Festivals and Calendar: Nowruz, Mehregan, and Sadeh are reactivated as symbolic centers of collective memory. These festivals structure a distinctly Iranian temporal rhythm that reinforces cultural continuity. Iranian Music: Musical references operate as cultural resistance, political performance, naturalized identity, and collective memory. Music becomes a living archive of Iranian civilization. Persian Language: In explicitly choosing Persian over Arabic, Manuchehri asserts linguistic selfhood. Persian becomes not merely a medium of expression but a symbol of national identity. Discussion of Results and Conclusions Considering the results of the present study, it can be said that Manuchehri’s Divan constitutes a systematic project of cultural reconstruction. Through semiotic simulation, he revitalizes the Iranshahri discourse within the political space of the Ghaznavid court. This discourse performs three essential functions: Cultural Revival: Reconstructing Iranian identity and territorial memory. Political Ethicalization: Educating rulers through Iranian models of kingship. Linguistic Defense: Affirming Persian as the core carrier of cultural meaning. Thus, Manuchehri transcends the role of court flatterer or nature poet. He emerges as a cultural strategist who used literature as a medium for identity preservation and political negotiation. His poetry demonstrates how semiotic systems can ensure cultural continuity and national survival across historical ruptures. ایران‌شهری یکی از گفتمان‌های هویت‌سازِ سروده‌های شاعران درباری سده‌های چهار و پنج هجری است. منوچهری دامغانی، از شاعران شاخص عصر غزنوی، در دیوان خود تصویری چندلایه از «ایران» ارائه می‌دهد که با ملیت، اسطوره، تاریخ و فرهنگ گره خورده‌ است. این مقاله با گزینش بیت‌هایی از دیوان منوچهری که مضامین ایران‌گرایانه دارد و نیز با استخراج و رده‌بندیِ نظامِ نشانه‌ها (رمزگان‌های) هویت ملی و بهره‌گیری از روش تحلیل گفتمان، به بررسی چگونگیِ بازنمایی و بازتولید گفتمان ایران‌شهری در شعر منوچهری می‌پردازد. پرسش‌های اصلی پژوهش این است: ایران چگونه در دیوان منوچهری دامغانی بازنمایی شده است؟ و این بازنمایی حامل چه مؤلفه‌های گفتمانی است؟ این مقاله می‌کوشد تا لایه‌های گوناگون این گفتمان را بکاود و جایگاه آن را در فضای فرهنگی دوران غزنوی تحلیل کند. منوچهری، گفتمان ایران‌شهری را با رمزگان‌های هفت‌گانۀ «جغرافیای ایرانی، شخصیت‌های اسطوره‌ای، شخصیت‌های تاریخی، جشن‌ها و آیین‌های ایرانی، گاه‌شمارِ ایرانی، موسیقی ایرانی و رمزگان‌های دیگر» بازتولید می‌کند. بازتولید گفتمان ایران‌شهری در دیوان منوچهری، چهار کارکرد دارد: یکی، احیای گفتمانِ هویّت ملّی و فرهنگ ایرانی؛ دوم، طراحیِ نقشۀ ایرانِ فرهنگی با پیرنگِ هویّت سرزمینی؛ سوم، آراستنِ ممدوحان به اخلاق و آدابِ شخصیت‌های ایرانی و نهادینه‌کردن کنش‌های شایسته و بایسته در شخصیت فرمانروایان غیرایرانی؛ چهارم، پشتیبانی از زبان فارسی به‌عنوان نمادی از خودی و هویت ایرانی در برابر هجمۀ زبان عربی و ورود لغات ترکی. تحلیل محتوا نشان‌می‌دهد که منوچهری با تکیه بر جلوه‌های فرهنگ ایرانی، نقش مهمی در احیای هویت ملی ایرانیان پس از اسلام ایفا کرده است و در خطِ تداوم گفتمانی است که ایران را سرزمینی ورجاوند و فرهمند بازنمایی می‌کند. به این اعتبار منوچهری را می‌توان از پیشروان گفتمان ایران‌شهری در قصیده‌های ستایشی معرفی کرد.

https://rpll.ui.ac.ir/article_30240_4f9bcbbbaed99b7ae7e616d5486098b4.pdf