tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53681080814220194552024-02-19T01:40:35.835-08:00Zoroastrian HeritageAuthor: K. E. EduljeeK. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-87984149482857966742015-07-08T04:31:00.002-07:002015-07-25T21:59:38.913-07:00Contents(Words in blue are links)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">THIS BLOG HAS NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO OUR WEBSITE at</span> <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm">www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism or</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm">www.zoroastrianheritage.com & .org</a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Contact</span>: <a href="mailto:enquiry@heritageinstitute.com">enquiry@heritageinstitute.com</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Introduction</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianism-101.blogspot.com/">» What is Zoroastrianism?</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-zoroastrianism-religion-philosophy.html">» Is Zoroastrianism a Religion, Philosophy, Way-of-Life...? The Spirit</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroaster-zarathushtra.blogspot.com/2011/10/name-zoroaster-zarathushtra-or_17.html">» The Name Zoroaster, Zarathushtra, Zarathustra</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroaster-zarathushtra.blogspot.com/p/etymology-of-name-zoroaster.html">» Etymology of the Name Zoroaster, Zarathushtra, Zarathustra - Speculations</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroaster-zarathushtra.blogspot.com/2011/10/images-of-zarathushtra-zarathustra.html">» Images of Zarathushtra / Zarathustra / Zoroaster</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/magi.html">» Magi - Zoroastrian Priests</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Astrology</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/astrology-zoroastrianism.html">» Astrology & Zoroastrianism</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/05/note-in-jm-ashmands-translation-1822-of.html">» Note in J.M. Ashmand's Translation (1822) of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Calendar</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/06/when-does-zoroastrian-day-start.html">» When Does the Zoroastrian Day Start?</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/when-does-zoroastrian-day-start.html">» When Does the Zoroastrian Day Start? Detailed</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Environment</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/04/disposal-of-organic-waste-environmental.html">» Disposal of Organic Waste. Environmental Protection</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Ethics and Values</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/04/zoroastrian-ethos.html">» Zoroastrian Ethos</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Ferdowsi's Shahnameh</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/11/legacy-of-ferdowsi.html">» Ferdowsi's Legacy</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/11/bastan-nameh_11.html">» Bastan Nameh</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Food, Diet, Cuisine</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/were-ancient-iranians-zoroastrians.html">» Were Ancient Iranians and Zoroastrians Vegetarian?</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(Updated)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/irani-cafes-disappearing-heritage.html">» Irani Cafés - Disappearing Heritage</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/irani-zarathushti-traditions-health.html">» Irani Zarathushti Traditions: Health Giving and Healing Foods</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/dietary-training-of-achaemenian-persian.html">» Dietary Training of Achaemenian Persian Children</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/achaemenian-persian-kings-table.html">» Achaemenian Persian King's Table</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/parthian-cuisine_318.html">» Parthian Cuisine</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/sassanian-cuisine.html">» Sassanian Cuisine</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/wine.html">» Wine</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/similarities-in-greek-persian-iranian.html">» Similarities in Greek & Persian-Iranian Cuisine</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Greek-Persian Relations and Influence</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/12/alexander-and-talking-trees.html">» Alexander and the Talking Trees</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/greek-perceptions-of-zoroaster.html">» Greek Perceptions of Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism & the Magi</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/zoroastrian-influence-on-greek.html">» Zoroastrian-Persian Influence on Greek Philosophy and Sciences</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/09/influence-of-persians-and-others-on.html">» Influence of Persians on Greek Philosophy, Arts and Science - Clement of Alexandria</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/10/alcibiades-plato-and-some-amazing_11.html">» Alcibiades, Plato & Some Amazing Insights. Part 1 The Historical Alcibiades</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/10/alcibiades-plato-and-some-amazing.html">» Alcibiades, Plato & Some Amazing Insights. Part 2 Selections from Plato</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/10/ostanes.html">» Ostanes Persian Sage</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/chaldean-oracles-of-zoroaster.html">» (Chaldean) Oracles of Zoroaster - an Introduction</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/chaldean-oracles-of-zoroaster-beliefs.html">» (Chaldean) Oracles of Zoroaster - Beliefs Summary by Psellus and this Author</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/roman-emperor-julian-and-seven-rays.html">» Roman