On the Concept of Aši in Ancient Iran's Beliefs
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2 Religions and Religious Movements
ISBN 978-92-3-103654-5 Introduction 2 RELIGIONS AND RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS H.-J. Klimkeit, R. Meserve, E. E. Karimov and C. Shackle Contents Introduction ....................................... 62 RELIGIONS IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN ENVIRONMENT ............. 67 Turkic and Mongol beliefs, the Tibetan Bon religion and shamanism ......... 67 Religion among the Uighurs, Kyrgyz, Kitan ...................... 69 MANICHAEISM AND NESTORIAN CHRISTIANITY ............... 71 Manichaeism ...................................... 71 Nestorian Christianity .................................. 75 Zoroastrianism ..................................... 78 Hinduism ........................................ 82 THE ADVENT OF ISLAM: EXTENT AND IMPACT ................ 83 NON-ISLAMIC MYSTIC MOVEMENTS IN HINDU SOCIETY .......... 88 The Hatha-yoga movement ............................... 89 The bhakti movement .................................. 90 Birth of the Sikh religion ................................ 91 Introduction (H.-J. Klimkeit) Although cultural and religious life along the Central Asian Silk Route was determined both by various indigenous traditions, including Zoroastrianism, and by the world 62 ISBN 978-92-3-103654-5 Introduction religions that expanded into this area from India and China as well as from Syria and Per- sia, we can detect certain basic patterns that recur in different areas and situations.1 Here we mainly wish to illustrate that there were often similar geopolitical and social conditions in various oasis towns. The duality of such towns and the surrounding deserts, steppes and mountains is characteristic of the basic situation. Nomads dwelling in the steppes had their own social structures and their own understanding of life, which was determined by tra- ditions that spoke of forefathers and heroes of the past who had created a state with its own divine orders and laws. The Old Turkic inscriptions on the Orkhon river in Mongolia are a good case in point. -
A Sacred Celestial Motif: an Introduction to Winged Angels Iconography in Iran
PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences ISSN 2454-5899 Mazloumi & Nasrollahzadeh, 2017 Volume 3 Issue 2, pp. 682 - 699 Date of Publication: 16th September, 2017 DOI-https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2017.32.682699 This paper can be cited as: Mazloumi, Y., & Nasrollahzadeh, C. (2017). A Sacred Celestial Motif: An Introduction to Winged Angels Iconography in Iran. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 682-699. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. A SACRED CELESTIAL MOTIF: AN INTRODUCTION TO WINGED ANGELS ICONOGRAPHY IN IRAN Yasaman Nabati Mazloumi M.A in Iranian Studies, Shahid Beheshti University, Daneshjoo Blvd, Velenjak, Street, Tehran, Iran [email protected] Cyrus Nasrollahzadeh Associate Professor, Department of Ancient Iranian Culture and Languages, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, 64th Street, Kurdestan Expressway, Tehran, Iran [email protected] Abstract Through history many motifs have been created and over the centuries, some of them turned into very well-known symbols. One of these motifs is winged angel. This sacred and divine creature which appears in human-shaped, serves intermediaries between the God and people, and during history, indicates legitimating and bestows God-given glory. This article aims to present the results of exploring the historical background of the winged angels in Iran, in order to understand its precise concept; where it comes from and what it resembles. -
Linguistics Development Team
