In her magnum opus, A History of Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce perceptively noted that often, in the history of this Iranian religion, “developments within Iran itself have to be deduced from the ripples which they caused abroad”. This is certainly true of the history of Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism, the characteristics (and in some circles even the existence) of which, continue to be a matter of debate even as more and more information regarding its possible features continues to emerge. This article aims to complement the current body of knowledge with data gathered from Yahwistic sources outside of Iran to enhance and solidify our understanding of Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism and its contours. It reviews the current state of scholarship and the significant progress that has been made in the recent decades and studies some Zoroastrian/Avestan echoes preserved in Yahwistic sources in Upper Egypt, mostly at Elephantine, which provide first-hand documentation of Zoroastrian devotion.
The Gāϑās of Zaraϑuštra provide us with the Old Avestan attestations of the adjectives mauuaṇt-, ϑβāuuaṇt– and xšmāuuaṇt-/yūšmāuuaṇt-. The adjective mauuaṇt– occurs twice in the Gāϑās, while ϑβāuuaṇt– occurs five times and xšmāuuaṇt-/yūšmāuuaṇt– occurs seven times. Over the years, little effort has been put into studying the broader context in which these words are situated or into understanding the specific use and significance of these words in the Gāϑās. The basis for their translation has mostly been exogenous, with the early Avestan scholars using the readily available meanings of the Vedic equivalents mā́vat-, tvā́vat– and yuṣmā́vat– for this purpose. In contrast, this article endeavours to understand the meaning and significance of the words mauuaṇt-, ϑβāuuaṇt– and xšmāuuaṇt-/yūšmāuuaṇt– in the context of Zoroastrian theology. It further seeks to examine the morphological basis of their meaning, to offer updated translation options for them and to situate these updated translations into the Gāϑic stanzas in which they occur.
The ancient Zoroastrian hymn of worship dedicated to the frauuaṣ̌i-s (affirmative choices) of righteous mortals and divinities refers to an important discourse that takes place between an unnamed Zoroastrian poet-sage and his mysterious rival, named Gaōtəma. The figure of Gaōtəma has intrigued Avestan scholars through the years, but the significance and the implications of Gaōtəma’s identity, and of his presence in the hymn, has to date not been seriously studied. This article first examines the context in which Gaōtəma is presented in the hymn. Building upon this, it then evaluates four potential identities for Gaōtəma: Avestan, Turanian, Buddhist, and Vedic. Conducting a multidisciplinary and comparative assessment, the article eventually argues in favour of a Vedic identity for Gaōtəma, specifically that of a poet-sage who was a proponent of the Rig Vedic divinity Indra. This investigation into Gaōtəma’s identity concomitantly provides important perspectives on certain aspects of the Zoroastrian religion, and often in a comparative context.
The latest volume of East and West contains several interesting articles, some of which deal with aspects of ancient Iran.
M. Minardi, A. Bekbauliev: Report on the First Campaign of Excavations of 2023 at Bazar-kala, with Additional Considerations on the Urbanism of Ancient Chorasmia
S. Tusa, M. Vidale, I. Caldana, E. Lant, Faizur Rahman, L.M. Olivieri: A “Bactrian Lady” and Other Terracotta Figurines from Aligrama, Swat
S. Aliyari Babolghani: A Short Note on the So-called Conjugation IIm in Achaemenid Elamite
M.C. Benvenuto: Notes on the Bactrian Personal Name Σανδο
E. Filippone: Paratactic and Hypotactic Strategies in the Discourse Organization of the Multilingual Achaemenid Texts
F. Pompeo: Who are They Rebelling against? The Constructions of hamiçiya- bav- in the Achaemenid Royal Texts
Amélie Kuhrt, eminent historian of the Ancient Near East, and more specifically renowned for her teaching at University College London, for actively contributing to organising the Achaemenid History Workshops and for her many leading publications on the Achaemenid Empire and Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylonia, died on 2 January 2023, after living for several years with Parkinson’s disease.
This paper examines a column base from the Achaemenid period (ca. 550–330 BC), discovered in the village of Farouq, approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Persepolis, and provides a report and analysis of the issues surrounding this column base. Although its original location remains uncertain, similar examples have been documented at well-known Achaemenid sites in Fars. These parallels offer a basis for chronological analysis and may yield insights into the intended function of the column base.
This chapter explores the roles of women in cultic functions in Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon, focusing on cuneiform evidence from temple contexts. These sources reveal their increasing involvement in sacred rituals and temple administration. Through analysis of titles, the study highlights both continuity and innovation in female religious roles.
In this article I propose some corrections and additions to my previous contribution Miscellanea Epigraphica Susiana, made possible by the recent publication of a book dealing, among other things, with the same inscriptions (DSe, DSi, A2Se). In particular, I provide: a complete restoration of the final portion of the Elamite version of DSe highlighting some textual parallels found in the Meso-Elamite, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian epigraphic tradition; an etymological discussion on the newly discovered OP word kabnu– “ruined, dilapidated”; and some improvements in the reading and interpretation of a new fragment of the Elamite version of A2Se.
Major old-new article by Michael Witzel with references and discussions of the relevant Iranian traditions. Open access.
This issue of EJVS contains the long version of my article “Early Sanskritization. Origins and development of the Kuru state” of 1997, published in a volume edited by B. Kölver. At that time, I had merely presented the outline and results of the longer paper published here. After 1997, I have added some data, over the next few years,to the unpublished long version. I have mow [sic] minimally updated it, for example by important genetic aDNA data about the first immigration of steppe people to India (Swat) around 1250 BCE. However, I could not find the time to thoroughly update the paper and therefore present it here as is, in the hope that it will be useful to colleagues.
As the current version includes many sections of the 1997 paper, some repetitions and overlaps will occur in the bulk of the text, for which I beg the reader’s indulgence.
1 – 24 – Against Cuneiform: The Dawn of Writing in Iran DANESHMAND, Parsa abstract details
25 – 33 – Cylinder Seals in the National Museum of Iran BAGHBIDI, Bahar Rezai, MIRGHADERI, Mohammad Amin, D’ORAZIO, Claudia abstract details
35 – 62 – Petrographic and XRF Analysis of the Ceramics of the Achaemenid Period in the Ramhormoz Plain, Southwestern Iran AFSHARI, Leila, AKARSU, Rabia abstract details
63 – 82 – In Search of the Plains of Gaugamela SZYPUŁA, Bartłomiej, GŁOGOWSKI, Piotr, MARCIAK, Michał abstract details
83 – 108 – The Statue of the ‘Prince’ of Shami: Parthian Nobleman, Local Ruler or Arsacid King of Kings? SINISI, Fabrizio abstract details
109 – 128 – Why the Title rāmšahr for Yazdgerd I? JALILIAN, Shahram abstract details
129 – 151 – Between Dome and Eyvān: Building Techniques, Function, and Symbolism of the Kushk-e Ardashir in Bozpar (Bushehr, Iran) LABISI, Guiseppe abstract details
153 – 193 – The Dynamics of Anthropogenic Landscape Evolution in the Bozpar Valley (South Iran). A Case Study for Small-Scale Hydraulic Engineering in Antiquity RASHIDIAN, Elnaz abstract details
195 – 218 – Passing through the Northwestern Heights of the Alvand Mountains: Restoring the Caravan Routes between Asadabad and Hamadan in Different Historical Periods REZAEI, Iraj abstract details