Emperor Julian and the Seven Rays</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/similarities-in-greek-persian-iranian.html">» Similarities in Greek & Persian-Iranian Cuisine</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2014/08/porphyry-on-magi-animals-and-diet.html">» Porphyry on the Magi, Animals and Diet</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2014/08/diogenes-laertius-lives-of-eminent.html">» Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/arteans-persians-native-name-persians.html">» Arteans: Persian's Native Name. Persians, Perses, Perseus & Cephenes</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/04/herodotus-on-persian-attire-perseus.html">» Herodotus on Persian Attire</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>(New)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Health & Healing</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/07/zoroastrian-heritage-and-healing.html">» Zoroastrian Heritage and Healing</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">History</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/who-were-aryans.html">» Who Were the Aryans?</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/iranian-aryan-connections-with-western.html">» Iranian-Aryan Connections with Western Tibet</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
» <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-kurdish-women-warriors.html">» Amazons & Kurdish Women Warriors</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-troy-western-realms-of-aryana.html">» Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html">» Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/herodotus-references-to-saka.html">» Herodotus' References to the Saka</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/kurdish-origins-saka-pt-1-credibility.html">» Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/inscriptions-found-at-c-kurdistan-iran.html">» Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/halicarnassus-mausoleum-its.html">» Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels </a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/halicarnassus-mausoleum-pt-2-ethnicity.html">» Ethnicity of Amazons, Artemisia & Carians. Clues Through Attire</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Language & Etymology</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/11/tahmuras-tahmurath-etymology.html">» Etymology & Genealogy of Tahmuras / Tahmurath</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/11/zamyad-zam-yasht-1945-translation-notes.html">» Zamyad (Zam) Yasht 19.4/5 Translation & Notes. Hushang Subjugates Divs, Yatus & Pairikas</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/05/meaning-of-suffix-va-van-vant-vand-mand.html">» Meaning of Suffix -va, -van(em), -vant(em), -vand, -mand</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/khv-xv-and-hv-sounds-in-avestan.html">» Etymology of Khoda / Khuda & khvet-vadta</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/zoroastrian-creed-on-three-noble-ideals.html">» Khv, Xv and Hv Sounds in Avestan & Transition to Modern Persian</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Mithraism</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/05/exploring-connections-between-roman.html">» Exploring Connections Between Persian & Roman Mithraism</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/roman-emperor-julian-and-seven-rays.html">» Roman Emperor Julian and the Seven Rays</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/halicarnassus-mausoleum-its.html">» Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels </a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Mythology & Legends</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/11/gaya-gav-geush-urvan-gaokerena-haoma.html">» Gaya, Gav, Geush Urvan, Gaokerena, Haoma</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/07/kangdez-far-away-land-beyond-seas.html">» Kangdez - Far Away Land Beyond the Sea</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-ocean-vourukasha-frakhvkard.html">» The Great Ocean Vourukasha / Frakhvkard / Varkash</a> <br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/11/tahmuras-tahmurath-etymology.html">» Etymology & Genealogy of Tahmuras / Tahmurath</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-1.html">» Cypress of Kashmar Sources</a>. In six parts:
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-1.html">» 1. Shahnameh</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-2.html">» 2. The Dabistan</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-3.html">» 3. Thomas Hyde</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-4.html">» 4. Qazvini</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-5.html">» 5. Burhan-i Kati</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/cypress-of-kashmar-source-texts-various.html">» 6. Various</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-1-introduction.html">» Pahlavans & Sakastan</a>. In nine parts:
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-1-introduction.html">» 1. Introduction</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-2-timurs-account.html">» 2. Timur's Account</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-3-lineage-nation.html">» 3. Lineage & Nation</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/thraetaona-keresaspa-urvakhshaya.html">» 4. Thraetaona & Thrita. Keresaspa & Urvakhshaya. Varena, Rangha & Patashkhvargar</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/trita-visvarupa-ahi-in-vedas.html">» 5. Trita, Visvarupa & Ahi in the Vedas</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-6-battles-with.html">» 6. Battles with Dragon-Snakes</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-7-garshasp-saam-zal.html">» 7. Garshasp, Saam & Zal in the Shahnameh</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-8-end-times-role-of.html">» 8. End Times. The Renovation of the World</a>
