The Persian Empire

by Kia, Mehrdad;

  The third sacred fire of ancient Iran, which was particularly important during the late Sasanian period, was Adur Gushnasp. In the Bundahishn, the Kayanian monarch Kay Khosrow of the Kayanian dynasty is credited with establishing the sacred fire of Gushnasp on Asnavand Mountain (Bundahishn: 17.7). Sometime during the reign of the Sasanian dynasty, a temple was built especially for Adur Gushnasp at a majestic site known today as Takht-e Soleyman (Throne of Solomon) in Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran, between Bijar and Shahindejh northeast of Takab. It is not clear when and from where the sacred fire was brought to Azerbaijan. Neither do we know the exact date for construction of the fire temple and the formidable walls that surrounded it. Other details, however, are known regarding Adur Gushnasp. Because the Sasanian kings themselves belonged to the warrior caste, Adur Gushnasp was considered to be the sacred fire of the royal family. After ascending the throne, Sasanian kings displayed their devotion and humility by making a pilgrimage to the fire on foot. They also bestowed lavish gifts upon the fire temple. The importance of the fire reached new heights during the fifth and sixth centuries. Before departing for a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire, the Sasanian monarch Khosrow I Anushiravan (r. 531–579 CE) visited the fire to pay homage. When the victorious king of kings returned from his successful campaign, he displayed his devotion once again by bequeathing to the sanctuary an enormous quantity of spoils he had collected from the enemy. The Sasanian king Khosrow II Parvez (r. 590–628 CE) also visited the fire to pray for victory against the Byzantine armies, and upon his return he too donated to Adur Gushnasp a handsome share of the treasures he had seized during the campaign.

  Ruins of a building with a Zoroastrian tower of silence in the background, in Yazd, central Iran. Zoroastrianism, founded by the ancient Iranian prophet Zarathustra/Zarathushtra (Zoroaster), was one of the most influential religions of the ancient world. The teachings of Zoroaster had a profound impact on Greek and Roman religious thought, as well as Judaism and Christianity. (Antonella865/Dreamstime.com)

  In 623 CE, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius invaded Sasanian territory and sacked Adur Gushnasp, destroying its altars, setting the building afire, and slaying every living creature there. The sacred fire, however, was carried to safety and later reinstalled. After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 CE, the temple complex continued to function for several more centuries before its fire was extinguished at an unknown date.

  Located on the rim of a volcanic lake, Takht-e Soleyman, the sanctuary of Adur Gushnasp, remains an important archaeological site in the present-day northwestern Iranian province of west Azerbaijan. The original name of the area where the sanctuary is located was Shiz. The present-day name, Takht-e Soleyman, apparently dates back to the 14th century. The earliest settlement on the site dates back to the Achaemenid period (550–330 BCE). During the Arsacid period (247/238 BCE–224 CE), a small fortification was built at the northern edge of the lake. The site emerged as a very important religious sanctuary during the Sasanian period (224–651 CE). Presumably much of the improvement to the site was carried out during the reigns of the Sasanian monarchs Kavad I and his son Khosrow I Anushiravan. Khosrow had played an important role as a crown prince in suppressing the Mazdakite revolutionary movement and led the effort to reinforce Zoroastrianism as the state religion of the Sasanian Empire.

  The site was not abandoned immediately after the fall of the Sasanian dynasty and the introduction of Islam. However, with the disappearance of the Sasanian monarchy, which had acted as the principal patron and protector of Zoroastrianism, and with the spread of Islam, the site was eventually abandoned. The holy fire was removed from the sanctuary, although we do not know exactly when or under what circumstances. During the Il Khanid period in the 13th century the sanctuary was rebuilt, but during the Timurid period in the late 14th and early 15th centuries the site was abandoned once again. In July 2003, Takht-e Soleyman and the citadel containing the ruins of the ancient fire temple were recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site.

  See also: K&Q, Sasanian: Bahram V; Khosrow I Anushiravan; Khosrow II Parvez

  Further Reading

  Bailey, H. W. Zoroastrian Problems in the Ninth-Century Books. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.

