Document Type : Original Article
Author
Faegh Abdollahian Balochi, PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Farhangian University, Tehran, P.O. Box 889 -14665, Iran.
Abstract
The term “heart of the world,” which is employed in Halford J. Mackinder’s political geography theory to explain the strategic significance of the central Eurasian regions, particularly Iran, appears earlier in Persian poetry and is reflected in Nizami Ganjavi’s Haft Peykar.This study, using a textual-analytical approach, demonstrates that mystical progression in Haft Peykar is grounded in geography. Specifically, three locations play a central role in the structure of the Haft Peykar, an aspect largely overlooked in previous interpretations:
The land of Iran, the realm of the “best,” representing a center of power;
The seven domes, which serve as spaces for worship and devotion; and
The cave, which symbolizes the protagonist’s (the ruler Bahram Gur) return to the spiritual realm and attainment of paradise at the conclusion of the narrative.
Mystical progression in Haft Peykar unfolds through the ruler’s experience (Bahram Gur’s lived poetic journey). While he attains the “best place” (the heart of the world) effortlessly, his spiritual journey requires effort, particularly within the seven domes and the cave. Through this progression, Bahram Gur successfully navigates a mystical-geographical path, ultimately achieving both geography of power and geography of meaning and union, and consciously relinquishing the former in favor of the latter, embarking on the journey to the cave and attaining paradise.
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