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-9-religion.html">» 9. Religion in Sakastan</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Philosophy</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/04/hermippus-redivivus-by-jh-cohausen-1749.html">» Hermippus Redivivus by J.H. Cohausen (1749) - Hermetic Philosophy & Zoroaster</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/bon-zoroastrianism-dualism_20.html">» Bon, Zoroastrianism & Dualism</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/09/dual-duality-dualism-definitions.html">» Dual, Duality & Dualism. Definitions</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/09/two.html">» The Two - Ta Mainyu</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/09/yin-yang-dualism-development-of-concept.html">» Yin-Yang Dualism. Development of the Concept</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/09/yin-yang-in-daotaoism-daodejing.html">» Yin-Yang in Daoism / Taoism. The Daodejing by Laozi. Zhuangzi</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/10/plutarch-his-work-duality-and-soul.html">» Plutarch. His Work, Duality and the Soul</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/pythagorean-beliefs-zoroastrianism.html">» Pythagorean Beliefs and Zoroastrianism</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/golden-verses-of-pythagoras.html">» Golden Verses of Pythagoras</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/summary-of-doctrines-of-zoroaster-and.html">» Summary of the Doctrines of Zoroaster and Plato by George Gemistos Pletho(n)</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Scriptures</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-was-avestan-canon-closed.html">» When was the Avestan Canon Closed?</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/07/aredvi-sura-anahita-aban.html">» Aredvi Sura Anahita & Aban</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Theology</span>: <br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/god-time-creation-in-zoroastrianism.html">» God, Time & Creation in Zoroastrianism</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/khv-xv-and-hv-sounds-in-avestan.html">» Etymology of Khoda / Khuda & khvet-vadta</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/08/the-difference-between-ahura-khoda.html">» The Difference between Ahura (Khoda), Mazda & Yazata (Yazdan) - Lord, God & Divine</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/bon-zoroastrianism-dualism_20.html">» Bon, Zoroastrianism & Dualism</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Zoroastrian Practice</span>:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2010/07/zoroastrianism-on-attaining-age-of_13.html">» Attaining the Age of Responsibility & Initiation. Kusti.</a> <br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/hamazor-united-in-strength-handshake.html">» Hamazor - United in Strength, Handshake & Prayer. The Payvand</a><br />
<br />
This blog contains random articles and notes prepared by this author. For a more comprehensive overview of Zoroastrian / Zarathushtrian heritage, please visit this author's Zoroastrian Heritage website at:<br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/">http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-56354217915386971912015-07-08T04:31:00.000-07:002015-07-10T02:23:04.145-07:00Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Its Amazonomachy Frieze Panels <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8ohFJSgwWM3LnIhM7PxpkHb4depJdB4QScK4L5TFngA5_OqR5gOmYtIMzX4MHZHU6_HNpmZI-YsooI4bvZmwYWLWhDrONkUlhbPGcY7LX9x4G3vOsixtG8aa8hD1wVRq6ZeU5UGb85/s1600/Amazonomachy+Halicarnassus+BrMuseum+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8ohFJSgwWM3LnIhM7PxpkHb4depJdB4QScK4L5TFngA5_OqR5gOmYtIMzX4MHZHU6_HNpmZI-YsooI4bvZmwYWLWhDrONkUlhbPGcY7LX9x4G3vOsixtG8aa8hD1wVRq6ZeU5UGb85/s640/Amazonomachy+Halicarnassus+BrMuseum+Wikipedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazonomachy scene: An Amazon woman warrior (left) doing battle with a Greek on a frieze (decorative band that runs the length of a building's wall) panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum and now at the British Museum. Image credit: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZWnBZlEmbJ0kwkGh1CVjpL58jm3ZVRgThChGgnuwTF-cHCIAYyHmNDVLrS8W_R3-xN3-Z9q2RiIrIi0SgLlr2bz6Gz4FBpBZE4P8ZSAEQaV6XXh0xzL6HVMw8igP50b_tw0VISB7SaE-/s1600/Br+Mus+COM+-+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZWnBZlEmbJ0kwkGh1CVjpL58jm3ZVRgThChGgnuwTF-cHCIAYyHmNDVLrS8W_R3-xN3-Z9q2RiIrIi0SgLlr2bz6Gz4FBpBZE4P8ZSAEQaV6XXh0xzL6HVMw8igP50b_tw0VISB7SaE-/s640/Br+Mus+COM+-+edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A frieze panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum depicting Amazons battling Greek soldiers. The Amazons can be identified by their flowing capes. Image credit: <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=540051001&objectId=460568&partId=1">British Museum</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpDvnjaANWbMFt7eb6kogyJxtfn2TvlcmbyruLc9VBkb_YeMNxvqH7YJFslIhIymSVKN7e7aYwQUYoop9RQB1QrUUbygRNAjcd8P4BCuPCOTIbV_H0kV65TO3kh4HJjxTlaeA_csK23k3/s1600/Amazon_Frieze_Wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpDvnjaANWbMFt7eb6kogyJxtfn2TvlcmbyruLc9VBkb_YeMNxvqH7YJFslIhIymSVKN7e7aYwQUYoop9RQB1QrUUbygRNAjcd8P4BCuPCOTIbV_H0kV65TO3kh4HJjxTlaeA_csK23k3/s640/Amazon_Frieze_Wiki.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Amazonomachy frieze panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Image credit: Wikipedia,</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="mausoleum"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Mausoleum of Halicarnassus- One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World</span><br />
