Firdawsi’s Shahnameh, widely recognized as the Iranian National Epic, may be considered as the essence of the thousandfold-year Persian culture and civilization. In the depth of several incidents, characters, places, and other elements forming this huge epic work, one can identify traces of some religious beliefs, traditions, or historical events related to the lives of the Iranian people. Some scholars have argued that the contents of the Shahnameh may be divided into three parts: the mythological part, the heroic part, and the historical part. Although such a categorization highlights the presence of the heroic element in this epic, the present study suggests that, chronologically speaking, one can divide the types of relationships existing among the major characters appearing in the Shahnameh (i.e., between kings and heroes) into two eras. While the first era is marked by a “king-hero” type of relationship, in which, due to the absence of distinct social classes, indeed, both of the roles are played by the same character; the second era is characterized by a “king-and-hero” relationship, in which, as distinct social classes gradually develop, the two characters assume two different identities and social roles.

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