The Persian Empire
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Outside the imperial palace, ancient Iranians celebrated life by gardening and by preparing sumptuous meals to serve to family, friends, and guests. Rich and poor used their birthdays to organize lavish banquets. According to Herodotus, of all days in the year a Persian most distinguished “his birthday” and celebrated it “with a dinner of special magnificence” (Herodotus: 1.133). The wealthy Persians baked whole “an ox or a horse or a camel or a donkey” in the oven and served it up at the table, while the poor cooked some smaller animal (Herodotus: 1.133). The main dishes at the meals were few, but the Persians had “many sorts of dessert, the various courses being served separately” (Herodotus: 1.133). Ancient Iranians had a special love for saffron. They planted saffron crocus in their gardens. The three stigmas inside the flower bulbs were plucked, dried, and used as natural dye, medicine, and seasoning in various dishes and delicacies. The Greeks and Romans, who feared the Persians and suspected their saffron “of being an aphrodisiac,” warned their compatriots who dined with “this wily race to be wary, for saffron was stirred into their flavorful dishes for no other reason than to befuddle and weaken the brain” (Willard: 41).
See also: Cultures: Nowruz; Persian Gardens; Peoples: Achaemenid Empire; Media, Medes, and Median Empire
Further Reading
Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists. Translated by Charles Burton Gulik. London: William Heinemamm, 1927.
Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin, 2003.
Plutarch. Lives. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. London: William Heinemann, 1926.
Strabo. The Geography. Translated by Horace Leonard Jones. London: William Heinemann, 1930.
Willard, Pat. Saffron: The Vagabond Life of the World’s Most Seductive Spice. Boston: Beacon, 2001.
Iranian Languages
Ancient Iranians were a branch of Indo-Iranians. Indo-Iranians were themselves members of the larger Indo-European–speaking family. The family of Indo-European languages consists of numerous branches, including Germanic, Slavic, Celtic, Hellenic, and Italic in Europe. Indo-European languages also include Indo-Iranian or Indo-Aryan languages in Asia. Thus, the ancient Iranian languages, including Avestan, the language of the Zoroastrian holy book, and Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid kings, belong to the family of Indo-European languages. Today, the Iranian languages include Persian (Dari, Farsi, and Tajik), Kurdish (Kurmanji, Sorani, Zazaki, etc.), Luri, Taleshi, Yaghnabi, Baluchi, Pashto, and Ossetic, among others.
Sometime between 4500 and 2500 BCE, the Indo-Europeans, who descended from a common linguistic ancestor and lived on the vast Eurasian steppes, split into several branches, migrating from their original homeland and moving south to India, Central Asia, and the Iranian plateau as well as in a western direction to Europe. As Indo-European groups scattered in different directions and settled in various parts of Asia and Europe, they lost contact with one another, and their languages began to diversify and evolve into their modern forms. The ancient Iranians who settled in present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, and parts of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia gave their name to the country they had adopted as their new home, namely Iran (Land of the Aryans). Ancient Iranian languages were most closely related to Indian languages, particularly to Sanskrit. Modern Persian, which is called Tajik or Tajiki in Central Asia, Dari or Farsi in Afghanistan, and Farsi in Iran, is a descendant of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid royal house, and Middle Persian, the language of the Sasanian dynasty. Aside from Middle Persian, which evolved from Old Persian, there were other Iranian languages spoken during the long reigns of the Arsacid (Parthian) and Sasanian Empires. These included Parthian, which was closely related to Middle Persian, as well as Bactrian, Chorasmian, Sogdian, and Old Ossetic (Scytho-Sarmatian). Parthian was spoken in the region east and southeast of the Caspian Sea. Bactrian was spoken in the region of Bactria (Old Persian: Bakhtrish), which lay between the Hindu Kush mountain range to the south and the Oxus River (Amu Darya) to the north. The territory of the Bactrian plain correspond with present-day northern Afghanistan, incorporating the districts of Balkh, Tashkurgan, Kunduz, and Sar-e Pol. Chorasmian was the language of Chorasmia (Khwarazm), a region on the lower reaches of the Oxus south of the Aral Sea, corresponding with present-day northwestern Uzbekistan and northern Turkmenistan. Sogdian was the language of Sogdiana (Old Persian: Suguda), a region extending from the Oxus River (Amu Darya) in the south to the Jaxartes River (Syr Darya) in the north, with its central region located in the Zarafshan and Kashka Darya River Valleys in present-day Tajikistan and eastern Uzbekistan. The importance of Sogdiana is reflected in the mention of its name in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book. Here, Sogdiana was described as the second of the good lands and countries, which the great god Ahura Mazda created. In later centuries, because of the central role played by Sogdian merchants in linking the economies of China and Central Asia to Iran, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor, Sogdian colonies were widespread in urban centers along the major trade routes across Asia. It is therefore not surprising that a large number of Sogdian-language materials have been discovered in various cities, towns, and guard stations along the famed Silk Road. Modern Yaghnabi, spoken in the valley of the Yaghnab River in present-day Tajikistan, belongs to the Sogdian family of languages and dialects.