Besides being one of Strabo's seven wonders of the world (at <i>Geography</i> 14.2.16), the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Caria (now in western Turkey) is also famed for a relief depicting the Amazons (the Amazon Frieze) that once adorned the magnificent edifice. The word 'mausoleum', now part of our everyday lexicon meaning a grand tomb, is derived from Mausolus, the Persian satrap or governor-general of Caria, known to the Persians as Karka. Mausolus had been satrap of Caria/Karka from 377 to 353 BCE. He succeeded his father Hecatomnus who served as satrap for the Persian Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II (r. 404-359 BCE). Upon Mausolus' death, his wife, Artemisia II (r. 353-350 BCE and not to be mistaken for her illustrious namesake who flourished c.480 BCE) commissioned the building of the mausoleum as the resting place for his remains. Artemisia became satrap of Caria upon Mausolus' death.<br />
<br />
[The use of a mausoleum for a resting place for the dead conforms to the Zoroastrian standards for disposing dead bodies i.e. encased in stone with no contact with the soil - as with the tomb of Cyrus the Great and the rock face tombs of the other Achaemenid kings.]<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNDlwwnf3VW5Y476Jmm4pc43TOnoLNb0qZ6ThkvrJieMUY7KixdVdpY7L0uv5QI0-zbyKQaLqYxibDLA-6xvAuQWDnTkeN9VRIrlyrd5_9N775hsFTLHsZE5rutER-pXArA-Tgs74_IQC/s1600/the_mausoleum_of_halicarnassus_by_pervandr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNDlwwnf3VW5Y476Jmm4pc43TOnoLNb0qZ6ThkvrJieMUY7KixdVdpY7L0uv5QI0-zbyKQaLqYxibDLA-6xvAuQWDnTkeN9VRIrlyrd5_9N775hsFTLHsZE5rutER-pXArA-Tgs74_IQC/s640/the_mausoleum_of_halicarnassus_by_pervandr.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An artist's impression of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Image credit: P<a href="http://pervandr.deviantart.com/art/The-Mausoleum-of-Halicarnassus-209963798">ervandr at Deviantart.com</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="halicarnassus"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Halicarnassus</span><br />
Halicarnassus was a port city on the south-western (Aegean) coast of Anatolia. Today, it is the Turkish city of Bodrum. Halicarnassus' other claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Herodotus (c. 484–425 BCE), often called the father of history. Halicarnassus became the capital of the Persian satrapy (governorate) of Caria when the satrap (governor general) Mausolus moved there from Mylasa (present day Milas located to the east of Halicarnassus/Bodrum). (Mylasa/Milas is home to the ruins of a Roman era mausoleum said to have been modelled on the larger one at Halicarnassus.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="caria"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Caria/Karka</span><br />
Anciently, Caria was a part of the Hittite sub-kingdom of Arzawa. It was known to the Persians as Karka and to the Phoenicians as Karak. Parts of coastal Caria were invaded and settled by Ionian and Dorian Greeks in the century or so following the c. 1200 BCE Greek assault and destruction of Troy to the north of Caria (see <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html#chronology">Chronology of the Region's History at our page on Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oaw9izUzRWfANU-u9LYHlzQni2NqLgAStxd5vnEiQqadqOk8ry9LQTzwd50dnvk5epvPY2rjvVAKrEiv6yaYUL5l9G0NkJRZSu3V7a46pUvfTEC58dGWPGStt1x9dnr3-0N75OF9mGNI/s1600/asia_minor+Greek+Roman+-+Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oaw9izUzRWfANU-u9LYHlzQni2NqLgAStxd5vnEiQqadqOk8ry9LQTzwd50dnvk5epvPY2rjvVAKrEiv6yaYUL5l9G0NkJRZSu3V7a46pUvfTEC58dGWPGStt1x9dnr3-0N75OF9mGNI/s640/asia_minor+Greek+Roman+-+Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halicarnassus (follow red arrow) in Anatolia. Place names are Greco-Roman.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="mausoleum"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Mausoleum Ruins</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI5XcK46HY2Hu7gjVUeWtoYGvZSGimiRMT_Ixl9G7MvQnPlxrYKW7m0fLlmR-VECNqGY-qagrjjcb5DNnWyZTqSz9P1EC-RU-6den0giFJVTu_fI3MK9kD5gQTQih2FCAK7i_d4YHkBn2/s1600/Mausoleum_of_Halicarnassus_2009+wikimedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI5XcK46HY2Hu7gjVUeWtoYGvZSGimiRMT_Ixl9G7MvQnPlxrYKW7m0fLlmR-VECNqGY-qagrjjcb5DNnWyZTqSz9P1EC-RU-6den0giFJVTu_fI3MK9kD5gQTQih2FCAK7i_d4YHkBn2/s640/Mausoleum_of_Halicarnassus_2009+wikimedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rubble. What is left of the Mausoleum today. Image credit: Wikimedia (2009).</td></tr>
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Other than rubble, little remains of the grand mausoleum and we read speculation that the mausoleum was damaged by earthquakes. What we told as well is that when the crusading Knights of St. John of Jerusalem arrived in Bodrum/Halicarnassus in 1402 CE, they used the mausoleum's stones to build a castle and its bas reliefs as decoration for their castle. The knights also burnt the mausoleum's marble in order to make lime [James Ferguson in <i>The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus</i> (London, 1862) pp 6-10]. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpjPXlm9DoKGw8gXhSxsUDhFY729_ioe42KkjbCXs6dFx7nVm1uJBsz1bSUgvA19cVEaGjMp2fTl2VgdD-LmWMECI718B7ZOonL_-s0LeuMvhvQyhPlHioQj5Dt0UNEv8FymYCaIWRlce/s1600/mausoleum_of_halicarnassus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpjPXlm9DoKGw8gXhSxsUDhFY729_ioe42KkjbCXs6dFx7nVm1uJBsz1bSUgvA19cVEaGjMp2fTl2VgdD-LmWMECI718B7ZOonL_-s0LeuMvhvQyhPlHioQj5Dt0UNEv8FymYCaIWRlce/s640/mausoleum_of_halicarnassus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Washington, DC, USA was designed to be a replica of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. </td></tr>
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<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/halicarnassus-mausoleum-pt-2-ethnicity.html">» Also see Ethnicity of Artemisia, Amazons & Carians</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-84990136960807914772015-07-08T04:29:00.001-07:002015-07-09T00:23:34.074-07:00Ethnicity of Amazons, Artemisia & Carians. Clues Through Attire<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="rockreliefs"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ethnic Clues in Amazon & Other Imagery</span><br />