Development Team Principal Investigator: Prof. Pramod Pandey Centre for Linguistics / SLL&CS Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Email: [email protected] Paper Coordinator: Prof. K. S. Nagaraja Department of Linguistics, Deccan College Post-Graduate Research Institute, Pune- 411006, [email protected] Content Writer: Prof. K. S. Nagaraja Prof H. S. Ananthanarayana Content Reviewer: Retd Prof, Department of Linguistics Osmania University, Hyderabad 500007 Paper : Historical and Comparative Linguistics Linguistics Module : Indo-Aryan Language Family Description of Module Subject Name Linguistics Paper Name Historical and Comparative Linguistics Module Title Indo-Aryan Language Family Module ID Lings_P7_M1 Quadrant 1 E-Text Paper : Historical and Comparative Linguistics Linguistics Module : Indo-Aryan Language Family INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGE FAMILY The Indo-Aryan migration theory proposes that the Indo-Aryans migrated from the Central Asian steppes into South Asia during the early part of the 2nd millennium BCE, bringing with them the Indo-Aryan languages. Migration by an Indo-European people was first hypothesized in the late 18th century, following the discovery of the Indo-European language family, when similarities between Western and Indian languages had been noted. Given these similarities, a single source or origin was proposed, which was diffused by migrations from some original homeland. This linguistic argument is supported by archaeological and anthropological research. Genetic research reveals that those migrations form part of a complex genetical puzzle on the origin and spread of the various components of the Indian population. Literary research reveals similarities between various, geographically distinct, Indo-Aryan historical cultures. The Indo-Aryan migrations started in approximately 1800 BCE, after the invention of the war chariot, and also brought Indo-Aryan languages into the Levant and possibly Inner Asia. -
Zoroastrian Ethics by MA Buch
The Gnekwad Stu<Uc'^ in Rdi/tuii and Plcilu-^oph i/ : /I ZOKOASTRIAN ETHICS IVintod at the Mirfsion Press, Siirat l.y n. K. 8colt, and imblislieil l»y A. G. Wi(l;.'ery the Collej,'e, Baroda. I. V. 1919. ZOROASTHIAN ETHICS By MAGAXLAL A. BUCH, M. A. Fellow of the Seminar for the Comparative Stn<ly of IJelifjioiiP, Barotla, With an Infrnrhicfion hv ALBAN n. WrDGERY, ^f. A. Professor of Philosophy and of the Comparative Study of PiPlii^doiis, Baroda. B A K D A 515604 P n E F A C E The present small volume was undertaken as one subject of study as Fellow in the Seminar for the Comparative Study of Religions established in the College, Baroda, by His Highness the Maharaja Sayaji Eao Gaekwad, K C. S. I. etc. The subject was suggested by Professor Widgery who also guided the author in the plan and in the general working out of the theme. It is his hope that companion volumes on the ethical ideas associated with other religions will shortly be undertaken. Such ethical studies form an important part of the aim which His Highness had in view in establishing the Seminar. The chapter which treats of the religious conceptions is less elaborate than it might well have been, because Dr. Dhalla's masterly volume on Zomasfrirm Theolof/y^ New York, 1914, cannot be dispens- ed with by any genuine student of Zoroastrian- ism, and all important details may be learned from it. It only remains to thank I'rotessor Widgcrv lor writinf,' a L;enoral introduotion and for his continued help thronghont tho process of the work. -
The Iranian Reflexes of Proto-Iranian *Ns
The Iranian Reflexes of Proto-Iranian *ns Martin Joachim Kümmel, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena [email protected] Abstract1 The obvious cognates of Avestan tąθra- ‘darkness’ in the other Iranian languages generally show no trace of the consonant θ; they all look like reflexes of *tār°. Instead of assuming a different word formation for the non-Avestan words, I propose a solution uniting the obviously corresponding words under a common preform, starting from Proto-Iranian *taNsra-: Before a sonorant *ns was preserved as ns in Avestan (feed- ing the change of tautosyllabic *sr > *θr) but changed to *nh elsewhere, followed by *anhr > *ã(h)r. A parallel case of apparent variation can be explained similarly, namely Avestan pąsnu- ‘ashes’ and its cog- nates. Finally, the general development of Proto-Indo-Iranian *ns in Iranian and its relative chronology is discussed, including word-final *ns, where it is argued that the Avestan accusative plural of a-stems can be derived from *-āns. Keywords: Proto-Iranian, nasals, sibilant, sound change, variation, chronology 1. Introduction The aim of this paper is to discuss some details of the development of the Proto- Iranian (PIr) cluster *ns in the Iranian languages. Before we proceed to do so, it will be useful to recall the most important facts concerning the history of dental-alveolar sibilants in Iranian. 1) PIr had inherited a sibilant *s identical to Old Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit/Vedic) s from Proto-Indo-Iranian (PIIr) *s. This sibilant changed to Common Iranian (CIr) h in most environments, while its voiced allophone z remained stable all the time. -
