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1. Simeon bar Sabba'e

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Simeon bar Sabbae - SASA Reading Group 2024

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2. Candida (only pp. 178-181)

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Fowlkes-Childs, Blair, The Sasanian Empire (224–651 A.D.) 

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A wonderful short introduction to Sasanian Iran and Sasanian art, provided with useful links to artifacts.

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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Historical Summary
Around 224 A.D., Ardashir I (r. 224-241), a descendant of Sasan who gave his name to the new Sasanian dynasty, defeated the Parthians. The Sasanians saw themselves as the successors of the Achaemenid Persians. One of the most energetic and able Sasanian rulers was Shapur I (r. 241-272). During his reign, the central government was strengthened, the coinage was reformed, and Zoroastrianism was made the state religion.

The expansion of Sasanian power in the West brought conflict with Rome. In 260 A.D., Shapur I took the Roman emperor Valerian prisoner in a battle near Edessa. Thereafter, the defense of Rome's eastern frontier was left to the ruler of Palmyra, a caravan city in Syria. By the end of Shapur I's reign, the Sasanian empire stretched from the River Euphrates to the River Indus and included modern-day Armenia and Georgia.

After a short period during which much territory was lost, Sasanian fortunes were restored during the long reign of Shapur II (r. 310-379). He reestablished control over the Kushans in the east and campaigned in the desert against the Arabs. Conflict with Rome resulted once again in Sasanian control of northern Mesopotamia and Armenia.

During the fifth century, tribal movements in Central Asia resulted in Hephthalite Huns creating an extensive empire centered on Afghanistan. After a disastrous campaign, the Sasanians were forced to pay tribute to their new eastern neighbors. Iran recovered her glory during the reign of Khusrau I (r. 531-79), who defeated the Hephthalites. However, in the years following Khusrau's death, there were internal revolts and wars with the Byzantine empire. This weakened Iran, and Arab forces, united under Islam, defeated the Sasanian armies in 642. The last Sasanian ruler, Yazdgard III, died in 651.

Sasanian Art
Sasanian art borrowed from ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman traditions to express a new Iranian cultural identity, particularly manifest in prestigious monuments and objects connected to the royal court. Secure dates for many Sasanian buildings and works of art are difficult to determine, in part due to the lack of material from documented archaeological contexts. Trade, conquest, and diplomacy resulted in the diffusion of Sasanian luxury arts both east and west during the four centuries of Sasanian rule.

The most renowned Sasanian objects are finely crafted silver vessels produced in large numbers in Iran and Mesopotamia. They were usually hammered into shape and then decorated using a variety of techniques. Typical shapes include high-footed bowls, ewers, vases, and plates. Many feature imagery derived from Greco-Roman iconography whose significance was adapted for the Sasanian repertoire. The bearded nude dancing male figure in the center of a silver-gilt bowl is possibly Silenos, leader of the Greek wine god Dionysos' satyrs, surrounded by grape clusters and vines ( 59.130.1). Dancing female figures on Sasanian ewers and vases resemble maenads (Dionysos' attendants) and personifications of the Seasons: the motif appears only on pouring vessels, suggesting that they had a ceremonial or cultic function linked to Zoroastrianism, the state religion ( 67.10a, b). A silver plate with images of two young spearmen and winged horses borrows from images of Bellerophon and Pegasus as well as of the Dioskouroi (the divine twins Castor and Pollux), the constellation Gemini, called do-paykar in Middle Persian astronomical texts ( 63.152).

Beginning during the reign of Shapur II (r. 310-379), the king as hunter, a powerful theme symbolizing the prowess of Sasanian rulers, became a standard royal image on silver plates that were most likely official state products and were often sent as gifts to neighboring courts. The kings are identifiable sometimes by inscriptions and often by their crowns through comparisons with their portraits on coins ( 99.35.2965). Yazdgard I (r. 399-420), recognizable by his crown, is depicted on a gilded silver plate spearing a rearing stag with a crescent-tipped lance ( 1970.6). The king on horseback hunting rams on another example ( 34.33) has various royal attributes, including a crown and fillet, a covered globe, a nimbus with beaded border, and a beaded chest halter with fluttering ribbons: he is either Peroz I (r. 459-484) or Kavad I (r. 488-497, 499-531). A silver-gilt plate decorated with images of the Sasanian king Bahram V (Bahram Gur) and Azadeh ( 1994.402) is the earliest known representation of a story made famous in the Persian epic the (Book of Kings) ( 57.51.32), a popular subject in the art of much later periods ( 57.36.2).

Hunting scenes, battles, and royal investitures are featured on the monumental Sasanian rock reliefs carved on the mountain cliffs of Iran and other sites in western Asia. Most were carved within the Sasanian home province of Pars during the first 175 years of the empire, between the reigns of Ardashir I (r. 224-241) and Shapur III (r. 383-388). Drawings of various reliefs were made by Iranian artists as well as by European travelers to Iran in the nineteenth century: subjects include the equestrian investiture of Ardashir I, who receives the ring of office from the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at Naqsh-i Rustam in southern Iran ( 1998.6.3).

Colorful stucco decorated both the interiors and exteriors of Sasanian royal palaces and elite residences. Ctesiphon, located on the Tigris River 20 miles (30 km) south of modern Baghdad, served as the Sasanian court's winter capital and was the location of the Taq-i Kisra, the fabled palace of Khusrau I (r. 531-79). Remains of its legendary vaulted throne hall, housing the largest parabolic barrel vault in the world, still exist today. Stucco wall panels from Umm ez-Za'tir, a large house near Ctesiphon, include plaques decorated with animals and floral and geometric designs that attest to the lavishness of Sasanian architectural decoration ( 32.150.22; 32.150.23; 32.150.48).