Family of Iranian Languages
Old Iranian Languages
Avestan
Median
Old Persian
Middle Iranian Languages (fourth century BCE–ninth century CE)
Parthian
Middle Persian
Eastern Middle Iranian Languages
Bactrian
Sogdian
Khwarazmian
Saka
Old Ossetic
Some Modern Iranian Languages
Baluchi
Gilaki
Kurdish (Kurmanji and Sorani)
Kurdish (Zazaki)
Luri
Ossetic
Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik)
Taleshi
Yaghnabi (Tajikistan)
Iranian languages are further divided into Eastern and Western Iranian languages. The term “Eastern Iranian languages” refers to those Iranian languages spoken in the northern, eastern, and northeastern regions of Greater Iran, but it does not mean that all languages spoken in the eastern or southeastern regions of present-day Iran belong to this language family. The Baluchi language, for example, is spoken in southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan, but it is not an Eastern Iranian language. It belongs instead to the northwestern family of Iranian languages. Ossetian, which does belong to the Eastern Iranian language family, is spoken in the Caucasus region, much farther west than many Western Iranian languages are spoken. Indeed, today the regions where Eastern Iranian languages are spoken lay outside the boundaries of modern Iran and include China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Caucasus. Avestan, the language in which the the Avesta was written, belongs to the family of Eastern Iranian languages. Old Persian, the language of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, was a member of the family of Western Iranian and more accurately Southwestern Iranian languages. It is also believed that the Scythian languages spoken by the ancient Iranian nomadic groups who inhabited the Eurasian steppes belonged to the family of Eastern Iranian languages.
During the Parthian and later the Sasanian periods, the languages of both ruling dynasties, namely Parthian and Middle Persian, were Western Iranian languages, while such Iranian languages as Khotanese, Sogdian, Chorasmian, and Bactrian, to which one may add the remnants of such languages as Sarmatian and Alanic, belonged to the family of Eastern Iranian languages.
Today’s modern Eastern Iranian languages are numerous and varied. Most of them are classified as North-Eastern, including Ossetian (spoken in the Caucasus region); Yaghnabi (which derives from a dialect closely related to Sogdian and is spoken in present-day Tajikistan); the Shughni group (Shughni, Roshani, Khufi, Bart
angi, Roshorvi, and Sarikoli spoken in Tajikistan); Ishkashmi, Sanglichi, and Zebaki; Wakhi; Munji and Yidgha; and Pashto, which is one of the official languages of Afghanistan.
See also: Cultures: Middle Persian; Parthian
Further Reading
Bailey, H. W. Dictionary of Khotan Saka, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Bailey, H. W. Indo-Scythian Studies Being Khotanese Texts, Vol. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Morgenstierne, G. An Etymological Vocabulary of Pashto. Oslo: J. Dybwad i komm, 1927.
Morgenstierne, G. Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages I: Parachi and Ormuri. Oslo: J. Dybwad i komm, 1929.
Morgenstierne, G. Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Oslo: J. Dybwad i komm, 1926.
