Social History of Kashan in the 6th A.H. Based on Abu al-Reza Ravandi’s Divan

Introduction
Kashan is one of the oldest cities in Iran in the history of Shiism, and the history of the presence of Shiites in this city dates back to the first centuries A.H. After the overthrow of the Al-Buyeh dynasty, the Sunni Seljuqs came to power. With Seljuqs’s coming to power, it was natural that the Shiite cities were not given much attention by the rulers of this dynasty, and, thus, the events related to these cities, which were generally written by historians close to the court, were not to be reflected in the historical texts of this era. Although Abu al-Reza Rawandi was considered a praise poet, he was one of the great scholars of the 6th H.A. The historical importance of this work became more evident when it was understood that in his work, Ravandi paid much attention to various aspects of the political, social, cultural history, and even the civil status of the city of Kashan in the 6th H.A. In some cases he expressed these events in detail. These descriptions of the political, cultural, and social activities of Kashan added up to the historical value of this Divan of poetry.
Materials and Methods
The historical data of Abu al-Reza Ravandi's poetry are the most important materials used in this research. Ravandi expressed historical reports in many of his verses. In this research, the historical data of Abu al-Reza’s work regarding Kashan in the 6th H.A. has been extracted and analyzed in a descriptive- analytic way using a library study.
Results
Abu al-Reza Ravandi's poetry in relation to the social history of Kashan was classified into three main cultural and religious, social, and political categories. According to the history of Shiism in Kashan as well as Abu al-Reza’s references to Imamzadeh Ali Ibin al-Baqir and his position in the sixth A.H., Shiism was established in the Kashan region during that period, and the people of Kashan were generally Shiites. In relation to cultural issues, it was also concluded from Abu al-Reza Ravandi's verse, his odes about various scientific and political figures of , as well as his referring to the Magdiya School of Kashan, and his own teaching there that Kashani people paid much attention to the issue of education. In this period, despite the fact that the practicing religion of Kashani people was not aligned with the religion endorsed by the government, the issue of education, especially in the religious field, was of great interest in Kashan. Reading his Divan, on can observe that the attention that paid to public affairs and to the support of the weak sections of the society, in the form of the Islamic tradition of endowment, was very widespread and important in this period in Kashan. Political history was not of Abu al-Reza’s real concern, but his references to the role of Majd al-Din in Kashan in this period and the impact of this character on the most important events of the city, showed that this character is the most effective or at least one of the most important men of the city. It was during this era that he played a very significant role in the political, cultural, and social administration of the city.