Sasanian luxury arts also include seals made from precious and semi-precious stones ( 22.139.41), textiles including silks ( 2004.255), and glass and ceramic vessels ( 59.34; 1997.31). Objects were traded via sea and land routes that connected Europe and East and South Asia. Peripheral workshops that adapted Sasanian designs and produced silver vessels in particular were established in Central Asia, western Iran, and areas south of the Caspian Sea. As Sasanian culture spread abroad, the imagery and style of Sasanian art left a legacy discernible in the art of early medieval Europe, western Central Asia, and China that endured after the fall of the Sasanian dynasty in the mid-seventh century and the growth of Islam.

Fowlkes-Childs, Blair, expanded original text by Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "The Sasanian Empire (224-651 A.D.)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sass/hd_sass.htm (originally published October 2003, last updated April 2016)

Curtis, Vera Sarkhosh, Robert Hillenbrand, and J. M. Rogers, eds. The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Persia: New Light on the Parthian and Sasanian Empires. London: I. B. Tauris, 1998.

Harper, Prudence O. In Search of a Cultural Identity: Monuments and Artifacts of the Sasanian Near East, 3rd to 7th Century A.D. New York: Bibliotheca Persica, 2006.

Potts, Daniel T., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

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Authors: Blair Fowlkes-Childs, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

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The Sasanian Empire (224-651 A.D.) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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As Sasanian culture spread abroad, the imagery and style of Sasanian art left a legacy discernible in the art of early medieval Europe, western Central Asia, and China that endured after the fall of the Sasanian dynasty in the mid-seventh century and the growth of Islam.

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A comprehensive introduction to the Empire's chronology

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The (224-651 CE, also given as Sassanian, Sasanid or Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE by Ardeshir I, son of Papak, descendant of Sasan. The Empire lasted until 651 CE when it was overthrown by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate. It is considered by the Iranian people to be a highlight of their civilization for, after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) at the hands of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, Persian culture was sustained through the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE) and reached its height in the Sassanian Period; there was not to be another state that truly felt "Iranian" after its fall.

After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, the Iranian Plateau fell into the hands of Seleucus I Nicator (r. 305-281 BCE), following the Wars of the Diadochoi (Alexander's generals). He established a Hellenistic state known as the Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE), mainly on what is today the Islamic Republic of Iran, although at its height the Empire extended from modern-day Turkey to modern-day Pakistan. The Seleucids, although certainly influenced by the Iranian people over whom they ruled, still kept true to their Greco-Macedonian origins and hence were not seen as native rulers by their subjects.

By 155 BCE, the Parthians had conquered all of the Iranian territories of the Seleucid Empire. The Parthians, a group of Northeastern Iranians, who, although certainly refreshing to their Iranian subjects, were still heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture. They are mostly known to the European world as antagonists of the Roman Empire, and Parthian culture is often neglected in history books. The Parthians themselves fell to Ardashir I, who was a Persian for he came from the province of Fars (originally known as Pars, which is where the word Persian comes from) from where the Achaemenids came. He installed his own dynasty under the family name of his forefather Sasan.

The Sasanians started a process of "Iranization": Zoroastrianism became one of the founding stones of the Empire.

The Sasanians then started a process that would reinstate the values of Iranian culture. Although certainly still Hellenized, the Sasanians started a process of "Iranization" unlike the Parthians before them: Zoroastrianism became one of the founding stones of the Empire - nevertheless religious minorities such as Jews, Christians, Manicheans, and other faiths of the Iranian people would play an important part. Some of the Sasanian kings even married Jewish and Christian women.

For 400 years the Sasanian Empire was the major power in the Near East as the rival of the Late Roman Empire. Not only that, but they sustained relations with the Tang Dynasty of China and several Indian Kingdoms where their products and culture were held in high esteem.

Notable Monarchs of the Sasanian Empire

The Sasanian family has several possible origins related to the genealogy of the dynasty's founder Ardashir I who was born in 180 CE. These origins either link him to the Achaemenids or the Kayanids, both important to the Iranian identity. The first is a historical empire and dynasty, and the second is a mythological dynasty of kings deeply related to Zoroastrianism and Iranian mythological tradition.

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Ardashir I, (l.180-240 CE, r. 224-240 CE) gave special importance to three things: centralization of power, installing Zoroastrianism as a state religion, and paying attention to the Persian rivalry with Rome. This all meant big reforms. Centralization was an especially enormous task since the Parthians had kept a federative alliance of small kingdoms. Zoroastrianism, although always present, was now to be linked to the Empire's organization and became of great importance to the Persian government administration system, especially since the legitimacy of the system established by the Sasanians was based on their divine lineage. The wars with Rome at first seemed stagnant, being a game of push and pull between the two empires mostly in Mesopotamia and Armenia. Already reigning with his son Shapur I, it would be the task of Shapur I to end this war.

Shapur I, (l. 215-270 CE, r. 240-270 CE) was a king mostly important for his ability to reaffirm Sasanian power in Iran and for his military prowess in fighting Rome. Although through most of the Sasanian Empire's history there would be a push and pull game in Mesopotamia and Armenia, Phillip the Arab ( Roman emperor, r. 244-249 CE) would concede to Shapur I in order to secure his power over Rome, signing a treaty that would hand Armenia to Persia. The Persian king, seeing the current weakness of the Roman Empire, continued his attacks and dealt a special blow to Roman morale by capturing Roman emperor Valerian. The information provided by the Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr ("Provincial Capitals of Iran") indentifies Shapur as a prolific city founder, which seems to have been the start of the Sasanian policy of urbanization identified by Touraj Daryaee in Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire ( 2009).