Sims-Williams, Nicholas. “Eastern Iranian Languages.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1996, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eastern-iranian-languages/.
Windfuhr, Gemot, ed. The Iranian Languages. London: Routledge, 2010.
Iranian Months
Iranians have their own calendar. The Iranian calender begins on the first day of spring. The Iranian months of the year derive their names from deities of ancient Iran. The names of the 12 months of the year in Persian are Farvardin (31 days), Ordibehesht (31 days), Khordad (31 days), Tir (31 days), Mordad (31 days), Shahrivar (31 days), Mehr (30 days), Aban (30 days), Azar (30 days), Day (30 days), Bahman (30 days), and Esfand (30 days). Six months in the Iranian calendar are named after the six Amesha Spentas, or the holy immortals of Zoroastrianism. These are Bahman, Ordibehesht, Shahrivar, Esfand, Khordad, and Mordad. According to the teachings of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda had created the world through his holy spirit, Spenta Mainyu, and with assistance from six holy and bountiful immortals known as Amesha Spentas (Middle Persian: Ameshaspands), which represented the six attributes of the great god in the material world. Ahura Mazda brought these holy entities into existence to assist him with the creation and protection of six holy elements, namely the sky, Earth, water, plants, cattle, and man. Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu, together with the Amesha Spentas, constitute Zoroastrianism’s seven holy immortals, or Heptad. Each of the Amesha Spentas represents an attribute of its creator, Ahura Mazda. As divine immortals who bestow good on Earth, each is responsible for protecting an element of the world order. The 1st divine immortal is Vohu Manah (good purpose/good thought/good mind), which appears as Vahman in Middle Persian and Bahman in New Persian. Vohu Manah is the protector of cattle. Bahman is the name of the 11th month of the year. The 2nd divine immortal is Asha Vahishta (best truth, best righteousness, best order), which appears as Ardvahisht in Middle Persian and Ordibehesht in New Persian. Asha Vahishta is the protector of fire. In the Iranian calendar, Ordibehesht is the name of the 2nd month of the year. The 3rd divine immortal is Khshathra Vairya (desirable dominion or power), which appears as Shahrevar in Middle Persian and Shahrivar in New Persian. Khshathra Vairya is the protector of the sky. The 4th divine immortal is Spenta Armaiti (holy or beneficent devotion), which appears as Spendarmad in Middle Persian and Esfand in New Persian. Spenta Armaiti is the protector of Earth. Esfand is the 12th month of the year in the Iranian calendar. The 5th divine immortal is Haurvatat (wholeness, health, protection), which appears as Hordad in Middle Persian and Khordad in New Persian. Haurvatat is the protector of water. In the Iranian calendar, Khordad is the name of the 3rd month of the year. The 6th divine immortal is Ameretat (immortality), which appears as Amurdad in Middle Persian and Amordad or Mordad in New Persian. Ameretat is the protector of plants. Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) himself is the special protector of man. The six holy immortals appear in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book. Each of the holy immortals was venerated separately, and each had a month named for it and was celebrated with a festival of its own.
The remaining six months are named after important deities or lesser gods (yazatas) in Zoroastrianism. These are Tir (the fourth month of the year), which is named after the deity Tishtrya; Mehr (the seventh month of the year), named after Mithra, the deity of covenants and oaths as well as the sun god; Aban (the eighth month of the year), meaning “waters” and named for the ancient deity of waters, Aredvi Sura Anahita (Anahid); and Azar (the ninth month of the year), meaning “fire,” which is venerated as the son and creation of the great god Ahura Mazda.
See also: Cultures: Ab, Aban, Aban Mah; Religion: Adur; Ahriman; Ahura Mazda; Amesha Spentas; Anahita; Avesta; Mithra
Further Reading
Boyce, Mary. “Amɘša Spɘnta.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1989, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amesa-spenta-beneficent-divinity.
Boyce, Mary. Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
Skjaervo, Prods Oktor. The Spirit of Zoroastrianism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
Zaehner, Richard Charles. The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism. New York: Putnam, 1961.
