Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• seyed ali ghasemzadeh
• tajuddin arwinpoor

Abstract

The warfare epistle movement in contemporary Afghan literature began with popular uprisings against the British, known as the First Afghan-British War (1242-1220 HS / 1839-1839 AD). The British colonial invasion to Afghanistan brought an epic and heroic spirit to the people of this land, leading to armed jihad and the creation of numerous epic poems. These poems are arranged in the meter and style, in accordance with Firdowsi's Shahnameh. The main focus of these war memoirs is on the bravery and quality of the Afghan people's struggle against foreigners, especially the British, and the family struggles of local rulers and kings. This descriptive-analytical research seeks to examine the role of war writing in reflecting the realities of contemporary Afghan political history. The results of the research show that the multiplicity of these genres testifies to the poets' historic need to preserve their national identity and their efforts to record and preserve the national unity, bravery and achievements in the epic genre. The acceptance and standardization of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh in Afghanistan is a major factor in the tendency of these poets to compose epic poems. Although none can be regarded as profound as Shahnameh of Firdowsi in terms of language, style and even in the equality of subject and yield. Nevertheless, some of these writings had and continue to have profound emotional effects among the Afghan people and arouse patriotism and a desire for national unity and independence in contemporary Afghan history.

Keywords

• Contemporary Afghan Literature
• National Identity and Independence
• Historical Epic and warfare poems