Shapur II, (r. 309-379 CE) is said to have been crowned king in his mother's womb but this legend comes from his having been chosen as king shortly after his birth. His father was murdered and the nobles who were taking power decided to crown the newborn, whom they hoped to mold, rather than risk trusting the crown to any of his older brothers. He proved to be an energetic and imaginative leader, taking the empire to its greatest height up to that time, comitting the Zoroastrian scriptures to writing, and expanding his territories by taking advantage of the weakened Roman Empire.

Successful in both military & administrative duties, Kosrau would become the Iranian ideal of a king.

Kosrau I (l. c. 501-579 CE, r. 531-579 CE) is the most important and famous of the Sasanian kings. Successful in both military and administrative duties, he would become the Iranian ideal of a king. He would also feature prominently in Iranian literature. Kosrau's reforms were probably what continued to sustain the Sasanian Empire for the next 100 years. His tax reforms strengthened the court by eliminating the special privileges of the Grandees or Wuzurgans who ruled over their territories and who were able to tax the population and not tax themselves. By reforming this system, the state was able to provide a fixed tax that would help predict the amount of income received. Many of these reforms are believed by scholar Touraj Daryaee to be former projects of his father Kavad I (r. 488-496, 498-531 CE), during whose reign massive revolts and the appearance of Mazdakism (a lower class favoring cult) were encouraged by Kavad to weaken the nobles.

Persian warfare and the military saw great reforms as well, mostly directed at addressing the many borders of the empire. The Sasanian Empire had the Romans to the west, the Huns to the east, and the Arabs to the south, all of which required a military capable of reacting quickly, so the empire was divided into four regions, each controlled by a general. As for most Sasanian kings, the wars with Rome continued in an endless push and pull, mostly favorable to the Sasanians, as the Romans and then the Byzantines would be busy with the Germanic invasions.

Probably the most important of Kosrau's achievements was seeking knowledge and the special attention given to the Academy of Gundeshapur. This academy was one of the most important centers of learning in the world's history as it sought texts from all of the neighbouring countries, from Greek philosophers, to Iranian religious texts, and Indian works as well, translating them not only to Middle Persian but also Greek and other languages - a scholarly knowledge later inherited by the Arabs, and then passed to European culture.

The last Sasanian king, Yazdegerd III (624-651 CE, r. 632 to 651 CE) ascended the throne when he was only eight years old. Due to the chaotic situation of the Empire, the king was actually crowned not in the capital but in the province of Persis, the original home of the Sasanian dynasty. He ruled during the time of the Muslim invasion of the Sasanian Empire and had to move from province to province in order to gather resources and be able to fight against the invading Arabs.

During 629 to 630 CE, the Sasanian Empire suffered the loss of Yemen, Oman, and Bahrain; soon after, in 633 CE, the Sasanian client state of Hira was taken as well and thus a buffer state between the Iranians and the Arabs was removed. In 633 CE the Sasanian army was defeated by the Muslim army at the Battle of D'at al-Salasel. More defeats followed, and by 634 CE, Sawad (the name used in early Islamic times for southern Iraq) came under Muslim control. In 636 CE at the battle of Madār, Sasanian forces completely lost southern Mesopotamia to the Arab army. Finally in 637 CE the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah took place in which the Iranian general Rostam ī Farroxzad and most of his army were killed.

The king fled the capital and moved toward Ray, but soon after, in 640 CE, the Arabs managed to take over the heartland of Iran and the king had no choice but to move further toward the east. After the serious insurrections of the eastern provinces of Sēstān and Kermān also resulted in defeat, the ruler (Marzbān) of Marw refused to help the runaway king. Yazdegerd III is believed to have been murdered by a local miller near Marw in 651 CE.

The Sasanian empire came under Arab control, but Persian cultural heritage continued as an enduring influence in the emerging Muslim world.

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The (224-651 CE, also given as Sassanian, Sasanid or Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE by Ardeshir I, son of Papak, descendant of Sasan. The Empire lasted until 651 CE when it was overthrown by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate.

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An interesting introduction to Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sasanian Empire, and its material culture

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The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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Ctesiphon | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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Ctesiphon’s strategic location as well as its political importance made the city an international trading and market center with a diverse population.

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An interesting lecture about the various religious communities in the Sasanian empire.

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The Limits of Tolerance: Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and Others in the Sasanian Empire - Pourdavoud Institute - UCLA

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The Limits of Tolerance: Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and Others in the Sasanian Empire There are many reports on periodic persecution of religious groups from the 3rd century CE, until the…

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Christian Martyrs during the Sasanian Era.

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Christian Martyrs during the Sasanian Era.

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A comprehensive guide to the accounts of Christian martyrs in Sasanian and medieval Iran. (read only the section "The Sasanian Period"). Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/martyrs-christian

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Zoroastrianism in Sasanian Era. Read only the section "Zoroastrianism". A study about Zoroastrianism and its role during the Sasanian empire. Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-ix1-religions-in-iran-pre-islamic#1

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An 8th century Tang dynasty Chinese clay figurine of a Sogdian man wearing a distinctive cap and face veil. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

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Sources for the study of Christianity in pre-Islamic Iran. Sebastian Brock, «Appendix. A guide to the Persian Martyr Acts». In The History of the Holy Mar Ma‘in. With a Guide to the Persian Martyr Acts (pp. 77-95), Gorgias Press.