ZOROASTRIANISM Chapter Outline and Unit Summaries I. Introduction
CHAPTER TEN: ZOROASTRIANISM Chapter Outline and Unit Summaries I. Introduction A. Zoroastrianism: One of the World’s Oldest Living Religions B. Possesses Only 250,000 Adherents, Most Living in India C. Zoroastrianism Important because of Influence of Zoroastrianism on Christianity, Islam, Middle Eastern History, and Western Philosophy II. Pre-Zoroastrian Persian Religion A. The Gathas: Hymns of Early Zoroastrianism Provide Clues to Pre- Zoroastrian Persian Religion 1. The Gathas Considered the words of Zoroaster, and are Foundation for all Later Zoroastrian Scriptures 2. The Gathas Disparage Earlier Persian Religions B. The Aryans (Noble Ones): Nomadic Inhabitants of Ancient Persia 1. The Gathas Indicate Aryans Nature Worshippers Venerating Series of Deities (also mentioned in Hindu Vedic literature) a. The Daevas: Gods of Sun, Moon, Earth, Fire, Water b. Higher Gods, Intar the God of War, Asha the God of Truth and Justice, Uruwana a Sky God c. Most Popular God: Mithra, Giver and Benefactor of Cattle, God of Light, Loyalty, Obedience d. Mithra Survives in Zoroastrianism as Judge on Judgment Day 2. Aryans Worship a Supreme High God: Ahura Mazda (The Wise Lord) 3. Aryan Prophets / Reformers: Saoshyants 97 III. The Life of Zoroaster A. Scant Sources of Information about Zoroaster 1. The Gathas Provide Some Clues 2. Greek and Roman Writers (Plato, Pliny, Plutarch) Comment B. Zoroaster (born between 1400 and 1000 B.C.E.) 1. Original Name (Zarathustra Spitama) Indicates Birth into Warrior Clan Connected to Royal Family of Ancient Persia 2. Zoroaster Becomes Priest in His Religion; the Only Founder of a World Religion to be Trained as a Priest 3. -
Pre-Proto-Iranians of Afghanistan As Initiators of Sakta Tantrism: on the Scythian/Saka Affiliation of the Dasas, Nuristanis and Magadhans
Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXVII, 2002 PRE-PROTO-IRANIANS OF AFGHANISTAN AS INITIATORS OF SAKTA TANTRISM: ON THE SCYTHIAN/SAKA AFFILIATION OF THE DASAS, NURISTANIS AND MAGADHANS BY Asko PARPOLA (Helsinki) 1. Introduction 1.1 Preliminary notice Professor C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky is a scholar striving at integrated understanding of wide-ranging historical processes, extending from Mesopotamia and Elam to Central Asia and the Indus Valley (cf. Lamberg- Karlovsky 1985; 1996) and even further, to the Altai. The present study has similar ambitions and deals with much the same area, although the approach is from the opposite direction, north to south. I am grateful to Dan Potts for the opportunity to present the paper in Karl's Festschrift. It extends and complements another recent essay of mine, ‘From the dialects of Old Indo-Aryan to Proto-Indo-Aryan and Proto-Iranian', to appear in a volume in the memory of Sir Harold Bailey (Parpola in press a). To com- pensate for that wider framework which otherwise would be missing here, the main conclusions are summarized (with some further elaboration) below in section 1.2. Some fundamental ideas elaborated here were presented for the first time in 1988 in a paper entitled ‘The coming of the Aryans to Iran and India and the cultural and ethnic identity of the Dasas’ (Parpola 1988). Briefly stated, I suggested that the fortresses of the inimical Dasas raided by ¤gvedic Aryans in the Indo-Iranian borderlands have an archaeological counterpart in the Bronze Age ‘temple-fort’ of Dashly-3 in northern Afghanistan, and that those fortresses were the venue of the autumnal festival of the protoform of Durga, the feline-escorted Hindu goddess of war and victory, who appears to be of ancient Near Eastern origin. -
Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans
3 (2016) Miscellaneous 1: A-V Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans TRAVIS D. WEBSTER Center for Traditional Vedanta, USA © 2016 Ruhr-Universität Bochum Entangled Religions 3 (2016) ISSN 2363-6696 http://dx.doi.org/10.13154/er.v3.2016.A–V Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans Proto-Indo-European Roots of the Vedic Aryans TRAVIS D. WEBSTER Center for Traditional Vedanta ABSTRACT Recent archaeological evidence and the comparative method of Indo-European historical linguistics now make it possible to reconstruct the Aryan migrations into India, two separate diffusions of which merge with elements of Harappan religion in Asko Parpola’s The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization (NY: Oxford University Press, 2015). This review of Parpola’s work emphasizes the acculturation of Rigvedic and Atharvavedic traditions as represented in the depiction of Vedic rites and worship of Indra and the Aśvins (Nāsatya). After identifying archaeological cultures prior to the breakup of Proto-Indo-European linguistic unity and demarcating the two branches of the Proto-Aryan community, the role of the Vrātyas leads back to mutual encounters with the Iranian Dāsas. KEY WORDS Asko Parpola; Aryan migrations; Vedic religion; Hinduism Introduction Despite the triumph of the world-religions paradigm from the late nineteenth century onwards, the fact remains that Indologists require more precise taxonomic nomenclature to make sense of their data. Although the Vedas are widely portrayed as the ‘Hindu scriptures’ and are indeed upheld as the sole arbiter of scriptural authority among Brahmins, for instance, the Vedic hymns actually play a very minor role in contemporary Indian religion. -
Shelley Meagher – Politics and Persian Mythology in Irish Poetry
Shelley Meagher Politics and Persian Mythology in Irish Poetry IN 1809 LORD BYRON was prevented by the Napoleonic wars from taking the European Grand Tour. He instead sailed south, through the straits of Gibraltar and across the Mediterranean, to tour Greece and Turkey. On his return he published the first two Cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812), a poem whose hero follows in Byron’s wake eastwards. Gratified by the acclaim Childe Harold received, Byron next published two action poems set in Turkey, The Giaour (1813) and The Bride of Abydos (1813). These fluent ‘Turkish Tales’, as he called them, sold very well and whetted the public’s appetite. On the day Byron’s next Turkish tale, The Corsair, came out in 1814, it sold 10,000 copies. There was one problem. For two and a half years Byron’s friend, Thomas Moore, had been composing a poem set in the Persianate cultures of Mughal India and Persia (as Europeans then termed Iran). Moore was alert to differences between Turkish and Persian culture. But to the general public, both cultures were simply eastern. When sales of Byron’s Turkish poems rocketed, Moore fretted that Byron had stolen his opportunity. Byron tried to allay Moore’s fears. ‘Stick to the East!’ he wrote to Moore in May 1813. ‘The little I have done . is only a “voice in the wilderness” for you; and, if it has had any success, that will only prove that the public is orientalising, and pave the way for you.’1 When, six months later, Byron proceeded to pave Moore’s way further with The Corsair, he knew very well that Moore would be alarmed. -
{TEXTBOOK} the Mayan and Other Ancient Calendars Pdf Free Download
THE MAYAN AND OTHER ANCIENT CALENDARS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Geoff Stray | 64 pages | 16 Oct 2007 | Wooden Books | 9781904263609 | English | Powys, United Kingdom The Mayan Calendar | Calendars Four days per month were dedicated to Ahura Mazda and seven were named after the six Amesha Spentas. Three were dedicated to the female divinities, Daena yazata of religion and personified conscious , Ashi yazata of fortune and Arshtat justice. The Parthians Arsacid dynasty adopted the same calendar system with minor modifications, and dated their era from BC, the date they succeeded the Seleucids. Their names for the months and days are Parthian equivalents of the Avestan ones used previously, differing slightly from the Middle Persian names used by the Sassanians. When in April of AD the Parthian dynasty fell and was replaced by the Sasanid, the new king, Ardashir I , abolished the official Babylonian calendar and replaced it with the Zoroastrian. This involved a correction to the places of the gahanbar , which had slipped back in the seasons since they were fixed. These were placed eight months later, as were the