The Origin of Aurammazdā in Persian Religion and its Elevation in the Behistun inscriptions

Q: How can I download an article?

To download an article from SID, first log in to the site, search for the article title, and click on the 'Download Article' option.

Q: How can I download an ISI article?

To download an ISI article on SID, enter the keyword or article title in the search bar, view the relevant results, click on the desired article, and select the 'Download Article' option.

Q: How can I access the SID database?

To access the SID database, visit SID.ir, create an account, and log in to access scientific resources.

Q: Is downloading articles from SID free?

Some articles on SID are available for free, while others require payment. Details are specified on the article's page.

AFKANDEH EHSAN

مرکز اطلاعات علمی Scientific Information Database (SID) - Trusted Source for Research and Academic Resources

Journal Paper

Paper Information

Journal: JOURNAL OF IRAN HISTORY (JOURNAL OF HUMAN SCIENCES) Year:2018 | Volume:11 | Issue:1 Page(s): 57-75

Download Full-Text

Persian Verion

View:

515

Download:

Cites:

Information Journal Paper

Title

The Origin of Aurammazdā in Persian Religion and its Elevation in the Behistun inscriptions

Author(s)

AFKANDEH EHSAN | Issue Writer Certificate

Keywords

AurammazdāQ1

DariusQ2

BehistunQ2

Sky GodQ1

MesopotamiaQ2

Abstract

In Darius’ royal inscription in the Behistun, Persian great god, Aurammazdā plays a proactive role. Accordingly, Aurammazdā ’ s name is one of the most occurred words in the inscription. In other words, we can presume him as patron god of Darius, royal dynasty, and most importantly legitimizing god of Achaemenid rule. Preeminence of Aurammazdā in the Behistun inscription contradicts with his relative insignificance in other contemporary sources. Generally, attributing such a role to Aurammazdā , has been justified by the assumption that Achaemenids were Zoroastrian or they borrowing such concept from Avestan texts. Nonetheless, comparing religious elements in the Achaemenid inscription and old Avestan texts demonstrates fundamental differences in their religious practices. Therefore, question of the origin of Aurammazdā in the Persian religion and the reason for assigning such an important role to Aurammazdā in the Behistun must be reviewed form a different perspective other than Achaemenids being Zoroastrians. Significance of such a question is that it can offer a reevaluation of the mechanism of Achaemenid political ideology. Present paper aims to investigate the origin of Persian Aurammazdā and the cause of its elevation in the Behistun inscription by reviewing Achaemenid contemporary sources containing information regarding Persian religion. In this study, evaluation and comparison of Achaemenid inscriptions, old Indo-Iranian texts and other sources suggest that Persian religion was probably a sort of pre-Zoroastrian Mazdaism, in which Aurammazdā was worshiped only as Sky God. As a matter of fact, rise of Aurammazdā and its elevation as omnipotent god which occurs in the Behistun inscription for the first time, was established by Darius to solve the crisis of legitimacy for his reign, so that he, lacking any conclusive hereditary right to succession, could present his accession to kingship as an act of divine favor. Furthermore, it seems such an image of Aurammazdā is an adaptation of Mesopotamian political propaganda in which such an approach to divine has been practiced since time immemorial.

Cites

No record.

References

No record.

Cite

APA: Copy

AFKANDEH, EHSAN. (2018). The Origin of Aurammazdā in Persian Religion and its Elevation in the Behistun inscriptions. JOURNAL OF IRAN HISTORY (JOURNAL OF HUMAN SCIENCES), 11(1 ), 57-75. SID. https://sid.ir/paper/407967/en

Vancouver: Copy

AFKANDEH EHSAN. The Origin of Aurammazdā in Persian Religion and its Elevation in the Behistun inscriptions. JOURNAL OF IRAN HISTORY (JOURNAL OF HUMAN SCIENCES)[Internet]. 2018;11(1 ):57-75. Available from: https://sid.ir/paper/407967/en

IEEE: Copy

EHSAN AFKANDEH, “The Origin of Aurammazdā in Persian Religion and its Elevation in the Behistun inscriptions,” JOURNAL OF IRAN HISTORY (JOURNAL OF HUMAN SCIENCES), vol. 11, no. 1 , pp. 57–75, 2018, [Online]. Available: https://sid.ir/paper/407967/en

Related Journal Papers