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An academic survey and a complete bibliography

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Appendix Guide to the Persian Martyr acts

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Martyr Acts under King Yazdgird I.

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Martyr Acts under King Yazdgird I - Sasa Reading Group 2024

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A useful introduction to the sources.

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Literary sources for the study of Christianity in Sasanian Iran

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Literary sources for the study of Christianity in Sasanian Iran

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A complete summary of literary sources and useful bibliography. Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/christianity-i

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Coin of Hormizd II (r. 303-309). Note the fire temple and the priests. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormizd_II

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Richard Payne | The Rise of Christianity in Iran [lecture in the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago]. (only from 0:00 to 8:38)

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A talk that focuses on Christian religious communities in Sasanian Iran (see only from 0:00 to 8:38)

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The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

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Richard Payne | The Rise of Christianity in Iran

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Further reading. Some Greek Persian Martyr Acts

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Further reading. Some Greek Persian Martyr Acts

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An edition of the Greek texts about martyrs persecuted during the reign of Shapur II (note: only a translation in Latin is given): https://archive.org/details/lesversionsgrecq00dele

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How Zoroastrian cosmology was used by Christians as a means of differentiation. The Amesha Spentas.

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AMƎŠA SPƎNTA, an Avestan term for beneficent divinity, meaning literally "Holy/Bounteous Immortal" (Pahl. Amešāspand, [A]mahraspand). Although the expression does not occur in the Gāthās, it was probably coined by Zoroaster himself. Spənta is a characteristic word of his revelation, meaning "furthering, strengthening, bounteous, holy." Vedic usage suggests that the Indo-Iranians had been accustomed to worship "All the Immortals" (Vedic Viśve Amṛtās), a term which included those beings known to Zoroaster as the daēvas. When he rejected this group of divinities as evil, the prophet commanded his followers, it seems, to venerate only those beings whom he held to be spənta, i.e., those who exert their powers to further the good creation. The term thus applies to Ahura Mazdā himself, and to all the divine beings whom he has brought into existence to aid him in overcoming evil. In this sense it can be used as a synonym of yazata (cf. Visperad 8.1); in fact the two words occur a number of times in hendiadys in the Pahlavi books (e.g., Mēnōg ī xrad 12.11, 21.35).

The first recorded occurrence of the expression, with the elements inverted, is in the ancient Yasna Haptaŋhāiti ( Y. 39.3): "So then we worship the good beings, male and female, the Spənta Aməšas, ever-living, ever-benefiting, who hold by good purpose." In the Zoroastrian creed, the Fravarānē, the believer declares: "I profess myself a Mazdā-worshiper, a Zoroastrian, rejecting the daēvas . . . one who praises the Aməša Spəntas, who worships the Aməsa Spəntas" ( Y. 12.1); and in a later Avestan text ( Y. 1.2) the yazata Ātar is hailed as being "the most active of the Aməša Spəntas."

In its Middle Iranian forms Amešāspand (A)mahraspand (the latter belonging to the so-called "Zoroastrian Pahlavi" dialect), the term occurs not infrequently in this general sense. Thus in Mēnōg ī xrad 43.2-3 Ahriman and the dēv s are set in opposition to Ohrmazd and the Amešāspands. Among Zoroastrian priests today the term is frequently applied to the "calendrical" divinities, that is, to all those who have received dedications of the days of the month, together with extra three, Burz Yazad, Hōm, and Dahmān Āfrīn.

The term is, however, more often used in a restricted sense for the greatest of the spənta beings, that is, for the great Heptad who belong especially to Zoroaster's own revelation, namely Ahura Mazdā himself (sometimes together with, or represented by, his Holy Spirit, Spənta Mainyu) and the six whom he first evoked among the yazatas; or it is further restricted to just these six. The two meanings-the general and the particular-coexist not only in the Younger Avesta and the Pahlavi books but also in living Zoroastrian usage. Occasionally they even occur side by side in the same sentence, e.g., Bundahišn 3.1: "The names of thirty Amahraspands were given to the thirty days, thus: first Ohrmazd, then the six Amahraspands . . ." Usually in Western scholarly writings if "Aməša Spənta" is used without qualification it refers specifically to the great six.

The Avestan/Pahlavi names of these six, with their approximate English renderings, are as follows: Vohu Manah/Vahman "Good Purpose;" Aša Vahištā Ardvahišt "Best Righteousness;" Xšaθra Vairya/Šahrēvar "Desirable Dominion;" Spənta Ārmaiti/Spendārmad "Holy Devotion;" Haurvatāt/Hordād "Wholeness;" and Amərətāt/Amurdād "Immortality." The names of all six occur repeatedly in the Gāthās, though seldom with the epithets which became the fixed attributes of the first four in the tradition. Grammatically the names of the first three are neuter, the last three feminine. There is naturally no systematic exposition of doctrine concerning them in the Gāthās, but the names of all the Heptad are brought together in Y 47.1; and in the Zand of lost Younger Avestan texts it is stated that Ohrmazd first brought the six into being, and then through them the other beneficient divinities (see Bundahišn 1.53; 26.38, 125). The process by which he did so is variously indicated. Thus in the Gāthās Zoroaster speaks of Ahura Mazdā as being the "Creator" of Vohu Manah ( Y. 44.4) and of Aša ( Y. 31.8) and the "father" of Vohu Manah ( Y. 31.8, 45.4), Aša ( Y. 44.3; 47.2), and Ārmaiti ( Y. 45.4). The latter term is clearly figurative. It is repeated in the Younger Avesta; cf. Yt. 19.16-l8, in which the six great Aməša Spəntas, together with Spənta Mainyu, are venerated as those who are "of one mind, one voice, one act, . . . whose father and ruler is one, the Creator, Ahura Mazdā." Elsewhere in the Younger Avesta ( Yt. 13.81) the Aməša Spəntas are reverenced as forms in which the Creator "mingles himself" ( raēthwaya-). In Bundahišn 1.44 it is said that Ohrmazd created them "from his own selfhood" ( az hān ī xwēš xwadīh), and in Mēnōg ī xrad 8.2 that he did so "from his own light" ( az hān ī xwēš rōšnīh), while in the Ayādgār ī Jāmāspīg 3.3-7 his creation of them is compared to the lighting of a torch from a torch.

