Search published articles


Showing 13 results for Zoroastrian


Volume 1, Issue 1 (9-2003)
Abstract

Since most of the stories narrated in Shahname relates to the period after the rise and development of Zoroastrianism, the natural effects of the new religion on these stories, has made some readers imagine that Ferdowsi has had a kind of inclination to this ancient religion of Iran.
This article, by criticizing the mentioned idea, through studying the very text of Shahname, clearly shows that Ferdowsi has not been, but a true moslem.
 

Volume 6, Issue 3 (10-2014)
Abstract

“Globalisation” is one of the most influential philosophical thoughts with direct effects on the economic, political and cultural entities of countries in the modern era. Most scholars relate the emergence of this phenomenon to the period after Renascence. However, with little contemplation, one could trace the roots and origins of philosophical thoughts and mythical concepts – of course not in their present form – to ancient civilisations. Doubtless, Sasanian empire (224-651 CE),  with 427 years of glory in the world,s  political arena, can be considered as one of the greatest and most powerful cultural foregrounds of ancient era that was managed by the direct instructions of Zoroastrian philosophers. The founder of this empire (ArdašīrPāpakān: 224-241 CE), in response to the question that why have you risen against your reigning king (Ardavan V Ashkani), clamed: “To make a world with a single-God”. Now, the question is. Can “Ardašīr’s efforts in establishment of a world under governance of a single God” be counted as the first efforts toward unification of the world and the initial steps in globalisation? – efforts that were accompanied by practices and widespread endeavours. The principal hypothesis is that the thoughts of globalisation were nurtured in the thoughts of Zoroastrians’ eminent Mōbads and practiced by the founder of Sasanians Empire. The main aim of the present research is to investigate the first veinsofglobalisation notions and the associated practical measures of Sasanian kings. In doing so, all of the Sasanian historical and archaeological evidences that certify the research hypothesis are envisaged and discussed in the context of globalisation and cosmopolitanism thoughts. The cosmopolitanism idea, with roots in the ancient world, is also used to associate the today’s globalisation concepts with the ancient ones. These concepts together with archaeological and historical evidences are clear indications that globalisation and cosmopolitanism thoughts have been introduced 1800 years ago in Iran; and indeed practiced on the relevant scale by Sasanians.  

Volume 7, Issue 30 (12-2019)
Abstract

The midnight of Ramezan in Nooshabad brings a ritual in the name of Horbaba, in which children are gone to the homes and pray for a child of the homeowner through hymn, and then receive gifts. The sample of this ritual is seen in many regions and provinces of Iran including Turkmen desert, Yazd, Kerman, Sistan, Bushehr, and Khuzestan. On the other side, a three-day joint celebration called Hirombā is held by Zoroastrians in which they collect firewood, set fire, read hymns with children and adolescents at the homes of residents, and then receive edible gifts. Hirombā has a significant similarity with Horbaba, in terms of the name, general structure, lyrics, content, and a blessing of children's focus. The fire which is common in the poem of Hirombā is also common in Horbaba. It seems that Horbaba's ritual, which is still held in many parts of Iran, is the remnant of the ancient Hirombā and Sadeh, and although it has become small and time-lapsed, it has been preserved through an Islamic structure. Researchers view Hirombā the same as Sadeh celebration. They associate the ritual with the sun and Yazata Rapithwin. This paper, based on the field studies and document analysis, aims to introduce Horbaba and its other examples in Iran and focus on its common elements with Zoroastrian Hirombā rituals and their mythical origins

Volume 8, Issue 3 (9-2020)
Abstract

George Gordon Lord Byron,a British poet of 19th century, was heavily influenced by Oriental and Persian literature in his works. The poet’s life coincided with beginning of the “Victorian age”, and “romanticism” style emergence and the beginning of the European literature’s impressionability presentation from Iranian literature and Persian language; hence he is known as an outstanding person and European renaissance’s symbol and among the Persian literature’s impressed ones.
In This research attempt to clarify the “Manfred” Play’s contribution among Lord Byron’s works in Persian literature’s impressionability through library and documentary tools and relying on an analytical and comparative method. The result is that the above work is influenced strikingly by the works of Persian literature and language, Oriental myths and culture in “symbols”, “concepts”, “fantasies” and even “lexical” terms, which are collected due to Byron’s studies in his subconscious. Also research data show that the two categories of “Zoroastrianism” and “mysticism”, in effectiveness of Persian literature, had the largest share which are presented under two total categories: character-making level and 
space-making level.