Greco-Roman artists and sculptors depicted the ethnicity of their Iranian/Persian by the subjects' attire and the armaments they carried. The various depictions did not necessarily have all the ethnic elements. Rather, they had a sufficient number of elements to allow a viewer to make the identification. It is quite likely that neither the artists or their clients had any concept of the diversity of the different Aryan ('Persian') groups and their respective attire. A standardized set of readily recognizable design elements would have been necessary once a tradition was established. Greek soldiers were often depicted nude while the Aryans (Iranians/Persians/Amazons) were invariably clothed.<br />
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The distinguishing features of Aryan/Iranian (commonly called 'Persian') subjects are:<br />
- a so-called (felt) 'Phrygian' cap;<br />
- a flowing or static cape (often patterned);<br />
- a tunic (often patterned and sleeved);<br />
- leggings (often patterned);<br />
- shoes (often designed and colourful), and<br />
- a crescent-topped shield.<br />
<br />
In studying the images below, we can see that the Amazons are depicted as 'Persians' (Aryans).<br />
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[Also see our pages on <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/04/herodotus-on-persian-attire-perseus.html">» Herodotus on Persian Attire.</a> & <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/halicarnassus-mausoleum-its.html">» Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels</a>.]<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Scenes Depicting Amazon Attire & Armaments</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8ohFJSgwWM3LnIhM7PxpkHb4depJdB4QScK4L5TFngA5_OqR5gOmYtIMzX4MHZHU6_HNpmZI-YsooI4bvZmwYWLWhDrONkUlhbPGcY7LX9x4G3vOsixtG8aa8hD1wVRq6ZeU5UGb85/s1600/Amazonomachy+Halicarnassus+BrMuseum+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8ohFJSgwWM3LnIhM7PxpkHb4depJdB4QScK4L5TFngA5_OqR5gOmYtIMzX4MHZHU6_HNpmZI-YsooI4bvZmwYWLWhDrONkUlhbPGcY7LX9x4G3vOsixtG8aa8hD1wVRq6ZeU5UGb85/s640/Amazonomachy+Halicarnassus+BrMuseum+Wikipedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazonomachy scene: An Amazon woman warrior (left) doing battle with a Greek on a frieze (decorative band that runs the length of a building's wall) from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum and now at the British Museum. Note the Amazon has a<br />
'Phrygian' cap, flowing cape and a crescent-topped shield (edges here). Image credit: Wikipedia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UAe4e7sCWFaCFj3p0E4o7FEBAcJuNAr-UUBBIaL4-sWt04dhCQR3Bjh1cyUe3vlFIdxKQtndTKGlQQJtxaf8AdFcHUhD90-vZxF9Rdg0dKb4o-ZsmKCqaLXLbU3KQNnwVmMtlo4-xlo1/s1600/Amazonomachy_Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UAe4e7sCWFaCFj3p0E4o7FEBAcJuNAr-UUBBIaL4-sWt04dhCQR3Bjh1cyUe3vlFIdxKQtndTKGlQQJtxaf8AdFcHUhD90-vZxF9Rdg0dKb4o-ZsmKCqaLXLbU3KQNnwVmMtlo4-xlo1/s640/Amazonomachy_Wikipedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazonomachy scene on a lekythos (oil vase) like the Darius Vase c.420 BCE attributed to the so-called Eretria Painter<br />
Patterned leggings and short tunics together with crescent shaped shields were considered as 'Persian'.<br />
Image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazonomachy_Met_31.11.13.jpg">Wikimedia</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Roman Concept of the Zoroastrian Magi's Attire</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFBzd3ZbZRqfHgPJpduUAF69QFR2OF6LuGsrdnyXmPUuPyFqeWrnku-JNQJ3JUvy3xVlUpm0X5bl-7_GKNFMdwFKnfBXDCG5RodJrGShMbEBDySLLJAdNOkYElRhxiofUFNJz4WjTT265/s1600/565+CE+Ravenna+Italy+Wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFBzd3ZbZRqfHgPJpduUAF69QFR2OF6LuGsrdnyXmPUuPyFqeWrnku-JNQJ3JUvy3xVlUpm0X5bl-7_GKNFMdwFKnfBXDCG5RodJrGShMbEBDySLLJAdNOkYElRhxiofUFNJz4WjTT265/s640/565+CE+Ravenna+Italy+Wiki.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c. 565 CE mosaic in Byzantine style depicting the Magi in Persian attire with so-called Phrygian caps (also seen on Mithraic images), belted tunics and leggings, at the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy. Image credit: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaN0z3Q3ODDyOMyrtisRL9RgrGNxEitgGO2pQi8ONMBFHS-fRAfLpo42jj0FGHl-MytsDTWEwZAtVw-6zZ5o5dLqypYruNWc3KFj6J5G-pxSU7GuuhJsISVpHM6qYTwaN_Vp7dGViV2v0L/s1600/incised+sarcophagus+slab+Rome+catacomb+3+cent+CE+plaster+cast+incision+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaN0z3Q3ODDyOMyrtisRL9RgrGNxEitgGO2pQi8ONMBFHS-fRAfLpo42jj0FGHl-MytsDTWEwZAtVw-6zZ5o5dLqypYruNWc3KFj6J5G-pxSU7GuuhJsISVpHM6qYTwaN_Vp7dGViV2v0L/s640/incised+sarcophagus+slab+Rome+catacomb+3+cent+CE+plaster+cast+incision+edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd cent CE plaster cast sarcophagus slab with a coloured incised image of three Magi bearing gifts. From Priscilla catacomb under via Severa, Rome. </td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mithraic Scene Showing Mithra Wearing 'Persian'(Aryan/Iranian) Attire</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkh0AXion69Cqm1naFua9gFIvreIYPvCUZY5mILM3Mml0SZOA3COXAvigElBm00s8K2agvkRrn_K2PwIKSgAv48h-46qccLonNkt_mvvxKG_1yPyh05GqpxPaTL4j9qzPr5kpEj3D0i47/s1600/Romano+relief+2.+2-3+cent+CE.+Lourve.+Wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkh0AXion69Cqm1naFua9gFIvreIYPvCUZY5mILM3Mml0SZOA3COXAvigElBm00s8K2agvkRrn_K2PwIKSgAv48h-46qccLonNkt_mvvxKG_1yPyh05GqpxPaTL4j9qzPr5kpEj3D0i47/s640/Romano+relief+2.+2-3+cent+CE.+Lourve.+Wiki.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mithraic altar scene. Side 1 of a two-sided white marble relief. Mithra in a tauroctony scene. 