The doctrine has also a physical dimension, in that each of the seven is linked with one of the seven "creations" (Pahl. dahišnān), which the ancient Iranian thinkers held made up the world. These links are systematically listed in the Zand and later Pahlavi texts: Ohrmazd is the especial guardian of the just man, Vahman of cattle, Ardvahišt of fire, Šahrevar of metals, Spendārmad of earth, Hordād of water, and Amurdād of plants. All but one of these links can be found subtly adumbrated in the Gāthās, where Zoroaster sometimes names the creation in order to represent the divinity, and vice versa. (The first to realize this, among Western scholars, was H. Lommel; for a detailed analysis of the prophet's allusive technique, illustrated in reference to Vohu Manah and cattle, see G. G. Cameron, "Zoroaster the Herdsman," IIJ 10/4, 1968, pp. 261-81.) For the link between Ahura Mazdā/the (Holy) Spirit and the just man (represented by the priest) see Y. 33.6; for Vohu Manah and cattle, e.g., Y. 28.1, 31.10; for Aša and fire, e.g., Y. 34.4, 43.4, 9; for Ārmaiti and earth, e.g., Y. 30.7, 47.3; for Haurvatāt and Amərətāt and water and plants, e.g., Y. 33.8, 34.11, 51.7. The associations are usually so subtly indicated that it is extremely difficult to bring them out in translation, and in some renderings they are lost entirely.

The only member of the Heptad who is not in any way associated in the Gāthās with his creation, as this is named in the Zand, is Xšaθra, who is there said to be the guardian of metals. Conversely, in the Old Iranian cosmogony, as described in the Zand, metals have no place among the seven creations, while the sky (conceived as a hard enclosing shell) is listed as the first of these creations, but has no named guardian among the Aməša Spəntas. These anomalies, and the veiled manner of the Gathic allusions to the other associations, led some Western scholars to suppose that the complete scheme, as set out in the Zand, must be a post-Gathic development. No convincing suggestions were made, however, as to when or why such a development should have taken place; and a solution to the crux of Xšaθra, metals, and the sky was eventually offered by R. C. Zaehner ( The Teachings of the Magi, pp. 32-33). He pointed out that there are both Avestan and Pahlavi texts in which the sky itself is said to be of metal (e.g., Yt. 13.2; Bundahišn 1a.16). Hence Xšaθra, as lord of metals, was also lord of the sky. This was despite the fact that in the Gāthās Zoroaster refers to the sky as being "of hardest stone" ( Y. 30.5), while there are other Pahlavi texts which define its substance as "the hardest and most beautiful stone," i.e., crystal. The apparent contradiction had earlier been explained, however, by H. W. Bailey ( Zoroastrian Problems, pp. 125f.), who showed that Zoroastrian scholar-priests actually defined crystal as being both a stone and a metal. This piece of apparent sophistry enabled them to reconcile the Gathic concept (which was part of revealed truth) with later developments, and so to retain the essential Gathic teaching concerning Xšaθra and his creation. At the remote time when Zoroaster himself lived, the lord of a sky of stone could be thought of as lord of stone everywhere, including stone weapons in the hands of warriors as they exercised rightful power ( xšaθra). When stone weapons yielded to bronze ones, scholar-priests found a way evidently to keep the original doctrine by redefining the substance of the sky as a type of stone, i.e., crystal, which, because it is mined like ores, could at a stretch also be classified as a metal. Thereafter Xšaθra's association with metals on earth became more prominent than his lordship of the sky, because of the ethical aspect of the doctrine of the Heptad and the creations. Man is seen as the highest of the seven creations, being capable of awareness and deliberate moral choice; he has a responsibility therefore to care, not only for his fellowmen (as the especial creation of Ahura Mazdā), but also for the other six creations, keeping them as far as possible pure, vigorous, and active, for the better defeat of evil. Nothing can aid the sky, but metals can be cherished in diverse ways in this world below: They can be forged into weapons to defend the right, used in judicial ordeals, minted in coins to give to the needy, and made into useful vessels or beautiful ornaments, to be kept always burnished (see, e.g., F. Kotwal, ed., Supplementary Texts to the Šāyest nē-šāyest, Copenhagen, 1969, 15.14-19). This, evidently, was why Xšaθra came to be regularly thought of as lord of metals in general, rather than in particular of the remote metallic sky.

