It is an Iranian martial art that incorporates elements of Islam, Gnosticism, and ancient Persian beliefs.
varzesh-e pahlavāni translates in Persian as heroic sport or varzesh-e bāstāni means ancient sport, a type of athletics and martial arts that originated in Iran (Persia) to train warriors, appearing first during the Safavid era with similarity to systems in neighboring lands. Zorkhanehs are now also found in Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, and Iranian immigrants introduced them to Iraq in the mid-19th century, but they disappeared in the 1980s. It incorporates martial arts, calisthenics, strength training, and music.
Training sessions are conducted in domed structures called zurkhanehs and focus on ritual gymnastics and submission-grappling called koshti pahlavni. It consists of gymnastic and callisthenic movements carried out by ten to twenty men, who each wield instruments that represent ancient weapons. A Zoorkhane houses the ritual in a sacred structure that consists of an octagonal sunken arena and audience seating. Pahlevani rituals are led by a master who performs epic and Gnostic poems and beats a zarb goblet drum in time with the epic poems. Besides containing ethical and social teachings, his poems make up Zoorkhanei literature.
People participating in Pahlevani rituals may come from any socioeconomic level or religious background, and each group works hard to assist those in need within its local community. During training, students are guided by a Pishkesvat (champion) in chivalric and ethical values. In Gnosticism, individuals who gain mastery of their skills and arts, observe religious principles and pass the ethical and moral stages of their path may gain the position of Pahlevani (hero), which indicates authority within the community.
For some time, attracting younger members has been a major discussion point. The suggestion has been to make practices more upbeat and distribute duties equally among the younger members rather than the following seniority strictly. In response to this need, the IZSF was established. It now serves as the global governing body for all zourkhāneh. Recently, the sport has become more popular in neighboring countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Zurkhanehs have nevertheless often had strong political affiliations, either promoting or opposing particular governments; Qassem Soulimani attended a Zurkhaneh as a teenager. Nonetheless, this type of sports diplomacy is seen as a natural extension of the pahlevan tradition of training zurkhaneh, a tradition that dates back to the time when pahlevans served in the king's court. There are now 500 zurkhaneh in Iran, each of which consists of practitioners, founders, and Pīshkesvats, and has strong ties to their respective communities.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/pahlevani-and-zoorkhanei-rituals-00378) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahlevani_and_zoorkhaneh_rituals)