2nd-3rd cent. CE. Discovered near Fiano Romano, near Rome, Italy in 1926. Currently in the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Image credit: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mithraic Scene Showing Attire, Barsom & Farr (Halo with Sun's Rays)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhyphenhyphen_a23of8cPzYzV3eoOJYWQNBz-pxBbM6qEUse-vpxSQc0Da3W9c8wMjervFSr-qu5FAykH3phJEFJPUm8Fd624WXUnOk53cXt8Mm-Wloyxp-2pGl3Kd2zYth02tcCXaNlMfhSBDKmNO/s1600/mithraic_banquet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhyphenhyphen_a23of8cPzYzV3eoOJYWQNBz-pxBbM6qEUse-vpxSQc0Da3W9c8wMjervFSr-qu5FAykH3phJEFJPUm8Fd624WXUnOk53cXt8Mm-Wloyxp-2pGl3Kd2zYth02tcCXaNlMfhSBDKmNO/s640/mithraic_banquet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mithraic altar scene. Side 2 of the two-sided white marble relief shown above. Personified Sun is at the top-center flanked by the Moon and Mithra. Three of the figures have so-called 'Phrygian' caps and 'Persian' attire - Mithra & the two figures below (priests/Magi?). The three & the deified Sun have Magian barsoms (stick bundles) in the hands. Image credit: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Persian Sasanid Era Scene Showing Later Persian Attire, Barsom & Farr (Halo with Sun's Rays)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSDiOmX3U81digOKdPxXwT36R-gk8NXfrH3WCb8wvU2iAgj4jUOsqVNQ-LH4zGSvRl35HN7W591V9mMaArMFudY0PAhZn5neM3WqO6J3LPhfwCWIQI2AIONUEP6Zk1JD6fiKrlw90_Aiy/s1600/Sasanid+at+Tag-e+Bostan+Alieh+Saadatpour+at+Flickr+COM+CC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSDiOmX3U81digOKdPxXwT36R-gk8NXfrH3WCb8wvU2iAgj4jUOsqVNQ-LH4zGSvRl35HN7W591V9mMaArMFudY0PAhZn5neM3WqO6J3LPhfwCWIQI2AIONUEP6Zk1JD6fiKrlw90_Aiy/s640/Sasanid+at+Tag-e+Bostan+Alieh+Saadatpour+at+Flickr+COM+CC.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Investiture of Persian-Zoroastrian-Sassanian King Ardeshir II (r. 379-383 CE, center image). Rock relief at Taq-e Bostan, Kermanshah, Iran. The image of the left figure including his clothing has become a model for Zarathushtra’s modern portraits. Compare this image to that of the personified Sun in the Mithraic image above. Both hold a barsom in their hands and both have a sun-shine (khur-sheed)-like farr emanating from their heads. Image credit: Alieh Saadatpour at Flickr. </td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="3"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Images of the Magi or Magi-like Individuals from East (Bactria) to West of Aryana (Iran &</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Asia Minor) Showing Attire & Barsom</span></b></td></tr>
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<td><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1en; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj_9rzMnDMeK9kDAltg46VETX6QfQTSgoDmcnOHg8I94839Pe3e8GhS-Hig30Op0iYzrH-jJuJbFL82ZSLe9ndtFtFjRZ-LP2ABTRZg5E1CFuTryE2NrDfA0r8vdQfzF5KhvlgwTvQPgN/s1600/Magian+with+barsom+-+Oxus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj_9rzMnDMeK9kDAltg46VETX6QfQTSgoDmcnOHg8I94839Pe3e8GhS-Hig30Op0iYzrH-jJuJbFL82ZSLe9ndtFtFjRZ-LP2ABTRZg5E1CFuTryE2NrDfA0r8vdQfzF5KhvlgwTvQPgN/s400/Magian+with+barsom+-+Oxus.jpg" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man holding a barsom from the Oxus treasures. Note the limp felt-like head-covering, tunic and trousers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGDTTqwvm_d-DGDHGqD0hPZDBuvLZBrnC1zN7-erc8iZ6ANLaOGQWK99iBUdnrbXTd5DSyPejjG3gCFEyONXqOpSrkGHqQ3VqK4NUtpmY6Gt6tVbmRuKev7vEQZDFSv1CiZPUTSCeKYdC/s1600/MagusEdit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGDTTqwvm_d-DGDHGqD0hPZDBuvLZBrnC1zN7-erc8iZ6ANLaOGQWK99iBUdnrbXTd5DSyPejjG3gCFEyONXqOpSrkGHqQ3VqK4NUtpmY6Gt6tVbmRuKev7vEQZDFSv1CiZPUTSCeKYdC/s400/MagusEdit.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoroastrian Magus holding a barsom and haoma cup. Rock carving at Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQudlU8XooEnl4nzcSNprdD-hPyKb0HrAWFIstgvS1dwNxF_a7nLAUNIs_hp0TLFEXSzqdI03To4YnqL6qvZgVMkuwVH8yXcAHpaiMqZGxETyFopneOAHozaY3blgKWtm3oBvT2yr2jTxd/s1600/Dukkan-e+Daud+Kurdistan+Magus+relief.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQudlU8XooEnl4nzcSNprdD-hPyKb0HrAWFIstgvS1dwNxF_a7nLAUNIs_hp0TLFEXSzqdI03To4YnqL6qvZgVMkuwVH8yXcAHpaiMqZGxETyFopneOAHozaY3blgKWtm3oBvT2yr2jTxd/s400/Dukkan-e+Daud+Kurdistan+Magus+relief.JPG" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoroastrian Magus holding a barsom (and haoma cup?). Rocking carving at Dukkan-e Daud near Sar-e Pol Zahab, Kurdistan, Iran.</td></tr>
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Note that the two images of Zoroastrian Magi at Turkey and Kurdistan, Iran are almost identical.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="mausolus"></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ethnic Clues in the Name Artemisia</span><br />
Mausolus' wife Artemisia was the second Carian woman of note with that name. About a hundred and fifty years prior, around 480 BCE, another 'queen' of Caria named Artemisia served Persian King Xerxes the Great and fought against the Greeks as an admiral of her own fleet. The two Artemisias appear to be from different parts of Caria.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Artemisia from Arta?</span></b>: Regarding the name Artemisia, Charles Anthon in his <i>Classical Dictionary</i> [(New York, 1855) under "Artemis" p. 210] notes that the root of the name 'Artemisia' is probably of Persian origin from 'Arta' [i.e., 'Asha' meaning 'cosmic order' and 'righteous' in Zoroastrianism]. Arta, the Old Persian derivative of the Avestan Asha, was a fairly popular root word for both male and female Zoroastrian-Aryan names. Xenophon in his Annabasis (at 7.8.25) mentions a satrap of Lydia named Artemas and a Achaemenid king was named Artaxerxes.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Arta-ean, Original Name of Persia</span></b>: Herodotus in his <i>Histories</i> at 7.61.2 states that the Persians "they called themselves and were called by their neighbours" <b><i>Ἀρταῖοι/Artaíoi</i></b>, which transcribes to English as <b>Artaeans</b>, i.e., the people of Arta. We wonder if by 'Arta' Herodotus meant 'Arya'/'Aria' as he has noted (in 7.62.1) that the Medians were previously called Arioi and the Achaemenid kings stress their Aryan heritage in their inscriptions.