The doctrine of the great Aməša Spəntas thus links spiritual, ethical, and material in a unique manner, and, together with radical dualism, gives its especial character to Zoroastrianism. As Lommel penetratingly showed, the doctrine represents an ancient, mystical way of looking at reality, at a time when, it seems, "abstract and concrete . . . appeared to the human spirit as of unified being, the abstract as the inner reality of the concrete, so that, for instance, pious Devotion and the earth were the spiritual and material aspects of the same thing" (B. Schlerath, ed., Zarathustra, pp. 31-32). This manner of thought is wholly remote from the apprehensions of modern urban man, which accounts for the difficulty which some aspects of the doctrine of the Heptad have presented for Western scholars; but this doctrine has been kept accessible for Zoroastrians themselves through a strong tradition of belief, worship, and behavior. Respect and care for the six creations have been inculcated from generation to generation; and link between the creations and the guardian Aməša Spəntas is reaffirmed by every act of priestly worship, at which all the members of the Heptad are held to be visibly represented: Ārmaiti by the earth of the sacred precinct, Haurvatāt by the water for the libation, Amərətāt by the plants and herbs, Vohu Manah by the milk or meat offerings, Xšaθra by the metal vessels and implements, Aša by the ritual fire, and Spənta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit of Ahura Mazdā, by the officiating priest. This interpretation of the ritual which, on the testimony of the Gāthās, is to be attributed to Zoroaster himself, has been transmitted down the generations into modern times (see Boyce, Stronghold, p. 51), and this has clearly been important for keeping the doctrine of the Heptad a reality for the community. Further, the Zoroastrian devotional year has for its framework seven great holy days in honor of the Heptad and the creations (see Nowrūz; Gāhāmbār), which are the faith's only feasts of obligation; these have also helped to inculcate the doctrine.

The doctrine and veneration of the Heptad can be traced down to modern times among Zoroastrian communities in Iran; but in the 19th century Western academic theories made a powerful impact on Parsis in Bombay. In the 1860s M. Haug introduced to them the idea that Zoroaster had preached a continuing rather than an originating monotheism, the great Aməša Spəntas being (he held) for the prophet himself no more than abstract qualities. This interpretation was warmly welcomed by Parsi reformists, who had been suffering under attacks by Christian missionaries, accusing them of polytheism (see, e.g., J. Wilson, The Pārsī Religion, Bombay, 1843, pp. 180f., who also made a particular onslaught on the concept of the immanence of the Aməša Spəntas). These reformists thereafter vigorously propagated Haug's ideas, and their writings were then taken by Western scholars as proof that Haug's interpretation had a genuine echo in Zoroastrian tradition itself. The anachronistic interpretation of the Gathic Aməša Spəntas as no more than philosophical and ethical abstractions became accordingly for a time the prevailing opinion in the West, and it is still upheld by individual Western scholars, as well as by many Parsis. There is thus considerable diversity in modern studies on this subject.

Bibliography:

J. H. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism, London, 1913, repr. 1972, pp. 110-14, 293-300.

B. Geiger, Die Aməša Spəntas, Vienna, 1916.

A. V. W. Jackson, "Khshathra Vairya, one of the Zoroastrian Archangels," Avesta, Pahlavi, and Ancient Persian Studies in honour of . . . P. B. Sanjana, Strassburg, 1904, pp. 159-66.

Idem, "Amesha Spentas," in J. Hastings, ed., Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, I, pp. 384f.

Idem, Zoroastrian Studies, New York, 1928, pp. 42-54.

M. W. Smith, Studies in the Syntax of the Gathas, Philadelphia, 1929, pp. 19-35.

M. N. Dhalla, History of Zoroastrianism, New York, 1938, pp. 39-6l.

H. Lommel, Die Religion Zarathustras, Leipzig, 1930, pp. 30-73.

Idem, "Symbolik der Elemente in der zoroastrischen Religion," in H. Schlerath, ed., Zarathustra, Darmstadt, 1970, pp. 253-69.

Idem, "Die Elemente im Verhältnis zu den Ameša Spentas," ibid., pp. 377-96.

P. Thieme, "Die vedischen Aditya und die zarathustrischen Aməša Spənta," ibid., pp. 397-412.

Idem, Studien zur indogermanischen Wortkunde und Religionsgeschichte, Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sachsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig 98/5, 1952, p. 25, n. 1.

I. J. S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra, Bombay, 1951, pp. 12-14.

R. C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, London, 1956, repr. 1971, pp. 32-33.

I. Gershevitch, The Avestan Hymn to Mithra, Cambridge, 1959, repr. 1967, pp. 9-12.

J. Duchesne-Guillemin, La religion de l'Iran ancien, Paris, 1962, pp. 193-207.

C. Colpe, "Reflections on the History of the Aməša Spənta-Conception," Actes du XXIXe Congrès international d'orientalistes, Section Iran Ancien, Paris, 1975, pp. 4-8.

Boyce, Zoroastrianism, I, pp. 197, 202-14, 219-25, 321; II, 1982, pp. 3-4.

Idem, Stronghold, pp. l6-19, 51-52.

Idem, Zoroastrians, London, 1979, pp. 19, 21-24, 41.

J. Narten, Die Aməṧa Spəṇtas im Avesta, Wiesbaden, 1982.

(M. Boyce)

Originally Published: December 15, 1989

Last Updated: August 2, 2011

This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 9, pp. 933-936

Cite this entry:

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The Encyclopaedia Iranica is a comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent

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How Zoroastrian cosmology was used by Christians as a means of differentiation. The material world.

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GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG, a pair of Middle Persian terms that designate the two forms of existence according to the traditional Zoroastrian view of the world as expressed in the Pahlavi books. The term gētīg alludes to the material, visible, and tangible aspect of the world; mēnōg refers to the aspect of the world that is essentially mental, invisible, and intangible. The two terms have their antecedents in Avestan usage, where they correspond respectively to astuuant-, (lit. "boney," from ast- "bone") and mainiiauua- (lit. something like "mental" or "spiritual," from man- "to think").

