“Why isn’t Khal Drogo on the list?” asked an outraged fan, clearly dismayed that a list ranking the best swordsmen on “Game of Thrones” has omitted Khal, warlord of the mighty Dothraki. According to this Iranian fan, the dark-eyed horse warrior should have a place on the list at the Persian-language fan website winterfell.ir.
Westeros fever has gripped Tehran and other cities as Iranians eagerly count down the days to season seven of HBO’s series to begin on July 16. Some might credit the interest to the fact that its composer Ramin Djawadi is of Iranian descent. Others point to the fictional legend of Azor Ahai — a deity known as the Lord of Light — being inspired by Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion with origins in Iran that views fire as a representation of the light of God. However, Iranian fandom for “Bazi Taj va Takht,” literally “game of crowns and thrones” in Persian, delves much deeper than that.
“The show has good music and is unpredictable,” explained fan Mohammad Reza to Al-Monitor. “The fact that some parts are inspired from real history makes it much more addictive.”
Iranians have been reading epic stories of dueling kings for hundreds of years. Long before American novelist George R.R. Martin, there was 10th-century Persian poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi. His best-known work — the “Shahnameh,” or “Book of Kings” — is an epic poem with over 60,000 couplets chronicling the history of ancient Persia from the beginning of civilization to the Arab invasion that brought Islam. With his epic work, Ferdowsi managed to not only preserve a snapshot of the Persian language, but also Persia's history and mythology. The "Shahnameh" is a classic on par with the ancient Mesopotamian “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Homer’s Greek epic poems “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad.” Just like “Game of Thrones,” the “Shahnameh” offers plenty of heroic conquests, glorified warriors, great battles, romance and mystical beasts. Iranians also have the 12th-century folklore collection “Samak-e Ayyar” by Faramaz Ibn Khodadad. "Game of Thrones" offers a familiar style of storytelling that is very much in line with the one Iranians grow up with.
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