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Artemisia Considered by Greeks as Persian?</span></b>: Second century CE Greek geographer Pausanias notes in the section titled 'Laconia' in his work <i>Description of Greece</i> (at 3.11.3) that, "The most striking feature in the marketplace (of Sparta) is the portico which they call Persian ...it is large and splendid. On the pillars are white-marble figures of Persians, including Mardonius, son of Gobryas. There is also a figure of Artemisia (I), daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Halicarnassus." It is noteworthy that the Spartans would memorialize Persians in this manner and that Artemisia statue is placed among those of notable Persians.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Persian General Mardoniye (Mardonius)</span></b>: On his part, Mardonius (Persian, Mardon/Mardoniye who died 479 BCE) was the Persian military commander under King Darius the Great. In response to a series of Greek insurrections, In 492 BCE, Mardonius led an expedition that brought Thrace and Macedon back under the Persian Empire. Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted Darius in gaining the Persian throne. Mardonius married Darius' daughter Artazostra, another Zoroastrian name with 'Arta'.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Arzawa from Artava/Artavan?</span></b>: The name of the western region of Asia Minor during the Hittite era was Arzawa, a name that coincidentally or otherwise, is close to the Zoroastrian-Persian name Artavan and not too far from 'Aryana'.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ethnicity"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ethnicity of Carians</span><br />
There are two traditions regarding the ethnicity of Carians - both in Herodotus' Histories. One is that the Carians are the aboriginal peoples of Asia Minor. The other that they are descendants of Greek invaders and settlers. Both traditions can hold true with the aboriginal descendants occupying the inland regions of Caria while the coastal regions may have had mixed populations. The coastal regions of western Asia Minor also appear to have been Hellenized significantly in language, religion and culture in general. Despite this outward Hellenization, the Carians appear to have maintained significant elements of their aboriginal culture.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="aboriginal"></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">1. Aboriginal Carians</span></b><br />
Herodotus' <i>Histories</i> at 1.171 (tr. Rawlinson): "the Carians themselves say very differently. They maintain that they are the aboriginal inhabitants of the part of the mainland where they now dwell, and never had any other name than that which they still bear...." As we had noted above, 'Caria' is the westernized version of the name known to the Persians as Karka and to the Phoenicians as Karak. In Hittite inscriptions from 1800 to 1200 BCE we find mention of a chiefdom called Karkisa or Karkiya.<br />
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Homer's listing of combatants in the Trojan War in his <i>Iliad</i> otherwise known as the Trojan Catalogue or Trojan Battle Order (<i>Iliad</i> lines 815-875), notes that the Carians are speakers of a barbarian tongue (Il. 867).<br />
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The native people of Asia Minor included the Hittites and the Mittani, both with Irano-N. Indian (Aryan) connections. The Mittani in particular could be a mainstream Aryan group. The territorial control of both groups at their greatest extent extended to the west coast of Asia Minor.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="hellenized"></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">2. Hellenized Carians & Ethnic Cleansing</span></b><br />
As we note on <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html#occupation">our page Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor</a>, "A citizen of Caria himself, Herodotus records in his <i>Histories</i> (at 1.145-6) that when the Ionians (previously Aegialians from European Hellenica) from the Peloponnese - the peninsula now part of southern Greece - were displaced by the invading Achaeans, they fled to Asia. Rawlinson's translation states, "Even those who came from the Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls whose fathers they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them, "That none should ever sit and eat with her husband, or call him by his name"; because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and then forced them to become their wives. It was at <b>Miletus</b> [just north of Herodotus' hometown Halicarnassus] that these events took place." What we read here that Miletus in Caria was one of the earliest Greek settlements and that in those parts of coastal Caria that the displaced Ionians seized, the Ionians massacred the aboriginal Carian men and then bred with the aboriginal Carian women - a form of 'ethnic cleansing' that when repeated in other centers, quickly Hellenized the west coast of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, the subsequent generations of Ionians therefore had no claim to be pure 'Greeks' (if we may use that term). Not only did the invading Ionians ethically cleanse Caria, they culturally cleansed it as well, with Greek becoming the lingua-franca of the region." <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html#occupation">See the entry for further details</a>.<br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-30527538366791746222015-07-08T00:00:00.001-07:002015-07-08T00:00:24.983-07:00Arteans: Persian's Native Name. Persians, Perses, Perseus & Cephenes<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Artaeans: Persians' Native Name & Cephenes</span><br />