Although the distinction between the two concepts is based on the visibility of the one and the invisibility of the other, the invisibility of mēnōg is somewhat ambiguous. It is, in particular, noteworthy that many of the spiritual entities appear from time to time in a variety of forms. This is true, for example, of the concepts of xwarr (Av. xᵛarənah- "fortune, glory"; see FARRAH), dēn (Av. daēnā "the religious person," q.v.), Wahman (Av. Vohu Manah "the Good Thought," one of the Aməša Spənta, see BAHMAN), and the mythical figure of Vərəθraγna (see BAHRĀM). Besides, the luminaries are also considered to be mēnōg, although they are plainly visible.

The distinction between these two concepts is based on the idea that everything in the material world has a counterpart that is not visible, and conversely, that the spiritual world stands in a relationship of complementarity and parallelism to the visible and material world. Although these terms refer to two types of existence, they can also denote two worlds, two realms. The one in which we live is the gētīg world, the other is the world of mēnōg. These two worlds co-exist simultaneously, but they are often protrayed as representing two different stages in the history of the world. According to the classical Zoroastrian cosmogony of the Pahlavi books, the world was first created in mēnōg, then, according to one version, as gētīg in mēnōg, and only finally as gētīg. The eschatological world is spoken of sometimes also in terms of mēnōg (see COSMOGONY AND COSMOLOGY i).

Viewed from the point of view of creation and eschatology, mēnōg precedes the gētīg form of being and serves as a model for the latter's creation. Gētīg is thus sometimes said to be derived from mēnōg, being in a sense dependent on it and secondary in importance to it. Thus it is said: " Gētīg is the fruit of mēnōg, mēnōg is its root" ( Škand gumānīg wizār 7.2). However, as mēnōg reflects the changes brought about in gētīg, for example in so far as the moral and religious behavior of individuals affects their mēnōg counterparts, it is not only the source of gētīg but becomes also in a sense dependent on gētīg.

The material world is a creation of Ohrmazd (see AHURA MAZDĀ). Ahriman (q.v.) does not have a legitimate, primary presence in the material world. In so far as he exists in that world it is only as an intruding and destructive force. The powers of evil graft themselves on the good creations of Ohrmazd, maintaining their disruptive presence in the world parasitically. At least from this point of view it can be said that Ahriman does not exist (Shaked, 1967). This may already be expressed by the Gathic phrase that he created non-life ( Y. 30.4, where the Pahlavi commentary imputes to it a difference sense; cf. Pahlavi Yasna, pp. 135 f.).

The Iranian opposition between the spiritual and material worlds stands in marked contrast to the conception of these two notions in the various gnostic schools, including Manicheism, as well as Neoplatonism. In those systems the contrast between the notions of the spiritual and the material was regularly identified with the distinction between what is good and elevated as opposed to what is evil and vile. The Iranian view differs typologically from that of the gnostic-type religions. It is, however, quite close in spirit to the dualism of the Jewish Dead Sea sect and related Jewish apocryphal writings, and also to the theology implied in the writings of the primitive Christian church (Shaked, 1972, pp. 443 f.; idem, 1984, pp. 315 f.).

Notwithstanding the above description, the worlds of mēnōg and gētīg are sometimes viewed in late Iranian writings (i.e., in writings that probably belong to the latter part of the Sasanian period) in a manner that is somewhat out of character for Zoroastrian thinking. They are sometimes represented as corresponding to the values of good and evil respectively. In the catechism text of the Pand-nāmag ( Pahlavi Texts, ed. Jamasp-Asana, pp. 41 f.), a person has to declare himself as "coming from" mēnōg, as a sign of righteousness, and not from gētīg ( az mēnōg mad hēm, nē pad gētīg būd hēm) The latter concept is identified in this context with the realm of the demons.

The material world is usually regarded as extremely valuable for the battle plan of Ohrmazd. This concept is stated clearly in several texts (e.g., Dēnkard 3.123, tr. in Shaked, 1971, p. 70). As man is the main career of the burden of battle against Ahriman, it is said that there will never be a period in which man will not exist in the material world. The material world, gētīg, is Ohrmazd's creation and the place where Ohrmazd has undeniable superiority over Ahriman, who does not exist there.

The distinction between mēnōg and gētīg does not correspond to a distinction between the divine and the human worlds. Yazads, i.e.,. entities that deserve to be worshipped, exist both in mēnōg and in gētīg. The evil powers, for their part, exist not only as spirits, e.g., as mēnōg s within man, but also as undesirable forms of existence in the material world.

The interplay between the different mēnōgs is the subjects of Zoroastrian speculations about the composition of man. A favorite theme for speculation in the theological writings is the question whether it is possible to witness mēnōg. This is answered in the positive under certain conditions; it is especially the hallmark of high religious achievement. The organ for such vision is called the eye of the soul ( jān cašm;Shaked, 1994, p. 48).

Bibliography:

G. Gnoli, "Osservazioni sulla dottrina mazdaica della creazione," AIUON, N.S. 13, 1963, pp. 163-93.

H. Lommel, Die Religion Zarathustras nach dem Awesta dargestellt, Tübingen, 1930; repr. Hildesheim and New York, 1971, pp. 93-129.

Pahlavi Yasna and Visperad, ed. B. N. Dhabhar, Bombay, 1949.