Languages. See Iranian Languages
Middle Persian
An Iranian language spoken between the third century BCE and the eighth century CE. Middle Persian developed out of Old Persian, the language used by the Achaemenid dynasty (r. 550–330 BCE). As with other Iranian languages, Middle Persian belonged to the Indo-European family of languages and was related to other Iranian languages, including Sogdian, Bactrian, Chorasmian, Parthian, etc. Middle Persian was the official language of the Sasanian dynasty, which ruled a vast and powerful empire from 224 to 651 CE. When the Sasanians imposed Zoroastrianism as the state religion of their empire, many Zoroastrian religious texts were transmitted to Middle Persian. Numerous other important Zoroastrian texts, including Bundahishn [Original Creation], Dinkard [Compendium], and Arda Viraf [Book of Viraf], were originally composed in Middle Persian. During the transition from Old Persian to Middle Persian, the grammar became considerably simplified, losing genders, cases, and many verbal forms. Old Persian had masculine, feminine, and neuter forms, while Middle Persian only had feminine and masculine forms. Also, Old Persian had singular, dual, and plural forms, while Middle Persian had only singular and plural forms. During the reign of the Sasanian dynasty, Middle Persian was written in a script adopted from Aramaic. The invasion of Iran by Muslim Arabs in the seventh century CE did not bring an end to the usage of Middle Persian. After the fall of the Sasanian Empire, Middle Persian continued to be used in various parts of Greater Iran, emerging gradually as the foundation of New Persian.
See also: Cultures: Iranian Languages; Parthian
Further Reading
Amouzegar, Zhale. Pahlavi Language Grammar. Tehran: Moein, 2011.
Boyce, Mary. A Word-List of Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 1975.
Browne, E. G. A Literary History of Persia, Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1929.
Mackenzie, D. N. A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Shaked, Shaul. A Dictionary of Aramaic Ideograms in Pahlavi. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 2005.
Months. See Iranian Months
Nowruz
The word “Nowruz” consists of two Persian words: now or no, which means “new,” and ruz, which means “day.” Literally meaning “New Day,” Nowruz is usually translated as “New Year.” Nowruz arrives at the vernal equinox on March 21, which signals the beginning of spring and a new year. March 21 corresponds with the first day of Farvardin, the first month in the Iranian solar calendar.
Though Zoroastrian in its origins, Nowruz is not a religious holiday. Thus, in Iran, Muslims, Jews, Armenians, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, etc., as well as agnostics and atheists celebrate this festive New Year. Neither is Nowruz confined to a particular ethnic or linguistic group. Hence, Iranian-speaking as well as Turkic-speaking people celebrate Nowruz with equal joy, passion, and gusto. The universal appeal of Nowruz made it attractive to various peoples who came into contact with Greater Iranian culture and civilization over the centuries. However, for today’s Iranians, Afghans, Tajik
s, and Kurds, Nowruz harkens back to their ancient cultural roots, linking them through a set of customs and rituals to their rich pre-Islamic past.
The arrival of Nowruz is celebrated through a variety of activities, which differ from one country to the next. Shopping for the items, which will be placed on the Haft Sin table, is popular among families from all social and economic backgrounds. Many families also shop for new clothes and shoes to discard the old clothes they wore during the dying year and dress in their new garments at the arrival of the new year.
Sometime in March before the arrival of the new year, lentil, wheat grass, or barley seeds are washed thoroughly and then set out to sprout into greenery on medium-sized plates. On the Wednesday immediately prior to the arrival of the new year shortly after sunset, bonfires are assembled and set alight, and men, women, and children jump over them singing “sorkhi-ye tow az man, zardi-ye man az tow,” which means “give me your beautiful red color and take back my sickly pallor.” This celebration is called Chaharshanbeh Suri, or the Feast of Wednesday. The centrality of fire in the Chaharshanbeh Suri celebrations harkens back to the teachings of Zoroastrianism, which viewed fire together with man, cattle, the sky, Earth, water, and plants as one of the seven creations of the great god Ahura Mazda.