epagemonai , the 'Gatha' or 'Gah' days after the ancient Zoroastrian hymns of the same name. Other countries, such as the Armenians and Choresmians, did not accept the change. Toghril Beg , the founder of the Seljuq dynasty , had made Esfahan the capital of his domains and his grandson Malik-Shah was the ruler of that city from Other leading astronomers were also brought to the Observatory in Esfahan and for 18 years Khayyam led the scientists and produced work of outstanding quality. During this time Khayyam led work on compiling astronomical tables and he also contributed to calendar reform in Cowell quotes the Calcutta Review No When the Malik Shah determined to reform the calendar, Omar was one of the eight learned men employed to do it, the result was the Jalali era so called from Jalal-ud-din, one of the king's names - 'a computation of time,' says Gibbon, 'which surpasses the Julian, and approaches the accuracy of the Gregorian style. -
Classification of Eastern Iranian Languages
62 / 2014 Ľubomír Novák 1 QUESTION OF (RE)CLASSIFICATION OF EASTERN IRANIAN LANGUAGES STATI – ARTICLES – AUFSÄTZE – СТАТЬИ AUFSÄTZE – ARTICLES – STATI Abstract The Eastern Iranian languages are traditionally divided into two subgroups: the South and the North Eastern Iranian languages. An important factor for the determination of the North Eastern and the South Eastern Iranian groups is the presence of isoglosses that appeared already in the Old Iranian period. According to an analysis of isoglosses that were used to distinguish the two branches, it appears that most likely there are only two certain isoglosses that can be used for the division of the Eastern Iranian languages into the two branches. Instead of the North-South division of the Eastern Iranian languages, it seems instead that there were approximately four dialect nuclei forming mi- nor groups within the Eastern Iranian branch. Furthermore, there are some languages that geneti- cally do not belong to these nuclei. In the New Iranian period, several features may be observed that link some of the languages together, but such links often have nothing in common with a so-called genetic relationship. The most interesting issue is the position of the so-called Pamir languages with- in the Eastern Iranian group. It appears that not all the Pamir languages are genetically related; their mutual proximity, therefore, may be more sufficiently explained by later contact phenomena. Keywords Eastern Iranian languages; Pamir languages; language classification; linguistic genealogy. The Iranian languages are commonly divided into two main groups: the Eastern and Western Iranian languages. Each of the groups is subsequently divided in two other subgroups – the Northern and Southern1. -
Configuring the Roots of Zahak Myth According to the Elamites' Cylinder
Vol.14/ No.56/ Feb 2018 Received 2017/07/07 Accepted 2017/12/16 Persian translation of this paper entitled: بن مایه های کهن اسطوره ضحاک در ایران براساس نقوش روی مهر دوره عیﻻمی)هزاره سوم قبل از میﻻد( is also published in this issue of journal. Configuring the Roots of Zahak Myth according to the Elamites’ Cylinder Seals (3rd Millennium B.C.) Bita Mesbah* Abstract What is different about Iranian art is the use of hybrid motifs which is a characteristic of the Iranian art. The hybrid forms show the impact of the mythological beliefs. These beliefs also have changed a lot so it is hard to recognize the exact meaning of these motifs. Shahnama is the source of great myths in Iran and is the main source for tracing myths between the Islamic periods and the mythological beliefs before Islam. This research is based on studying the snake-man which is known as Zahak in Shahnama. The research focuses on three cylinder seals (the impressions found) which show the snake-man. These cylinder seals were found in Susa, Tepe Yahya and Tepe Shahdad. All three date back to the third millennium B.C. The snake- man which has two snake or dragons on the shoulders was well-known in Iran and Mesopotamia. The god of the dead is basically showed by this motif in Mesopotamia. Especially, Ningišzida is a Mesopotamian deity of the underworld. His name in Sumerian is translated as “the lord of the good tree”. The city of Lagash had a temple dedicated to Ningišzida, and Gudea, patesi of Lagash in the 21st century BC, was one of his devotees.