Volume 8, Issue 31 (3-2020)
Abstract

In the archetype of sacrifice, the element of sacrifice is chosen according to the type of culture, religion, livelihood, etc. Cow, as an ancient myth in the mythological story of genesis in Iran is a prominent element of sacrifice and this was an important part of the ritual. Through shedding cow's blood, the earth was revived, and through eating his flesh, the followers of the religion could be immortal. However, after Zoroastrianism, several reasons such as opposition to symbols of Mythraism propagating monotheism, and the necessity of settlement and development of civilization, the sacrifice of cow was opposed, and Zoroastrianism respected its life, but there have been reports of sacrificing cows in Zoroastrianism, suggesting the need to carry out this ritual, to help the fertility of the land and reviving the life cycle. Nevertheless, the reaction Zoroastrianism showed to the sacrifice of cow shifted the myth of immortality and protecting earth to a new level, and rationalized the mythological themes. This study, accordingly, analyzes the archetype of sacrificing cow in Mithraism and Zoroastrianism borrowing Jung's theory and a descriptive-analytic research method.


Volume 11, Issue 50 (5-2023)
Abstract

The clothes used in ritual ceremonies show the continuation of an ancient mythological rite. The type and color of the clothes, decorations and objects used in rituals have certainly a symbolic root; though not everyone who is wearing these clothes or using these objects is necessarily aware of their symbolic meanings. This research, in an analytical and descriptive method, is dealing with the relation between clothing and ritual-mythological ceremonies. In every ritual ceremony, we are witnessing special clothes and tools related to that special ritual. Different nations and tribes have different mythological narratives, usually with a common root, regarding the process from primitive life moving towards the modern life. The subjects related to the industry, producing fabric and the method of putting on the clothes are normally ascribed to gods, while in epics they are attributed to the characters and heroes. The color of the ritual clothes is in harmony with the universal symbols and their roots could be found in the mythological beliefs.
 
Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar,
Volume 13, Issue 3 (5-2006)
Abstract

The demonstration of female figures on Sasanian silver vessels was an interesting subject to Sasanian silversmiths which caused much dispute among the scholars over whose character the female figure represents. Are they representations of the goddess Anahita or members of her cult? Is there any connection between them and the cult of Asiatic Dionysus? The other question that arises is whether they are secular objects or bearing a religious significance. This paper aims to review previous studies and then, on the basis of an iconographical study and also referring to the Sasanian religious text, present a new interpretation of themes.

Volume 13, Issue 61 (3-2026)
Abstract

"Ye Xian" is the name of the protagonist of one of the most prominent Chinese stories based on hostility of the stepmother and her daughter with "Ye Xian". Receiving a blue dress with golden shoes to participate in the festival by a metaphysical force that leads to Ye Xian’s marriage to the king is the most important similarity to the story of "Cinderella". In addition to the previous commonalities, the protagonist’s ability to relate to clothes and the presence of metaphysical power in creature bones (fish or cow) is the similarity of "Ye Xian" with different versions of Iranian stories. The story " Zoroastrians’ BiBi Se-šanbeh" is a logical continuation of various examples of the same story with similar or dissimilar names such as "Māhpišāni" in different regions of Iran. The feminine dimension and the names of the protagonists of the stories, the importance of textiles and clothing, the presence of various symbols of water and the Nahid goddess, solving problems by magical power are common aspects in all stories. Matching historical periods and events with the geography of Iran’s holy shrines and tombs has led to the formation of similar stories in Sistan, Shahre Ray and Khorasan. In addition to the blue color, cows and fish can be considered as other symbols of water and Nahid goddess. "Pārs-bānū" is one of the series of stories of "Zoroastrian’s Pirān" and it is like the story of the tomb of "BiBi Šahr-bānū" in Shahre Ray, which led to the connection of Islamic and pre-Islamic stories and symbols. This is because it declares "Pārs-bānū" and the widow of Imam Hossein, "Šahr-bānū" as sisters. The names of the protagonists are "Šahr-bānū/Fateme/BiBi", which originally refers to a character. The motifs of the silk fabrics uncovered from the tomb of BiBi Šahr-bānū, Sassanid era bull busts in the Nahid Bishapur temple with a mosaic porch provide pictorial and symbolic information related to these stories.

Introduction
Nahid goddess and her symbols are present in all stories of Khorasan/Sistan’s BiBi Se-šanbeh, "Zoroastrians’ BiBi Se-šanbeh ", "Māhpišāni" and Chinese story "Ye Xian". The magical force that gives the female protagonist the luxurious blue dress and golden shoes to provide the conditions for her marriage with the king/prince through water is the same Nahid goddess who supports girls in getting married. The Sassanid era mosaics near the temple of Nahid goddess and the exposed silk cloths from the tomb of "BiBi Šahr-bānū" have similar symbols of a man with the ears and horns of a cow. The importance of the cow and its relationship with water in the Nahid temple can be seen in the form of cow-shaped Capitals, and the image of the lady in blue with a golden shoe in the mosaic porch is the embodiment of the protagonist of these stories and the story of Cinderella.