  Boyce, Mary. “Ādur Burzēn-Mihr.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1983, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adur-burzen-mihr-an-atas-bahram-see-atas-i.

  Boyce, Mary. “Ādur Farnbag.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1983, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adur-farnbag-an-atas-bahram-see-atas-that-is-a-zoroastrian-sacred-fire-of-the-highest-grade-held-to-be-one-of-the.

  Boyce, Mary. “Ādur Gušnasp.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1983, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adur-gusnasp-an-atas-bahram-see-atas-that-is-a-zoroastrian-sacred-fire-of-the-highest-grade-held-to-be-one-of-.

  Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrianism: Its Antiquity and Constant Vigour. Costa Mesa and New York: Mazda Publishers and Bibliotheca Persica, 1992.

  Bundahishn: The Sacred Books of the East; Pahlavi Texts. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  Christensen, Arthur. L’Iran sous les Sassanides. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Levin and Munksgaard, 1936.

  Huff, Dietrich. “Takht-e Solaymān.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2002, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/takt-e-solayman.

  Jackson, A. V. Williams. Persia Past and Present: A Book of Travel and Research. London and New York: Macmillan, 1909.

  Jackson, A. V. Williams. Zoroaster: The Prophet of Ancient Iran. London: Macmillan, 1899.

  Stronach, David, and Ali Mousavi, eds. Ancient Iran from the Air. Darmstadt/Mainz: Verlag Phillip von Zabern, 2012.

  “Takht-e Soleyman.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Convention, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1077.

  The Zend-Avesta, Part I: The Vendidad. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  The Zend-Avesta, Part II: The Sirozahs, Yashts, and Nyayish. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  The Zend-Avesta, Part III: The Yasna, Visparad, Āfrīnagān, Gāhs, and Miscellaneous Fragments. Translated by L. H. Mills. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  Adur Borzen Mihr. See Adur

  Adur Farnbag. See Adur

  Adur Gushnasp. See Adur

  Aeshma

  The incarnation of wrath and anger, Aeshma is the daeva (demon) of anger, violence, and revenge in Zoroastrianism. His name appears as Kheshm in Middle Persian and Khashm in New Persian. In the Avesta, Aeshma “of the murderous spear” is mentioned as a member of the army of the evil spirit Ahriman together with such demons as those of evil thought, lethargy, lust, greed, death, old age, malice, spite, fever, decay, etc. (The Zend-Avesta, Part I: Vendidad, 19.43). In the battle of good, represented by the great god Ahura Mazda, and evil, as embodied by Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), Aeshma acts as an ally of Ahriman “and the impersonation of invasion,” robbery, and pillaging, “the chief scourge” of early Zoroastrians (The Zend-Avesta, Part III: xix). The yazata Sraosha, embodying religious obedience, discipline, and devotion, is Aeshma’s principal opponent. The responsibility for chasing “the evil-doing” Aeshma and forcing it to flee, however, is assigned to Mithra, “the lord of wide pastures” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Mihr Yasht, 93, 134).

  See also: Religion: Ahriman; Ahura Mazda; Avesta

  Further Reading

  Boyce, Mary. Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

  Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London: Routledge Kegan and Paul, 2001.

  Bundahishn: The Sacred Books of the East; Pahlavi Texts. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  Bundahishn. Edited by Mehrdad Bahar. Tehran: Tus Publications, 1991.

  The Zend-Avesta, Part I: The Vendidad. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  The Zend-Avest
a, Part II: The Sirozahs, Yashts and Nyayish. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  The Zend-Avesta, Part III: The Yasna, Visparad, Āfrīnagān, Gāhs, and Miscellaneous Fragments. Translated by L. H. Mills. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.