S. Shaked, "Some Notes on Ahreman, the Evil Spirit, and His Creation," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to G.G. Scholem, ed. E. E. Urbach, R. J. Zwi Werblowsky, and C. H. Wirszubsky, Jerusalem, 1967, pp. 227-34; repr. in idem, 1995.

Idem, "The Notions mēnōg and gētīg in the Pahlavi Texts and Their Relation to Eschatology," Acta Orientalia 33, 1971, pp. 59-107; repr. in Shaked, 1995.

Idem, "Qumran and Iran: Further Considerations," Israel Oriental Studies 2, 1972, pp. 433-46.

Idem, "Iranian Influences in Judaism," Cambridge History of Judaism I, Cambridge, 1984, pp. 308-442.

Idem, Dualism in Transformation. Varieties of Religion in Sasanian Iran, Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion 16, London, 1994.

Idem, From Zoroastrian Iran to Islam: Studies in Religious History and Intercultural Contacts, Variorum Collected Studies Series, Aldershot, U.K., 1995.

(SHAUL SHAKED)

Originally Published: December 15, 2001

Last Updated: February 7, 2012

This article is available in print.
Vol. X, Fasc. 6, pp. 574-576

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The Encyclopaedia Iranica is a comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent

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Further reading. Bilingualism in Late Antique Mesopotamia.

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Further reading. Bilingualism in Late Antique Mesopotamia.

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An epigraphic survey (read only section 3. Palmyra, 4. Syriac and Greek & 5. Conclusions)

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"Holy women of the Syrian Orient". A useful introduction to some Persian female martyrs (read esp. the Introduction to Chapter 3 -pp. 63ff.-): https://books.google.es/books?id=VwvByTL55jIC&lpg=PA27&pg=PA27&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Palm Sunday procession of Nestorian clergy in a 7th- or 8th-century wall painting from a church at Karakhoja, Chinese Turkestan. Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin-Dahlem.

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1. A Greek Persian Martyr Act: Shirin

This is a Persian Martyr Act preserved in Greek. It was written ca. 600/610 CE, but it is now only preserved in a manuscript dating from the 11th century in the Biblioteca Medicea, Florence. This text is very important because it is a "unicum", i. e., the only manuscript we preserve of this account. The martyr is not mentioned in any other texts and we have not found any material remains (shrines, etc.) related to her. Also, it is an interesting source to examine all the elements we have come across these weeks.

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The Passio of Shirin - SASA - Reading Group 2024

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References mentioned in the text.

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References - Shirin - SASA Reading Group

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The barsom: a ritual instrument: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/barsom-av

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A priest holding a barsom. Oxus treasure

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Apart from literary sources, evidence for Christian communities within the Sasanian empire is scarce. Explore some of the archaeological evidence that Christian communities have left, with interesting bibliography. Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/christianity-ii

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Christian literature in Middle Persian languages. Is not all about Syriac and Greek hagiographies: explore the sources for Christian literature in Middle Persian and Sogdian. Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/christianity-iv

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A complete and up-to-date bibliography of Syriac hagiographies and translations

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(NB: This latter three are not, strictly speaking, Syriac resources, but are, nevertheless, extremely important for the study of hagiography).

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A wonderful database where you can search the name of any saint and look for the editions

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Defining ritual: defining community. Ute Hüsken and Frank Neubert, «Introduction». In Ute Hüsken and Fran Neubert (eds.) Negotiating Rites (pp. 1-7), Oxford University Press.

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Read it here (only pp. 1-7): https://books.google.es/books?id=WhtwAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Christianity in Transoxiana and beyond. A wonderful article on Christian communities in Central. Asia, Sogdiana, and farther East, their literature, and language. Read it here: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/christianity-iii

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Ossuary with reliefs of Zoroastrian priests (note the masks) attending a fire, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7–8th century CE

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Christianity in the East of the Sasanian Empire: the Sogdians

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Judith Lerner, Believers, proselytizers, & translators. Religion among the Sogdians (especially the section The Sogdians and Christianity).

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Believers, Proselytizers, & Translators | The Sogdians

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Further reading: Ritual and differentiation

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Further reading: Ritual and differentiation

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An interesting article comparing Jewish and Christian communities in the domain of magic: https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/9873/9375

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HMML's Eastern Christian manuscripts

This wonderful collection contains digital images and microfilms for approximately 75,000 manuscripts located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. You can find some Syriac and Eastern Christian manuscripts, and some fascinating stories

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The Sogdians, the Silk Road, and trading routes in the East

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Our world is shaped by influencers: people whose behavior and attitudes set the trends for what to wear, what to eat, what to like, what to buy. Such influencers do not rely on political power or authority. Rather, they use their social networks, access to specialist knowledge or goods, and cultural "cool" to shape the ways we behave. In our interconnected world, such influencers can have great reach, across continents and cultures. It is tempting to think that such influencers are a new phenomenon, facilitated by new technologies of communication. In fact, though, today's influencers are not the first to reach across networks in this way. Almost 2,000 years ago there was a group of influencers who, while relatively few in number and limited in political power, helped to change the world around them. We call these people the Sogdians. Their site of influence: the Silk Road. More accurately, we should say the "Silk Roads," as they were really a series of routes connecting various parts of Asia; Fig. 1.

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Our world is shaped by influencers: people whose behavior and attitudes set the trends for what to wear, what to eat, what to like, what to buy. Such influencers do not rely on political power or authority. Rather, they use their social networks, access to specialist knowledge or goods, and cultural "cool" to shape the ways we behave.

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The presentation we have seen in the different sessions. You can access almost every book by clicking on its picture