Research Background
Most of the research that have been done on Iranian stories and Chinese story, "Ye Xian" which is like "Cinderella" have been in the field of comparative literature or the literature of nations, and the traces of Nahid goddess in the oral literature and folklore culture of Iran and Zoroastrians have not been identified.

Goals, questions, and assumptions
The Goals of this research is to find the symbols of the Nahid goddess in the various layers of the stories that guide and support the female protagonist. In this regard, the following research question was raised:
How did the Nahid goddess become important in the folklore culture and oral literature of Iran and the world?
The cultural diplomacy formed between China and Iran, which came about through the Silk Road and the Zoroastrian migration after the destruction of the Sassanid dynasty, led to the sharing of the symbols of Nahid goddess in the story of "Ye Xian" and Iranian stories.

Research method
By using the historical and geographical method and combining it with cultural linguistic and symbology, this research has achieved an interdisciplinary way to analyze symbols in stories. The overlapping of historical events and their connection with geographical areas and in addition, the presence of Sassanid period mosaic porches or blessed tombs that have oral literature along with silk fabrics have led to the identification of the symbol of Nahid goddess in Iranian and Chinese stories.

Main Discussion
The generality of all stories is like "Cinderella"; but they have diversity in components. The helping magical force in "Ye Xian" is a red fish, which is replaced by a red cow in the story of "Khorasan/Sistan’s BiBi Se-šanbeh" and a yellow cow in the story "Māhpišāni". Cows and fish are the symbols of Nahid goddess, the pond full of fish in "Pir-e Estir" and the tombs of Sasanian princesses and sisters "BiBi Šahr-bānū" and "Pārs-bānū" have made these shrines a place for the Nahid goddess. The different names of the protagonists refer to a certain character who is supported by Nahid goddess.

Conclusion
The evolution of "Khorasan/Sistan’s BiBi Se-šanbeh" stories can be traced based on the last Sassanid cities and the place of migration of Zoroastrians. Because Sistan is the place where the son of Yazdgerd III founded the second Sassanid government with the help of the Chinese, and Khorasan is the burial ground of Yazdgerd III from where the Zoroastrians migrated to China. Therefore, Sistan and Khorasan are the last Zoroastrian cities that relate to China. For this reason, the story of " Zoroastrians’ BiBi Se-šanbeh" is a logical continuation of "Khorasan/Sistan’s BiBi Se-šanbeh" and is considered its second part. "Māhpišāni" is another version of the same story, which introduces native cotton as a symbol of ugliness and contrasts it with silk as a symbol of beauty.
 


Volume 14, Issue 56 (9-2017)
Abstract

 
"Haftwad" story is a multilayered story of shahnameh, Although it included in a section called historical section of shahnameh, but it has been interwowen with mythologic elements and constructed in margin of myth and history. this story with it's origin came back to "Ardeshir Babakan Works", is a section of Ardeshir life befor reaching Iranshahr kingdom. Historical-mythic nature of Haftwad story and its collection of textual and intertextual elements required in various reading and pave the way to reading religious, historical, political and even economic topics with semiological approaches, discourse analysis, and new historicism. The present research aims to review This story from both new historicism and discourse analysis point of view (perspective) having a deep connection with authority and ideology, and to represent its neglected and unsought aspects. In sum, struggle between Parthian and sassanian, contrast of legal and illegal authority, hegemony of financial system and contrast of both Zoroastrianism and Mithraism is motif of Haftwad story in each of such reviews. Also study of elements and signs available on shahnameh narrative and another source of Haftwad story show that source of political and ideological authority has played an important role in formation events in primary source of shahnameh narrative (Ardeshir Babakan Works) and following it in shahnameh itself.

Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2023)
Abstract

With the arrival of Muslims in Iran, a new chapter in the social and religious history of the Iranian people began. However, the arrival of Islam in Iran faced many challenges and resistances in various regions. Among the various regions, Persia was one of the regions that showed resistance and practically became the base for the protection of the former religion; Meanwhile, due to the establishment of a Zoroastrian local government, Kazerun was able to maintain the cohesion of its Zoroastrian community until the early fifth century AH. Given the various pressures on Zoroastrian communities by newcomers and neo-Muslims, understanding the continuity of the independent Zoroastrian community in southwestern Persia until the early fifth century AH seems necessary. This research seeks to examine the contexts of continuity and evolution of the Zoroastrian community of Kazerun during the first centuries of Islam. The present research has been done by descriptive-analytical method and relying on library resources.
The findings of this study show that despite the excessive pressure of the new rulers of the Zoroastrian community of Kazerun and the imposition of various restrictions, they managed to survive by maintaining coherence in their structure and actions and having a Zoroastrian ruler, but from the late fourth century and In the early fifth century, with the emergence of many conflicts with the Morshidiyya sect of Kazerun, they faced problems in the management of society, and finally, by migrating to mountainous and rural areas, they continued their life in a different style and way.
Sorour Khorashadi, Seyed Mehdi Mousavi,
Volume 25, Issue 2 (3-2018)
Abstract

The empowerment of Zoroastrian Magi as a social class was intertwined with the emperors’ power to the extent that the political power of Magi can be regarded as a discontinued historical process with ups and downs. This paper attempts to reassess an apparent contrast between historical narratives and archeological findings (e.g. rock reliefs) concerning the political empowerment of Zoroastrian Magi in the beginning of Sassanid Empire until the reign of Narseh. According to the historical narratives, the Sassanid founding fathers, Ardashir and his Successor Shapur I, emphasized ecumenism (i.e. the possession of political sovereignty and religious power by emperor.) However, according to the rock reliefs of the 3rd century, shortly after Shapur I, with the rise of Bahram I, a structural split occurred between the emperor’s power as the sovereign and the power of Magi. Bahram I’s reign is the first historical period in which Zoroastrian Magi, represented as a social class, obtained a political superiority. Roughly speaking, in this epoch which spanned for almost two decades (the reign of Bahram I, Bahram II, and Bahram III,) one institutionalized reading of Zoroastrianism developed by an elite Magi, i.e. “Kartir”, became dominant over others and turned steadily into the Imperial religion. The above contrast can be formulated, as follows: given the fact that an ecumenical power is the ultimate form of sovereignty in a monarch system, why and how a Kartir could gain authoritatively a significant share of power? Through adopting an historical approach, the authors pursue the roots of answer in three related political phenomena: First, the quarrel between Bahram I and Narseh; second, the trial and the execution of Mani the prophet; and third, the institutionalization of Zoroastrianism as the Imperial religion.
 
Seyed Rasoul Mousavi Haji, Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, Houshang Rostami, Shahin Aryamanesh,
Volume 26, Issue 3 (9-2019)
Abstract

Symbolic figures, in addition to decorative aspects, are indicator of culture, religion, art and political and social structures of a government and country in ancient times. During the Sassanid era, symbolic figures flourished further with the mixture of religion and polity and their examples can be seen in most of the remaining artworks from the same era that could found during archaeological excavations. Investigation of symbolic figures in the Sassanian rock reliefs and stucco is a necessity but unfortunately, has not been independently and elaborately addressed to this date. It is necessary to investigate this significant aspect using archaeological and historical evidence. This study, which is considered as a kind of fundamental research based on its objective and a historical one with respect to its nature and methodology, obviously indicate that the dominant symbolic figures in Sassanian rock reliefs and stucco have had religious origins.


Volume 28, Issue 2 (6-2021)
Abstract

A type of needlework known as Zoroastrian embroidery (Zartoshti-douzi) was common as decorative art in ancient Iran. The art of ornamenting women's clothing with patterns arranged in a coherent visual and aesthetic way prompts following question: Which visual and semantic structures were allowed to be sewn as Zoroastrian embroidery motifs onto women's dresses? The inquiry is particularly highlighted since they were seen as the most striking cultural symbols in the ethnic garment of the time, bearing the grave responsibility of preservation and continuation of Zoroastrian women's identity throughout the historical period of Islamic Iran. Accordingly, the present study attempts to conduct a formal and thematic analysis and decode these motifs. Such studies can provide a deeper insight into the dominant artistic sphere, and the resulting knowledge will serve a reliable reference for understanding other Iranian ornamental needlework in garment design. Data analysis shows that motifs were taken from natural, floral, and animal elements, which, in ancient Iranian culture and belief, carried symbolic values and meanings as eternity and immortality, recreation, thriving and growth, enlightenment, exuberance and dynamism, wisdom, blessings, and fertility. These concepts were regarded as realizations of women's wishes, desires, and ideal aspirations, and were sewn onto pieces of clothing one way or another in accordance with their extent of sacredness. Visually speaking, they were used in a variety of forms from realistic to abstract, and manifested colorful imagery using different sewing styles and silk threads.

Page 1 from 1