Analysis

          My text is Sekandar led the soldiers to kill a powerful dragon who oppresses civilians, my object is an illustration of this epic story in the medieval codex. My argument is that compared with the title of a dragon slayer who tends to use physical strength and is at the front line, Sekandar is more suitable to be called a smart strategist who is more inclined to play safe cards and uses brain power.

          Sekandar is more inclined to formulate battle plans in advance and will adjust his plans based on feedback from the results of the first battle. However, Rustam and Beowulf do not depend on the battle plan. They rely on their own strength and force to fight desperately when they encounter monsters.     Different processing methods lead to completely different images. The protagonist of the story didn’t even meet it personally, but almost arrogantly delegated the task to a group of builders who were nameless and seemingly unhero (Stoneman et al., 2012, p. 280). In Sekandar's dragon-slaying story, they tried twice to kill the dragon. For the first time, Sekandar used the dragon's hunger to lure the dragon to appear and tried to make his army fight the dragon. However, because of the fierce battle drums and arrow rain, the dragon was scared away. However, Sekandar did not order his army to take advantage of the pursuit but chose to retreat and formulate a more detailed combat plan. The second time, Sekandar used the poisoned cow to detoxify the dragon to death. The plan was successfully implemented, and it is precisely because of his keen observation and clever strategy that he can defeat the dragon without casualties and proceed so smoothly. However, in contrast, the other two dragon-slaying warriors all fought the dragon unexpectedly. In Shahanameh, the duel between Rustam and the dragon was because he accidentally broke into the dragon's lair, and he had to start resisting immediately to survive. In Beowulf, because a slave stole a gold cup from the dragon, so it was angered. When the angry dragon ruthlessly burned home and land, Beowulf had to decide to fight and kill the monster himself. In a word, Sekandar slays the dragon with a plan and is the one who initiates the struggle first. However, both Rustam and Beowulf were forced to against because of the unexpected situation brought about by the dragon who launched the attack first. Therefore, the difference between Sekandar and Rustam and Beowulf is that Sekandar is good at using strategy and knows how to make plans and retreat when appropriate. Being able to take advantage of the enemy's weaknesses to carry out effective attacks, instead of relying solely on force and weapons. The story's details and origin make him more like a smart leader and strategist than a dragon slayer.

          Analyzing the selected fragments and artifacts, Sekandar has more human and material resources than Rustam and Beowulf. This condition allows Sekandar to mobilize these resources to successfully win for him. It makes him look more like a leader and clever strategist. First, it can be seen from the two illustrated parchments that Sekandar has much more helpers than Rustam's. He was surrounded by his soldiers, and they all fed the poisonous cow corpses to the dragon by following Sekandar's instructions. Sekandar is riding on a horse and surrounded by soldiers, which may be to prevent the dragon from attacking and better escape instead of fighting to the death. Secondly, judging from the details of the facial expressions of Sekandar and Rustam, they have different emotions and personality characteristics. The illustration depicting Rustam portrayed his mood as resolute and fearless, even at the moment when he killed the dragon's throat, his mouth had a slightly triumphant smile. It indicates Rustam's fearlessness and bravery as a dragon-slaying warrior and is not worried about retreating due to other factors. However, the emotions expressed by Sekandar in the illustrations are worries and thinking a lot. He clasped the reins with both hands, his head and eyes drooping slightly, it was obvious that he was worried. From this point of view, Rustam seems to be more fearless and firmer as a warrior, while Sekandar seems to be more cautious and deliberate as a strategist. Finally, the differences in the actions and weapons of the two people further distinguish their personality characteristics and positioning. According to Rustam's Parchment, he stabbed the dragon with a long sword in his right hand and held a bow in his left hand as a precaution. His attacking actions and fighting consciousness proved his strength and ability, and the successful slaying of the dragon alone made him the title of a dragon-slaying warrior. In addition, Beowulf was also alone using Nægling to fight the dragon, and his men only appeared at the last moment to help him successfully slay the dragon. Looking at Sekandar's story fragments and artifacts again, there is no mention of when he personally held a weapon against a dragon. In the illustration, the soldiers wearing yellow clothes wear arrows, which are the weapons they use to end the dying dragon, but Sekandar does not wear them. Moreover, Sekandar was not alone in facing the dragon but used a relatively less violent method to subdue the monster. Therefore, compared to the title of Dragon Slayer Warrior, a smart strategist is more suitable for Sekandar.

          In summary, Sekandar is a very good at using strategy. The textual description of the dragon slaying story and the details of the depiction of the scene in the medieval artifact support him to be called a smart strategist rather than being called a dragon slaying warrior. In addition, the interaction between Sekandar and King Foor and Quaydafeh mentioned in The Shahnameh proves that he is good at using tactics to gain benefits and wins. The dangerous frontline warrior is not what he wants to be, but the strategist who plays the safety card to win victory is his true nature.