Assistant Professor of Research Institute for Society and Information, Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IRANDOC)
Abstract
The Mādayān ī Hazār Dādestān, the most substantial exclusively legal text from pre Islamic Iran, was composed in the late Sasanian period in Pahlavi. Unlike myth infused narratives, it comprises authentic judicial dossiers, legal opinions, and litigations, offering a precise depiction of the judicial apparatus, the magistrate's function, and the interplay between custom, religion, and positive law. The work is both an unparalleled source for Sasanian jurisprudence and a rich repository of information on the social, economic, and familial institutions of the era. Scholarly engagement with this work extends back over a century, with eminent figures such as Modi, Bartholomae, Bulsara, Perikhanian, and Maria Macuch contributing decisively to its reading, translation, and interpretation. Within this tradition, Macuch occupies a distinctive position: through an interdisciplinary and comparative methodology, she interprets the text not as a disparate assemblage of rulings but as a coherent legal system. By integrating philology, legal history, and institutional analysis, she has advanced a fresh reconstruction of Sasanian legal thought. Her oeuvre now constitutes a foundational reference in Sasanian legal studies and Iranology, and her comprehensive approach has systematically synthesised and reframed earlier contributions within an innovative analytical framework.