  Ahriman

  Ahriman is the evil spirit in Zoroastrianism. In the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book, the evil spirit is called Angra Mainyu, which has been translated as “destructive mind” or “destructive spirit.” The Middle Persian equivalent of Angra Mainyu is Ahriman. The oldest section of the Zoroastrian holy scripture, the Gathas, which was presumably composed by Zarathustra himself, espouses monotheism, or a belief in one god. The name of this god is Ahura Mazda (lord wisdom or wise lord). Ahura Mazda is the supreme architect of the universe and everything that is good and beautiful. Zarathustra did not mention the evil spirit or Angra Mainyu by name but alluded to the existence of good and evil as the world’s first primeval spirits (The Zend-Avesta, Part III: Yasna, 30.3, 45.2). The good is bountiful, and the evil is harmful and destructive.

  In later sections of the Avesta, Angra Mainyu/Ahriman and his army of demons appear as the principal adversaries of the supreme god Ahura Mazda and the holy and bounteous immortals (Amesha Spentas) who have assisted the wise lord in creating and protecting the world and everything that is beautiful. The Amesha Spentas were brought into existence by Ahura Mazda to help him create the holy elements, namely the sky, Earth, water, plants, cattle, and fire. Ahura Mazda himself is the creator and the protector of man. Ahura Mazda and his holy spirit, Spenta Mainyu, together with the six holy immortals formed the Zoroastrian Heptad (Unit of Seven). In the Avesta, the names of these six holy immortals appear as (1) Vohu Manah (Pahlavi: Vahman; New Persian: Bahman), the good purpose/good thought/good mind, the protector of cattle; (2) Asha Vahishta (Pahlavi: Ardvahisht; New Persian: Ordibehesht), the best truth/best order/best righteousness, the protector of fire; (3) Khshathra Vairya (Pahlavi: Shahrevar; New Persian: Shahrivar), the desirable dominion/power, the protector of the sky; (4) Spenta Armaiti (Pahlavi: Spendarmad; New Persian: Esfand), the holy or beneficent devotion, the protector of Earth; (5) Haurvatat (Pahlavi: Hordad; New Persian: Khordad), the wholeness/health/protection, the protector of water; and (6) Ameretat (Pahlavi: Amurdad; New Persian: Amordad or Mordad), immortality, the protector of plants. Each of the holy immortals is matched against a daeva (demon) who intends to attack and destroy divine creations. The six chief demons who oppose the Amesha Spentas in the same relation as Angra Mainyu to Spenta Mainyu are Indra, who opposes Asha Vahishta and “turns men’s hearts from good works”; Sauru, who opposes Khshathra Vairya and “presides over bad government”; Naunghaithya, who opposes Spenta Armaiti and functions as “the demon of discontent”; Taura and Zairi, who “oppose Haurvatat and Ameretat and poison the waters and the plants”; and Akem-mano, or “Bad Thought, who opposes Vohu Manah, Good Thought” (The Zend-Avesta, Part I: Vendidad, 10.9, 139n1). In addition to these six demons, an additional army of destructive demons serve Angra Mainyu/Ahriman. These include the demons of lethargy, wrath, lust, greed, death, malice, lying, spite, etc. (The Zend-Avesta, Part I: Vendidad, 19.43).

  Angra Mainyu/Ahriman himself resides in a world of total darkness and functions as the “Daeva of the Daevas,” or demon of the demons, the leader of all demonic and destructive forces (The Zend-Avesta, Part I: Vendidad, 19.6.43). Just as Ahura Mazda creates good spirits, Ahriman counters by giving life to evil beings. Ahura Mazda brings light, while Ahriman creates darkness. Ahura Mazda creates life; Ahriman introduces death and destruction. Ahura Mazda creates water; Ahriman the drought. The Greek author Plutarch wrote that “the great majority of the wisest men hold this opinion” that “there are two gods, rivals as it were, the one the Artificer of good and the other of evil,” and “there are also those who call the better one a god and the other a daemon, as for example, Zoroaster the sage,” who “called the one Oromazes [Ohrmazd/Ahura Mazda] and the other Areimanius [Angra Mainyu/Ahriman]; and he further declared that among all the things perceptible to the senses, Oromazes may best be compared to light, and Areimanius, conversely, to darkness and ignorance, and midway between the two is Mithras; for this reason the Persians give to Mithras the name of Mediator” (Plutarch’s Moralia: Isis and Osiris, 46).

  The Avesta remained silent on the origins of evil in the world. The absence of an explanation regarding the origins of evil raised a fundamental question: If Ahura Mazda created everything that was good and beautiful in the world, who was then responsible for the existence of evil? One way to explain the existence of evil was to argue that Ahura Mazda was the father and creator of both light and darkness, the so-called twin brothers, namely the good Spenta Mainyu and the evil Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman. Another approach was to maintain that Ahura Mazda was only the creator of light, life, and all good things, but he could not be held responsible for the existence of evil because darkness, death, and destruction were the creations of Angra Mainyu/Ahriman. The problem with this second approach is that it presents the all-powerful Ahura Mazda as an equal adversary of Angra Mainyu/Ahriman, a demonic power who possesses the ability to challenge and undermine the authority and actions of the great god. Second, if Ahura Mazda represents the good and Angra Mainyu/Ahriman the bad and they are primeval spirits who came into existence as a pair, one may legitimately ask, what about the power that gave birth to them? In other words, if Ahura Mazda did not create the evil spirit and if Angra Mainyu/Ahriman is the evil opponent of Ahura Mazda, we may understandably wonder as to the identity of the parent or parents of these twins.

  Attempting to explain the origins of Ahriman presented Zoroastrianism with a fundamental challenge. If Ahura Mazda created everything good, how could he create and give birth to the evil spirit? And if Ahura Mazda was not the creator of Ahriman, what was then the source of evil in the world? Zurvanism, the popular Iranian religious movement that worshipped Zurvan, the god of infinite time, tried to resolve this problem by claiming that Ahura Mazda (i.e., the light) and Ahriman (i.e., the darkness) were both the creations of Zurvan (infinite time). Ahura Mazda and Ahriman were twins or brothers who were born from the same womb. Ahura Mazda was born from Zurvan’s bountiful spirit, while Ahriman was born out of Zurvan’s doubt about the efficacy of his creative action. From these origins Ahura Mazda emerged as the creator of light and all that was beautiful and good, while Ahriman emerged as the creator of everything evil and destructive.

  A cult of Ahriman developed in ancient Iran. According to Plutarch, the Iranian prophet Zoroaster had taught that “men should make votive offerings and thank-offerings to Oromazes, and averting and mourning offerings to Areimanius” by pounding “in a mortar a certain plant called omomi, and at the same time invoking Hades and darkness; then they mix it with the blood of a wolf that has been sacrificed, and carry it out and cast it into a place where the sun never shines” (Plutarch’s Moralia: Isis and Osiris, 46). Zoroastrian religious texts, such as Dinkard, also admit to the existence of a community of sorcerers who worshipped Ahriman.

  No mention of Angra Mainyu/Ahriman exists in the inscriptions of the Persian Achaemenid kings. Neither do we have any depiction of Angra Mainyu/Ahriman on the Achaemenid rock reliefs. Ahriman was, however, depicted in human form on Sasanian rock reliefs. For example, the investiture relief of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian monarchy, at Naqsh-e Rostam in Iran’s Fars province shows the Sasanian king of kings receiving the diadem of royalty from the great god Ahura Mazda. The rock relief also depicts Ahura Mazda as having crushed Ahriman under the hooves of his horse. Though portrayed as a human, Ahriman has distinctly demonic features, including animal ears and snakes in his hair. Like Ahura Mazda, the Sasanian king also sits on his horse, which has trampled on the last king of the Arsacid dynasty, Artabanus IV, whom Ardashir I defeated and killed in 224 CE. The figures in the relief signify the divine nature of the Sasanian king and imply that he traced his origins to Ahura Mazda. Not surprisingly therefore, the god
and the king look exactly the same and are only distinguished by their distinct crowns, while the defeated enemy, who represents the evil on Earth, mirrors the demonic Ahriman and meets the fate deserving of the evil spirit.

  See also: Prophets: Zarathustra (Zoroaster); Religion: Ahura Mazda; Avesta

  Further Reading

  Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London: Routledge, 2001.

  Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques. “Ahriman.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1984, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahriman.

  Plutarch’s Moralia. Translated by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936.