Herodotus <i>Histories</i> (7.61.2):<br />
<b>Translation by George Rawlinson</b>: "...This people was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of <b>Cephenians</b>; but they called themselves and were called by their neighbours, <b>Artaeans</b>."<br />
<b>Translation by A. D. Godley</b>: "...They were formerly called by the Greeks <b>Cephenes</b>, but by themselves and their neighbours <b>Artaei</b>."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Greek</span></b>: καὶ ἄρχοντα παρείχοντο Ὀτάνεα τὸν Ἀμήστριος πατέρα τῆς Ξέρξεω γυναικός, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ πάλαι ὑπὸ μὲν Ἑλλήνων <b>Κηφῆνες</b>, ὑπὸ μέντοι σφέων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν περιοίκων <b>Ἀρταῖοι</b>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Transcription</span></b>: <i>kaí árchonta pareíchonto Otánea tón Amí̱strios patéra tí̱s Xérxeo̱ gynaikós, ekaléonto dé pálai ypó mén Ellí̱no̱n <b>Ki̱fí̱nes</b>, ypó méntoi sféo̱n a̓f̱tó̱n kaí tó̱n perioíko̱n <b>Artaíoi</b>.</i>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Notes</span></b> (Reginald Walter Macan) at <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+7.61&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126#note1">Perseus</a>:<br />
<b>Κηφῆνες</b>: Strabo 42 οἱ δὲ πλάττοντες Ἐρεμβοὺς ἴδιόν τι ἔθνος Αἰθιοπικὸν καὶ ἄλλο Κηφήνων καὶ τρίτον Πυγμαίων καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἦττον ἂν πιστεύοιντο, πρὸς τῷ μὴ άξιοπίστῳ καὶ σύγχυσίν τινα ἐμφαίνοντες τοῦ μυθικοῦ καὶ ἱστορικοῦ σχήματος. The ‘<b>Kephenes</b>’ (Cephenes) are here not in very good company. Andromeda is the daughter of Kepheus (c. 150 infra), and the ‘Kephenes’ are no doubt (as with Ovid, Metamorph. 5. 1, 97) the followers of Kepheus (or Kepheus is eponym of the Kephenes, irregularly, for why not Kepheioi, or Kephen?). Further items in the mythical pedigree are set forth c. 150 infra, 6. 53, 54 (cp. my notes ad ll.) and 1. 7. The pedigree here assumed does not, however, expressly contradict that in 1. 7 (as Stein suggests) but rather that in 6. 53. Rawlinson can discern “no ray of truth in the fables respecting Perseus”*; Blakesley observes that Hdt. is here drawing “not from Persian but from Greek sources” (Hekataios? cp. Introduction, § 10). Stein well explains all Hdt. means as being that the Kephenes known to old Greek story are to be identified with the people now known as Persians. Kepheus, however, certainly does not represent ‘Assyria’ (Ninos) any more than Babylonia (Belos): but why not the primitive, pre-Phoenician inhabitants of Canaan? (or Elam?) Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη has οἱ Ἔλληνες κακῶς φασιν: ἀφ᾽ οὖ Κηφῆνες οἱ Αἰθίοπες (i.e. ‘eastern Aethiopians’): again, sub v. Χαλδαῖοι: οἱ πρὸτερον Κηφῆνες. The authority for this was Hellanikos, in the first Book of his Persica, who thus differed from Hdt. on the point.<br />
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<b>Ἀρταῖοι</b> (Artaíoi) has a genuine ring about it, from its obvious connexion with arta — ἔσχε, ‘had to wife.’<br />
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αὐτοῦ, ‘on the spot’: but where was it? The Perseus-Andromeda myth laid the scene in Phoenicia (Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη), or perhaps in Babylon (Hellanikos?). The vagueness here is necessary, Hdt. not having courage to lay the scene actually in Persia.which appears in many Persian names: Artaios itself as a proper name cc. 22 supra, 66, 117 infra, and in the Ktesian list of Median kings (cp. Gilmore, Ktesias, p. 92). The most valuable gloss on the name is in Steph. Byz. Ἀρταῖα: Περσικὴ χώρα, τὴν ἐπόλισε Περσεύς (sic), ὸ Περσὲως καὶ Ἀνδρομέδας: Ἑλλάνικος ἐν Περσικῶν πρώτῃ. οἱ οἰκοῦντες Ἀρταῖοι. Ἀρταίοὺς δὲ Πέρσαι ὤσπερ οι<*> Ἔλληνες τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἥρωας καλοῦσι, κτλ. This article shows a source common to Hdt. and Hellanikos. Rawlinson's “most probable account” of the word, connecting it with Afarti, “which is not an Arian name at all,” seems far-fetched. Ed. Meyer (ap. Pauly-Wissowa ii. 1303) sees in it a distortion of the ‘Arian’ name itself.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Persians from Perses</span><br />
Herodotus <i>Histories</i> (7.61.3):<br />
<b>Translation by George Rawlinson</b>: "It was not till Perseus, the son of Jove and Danae, visited Cepheus the son of Belus, and, marrying his daughter Andromeda, had by her a son called Perses (whom he left behind him in the country because Cepheus had no male offspring), that the nation took from this Perses the name of Persians."<br />
<b>Translation by A. D. Godley</b>: "When Perseus son of Danae and Zeus had come to Cepheus son of Belus and married his daughter Andromeda, a son was born to him whom he called Perses, and he left him there; for Cepheus had no male offspring; it was from this Perses that the Persians took their name."<br />
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Godley's notes: Herodotus is always prone to base ethnological conclusions on Greek legends and the similarity of names; so in the next chapter Medea supplies the name of the Medes. But it is strange that Perseus, being commonly held great-grandfather of Heracles, is here made to marry the granddaughter of Belus, who in Hdt. 1.7, is Heracles' grandson.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Greek</span></b>: ἐπεὶ δὲ Περσεὺς ὁ Δανάης τε καὶ Διὸς ἀπίκετο παρὰ Κηφέα τὸν Βήλου καὶ ἔσχε αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα Ἀνδρομέδην, γίνεται αὐτῷ παῖς τῷ οὔνομα ἔθετο Πέρσην, τοῦτον δὲ αὐτοῦ καταλείπει: ἐτύγχανε γὰρ ἄπαις ἐὼν ὁ Κηφεὺς ἔρσενος γόνου. ἐπὶ τούτου δὴ τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ἔσχον.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Transcription</span></b>: <i>epeí dé Persèf̱s o Danái̱s te kaí Diós apíketo pará Ki̱féa tón Ví̱lou kaí ésche a̓f̱toú tí̱n thygatéra Andromédi̱n, gínetai a̓f̱tó̱ país tó̱ oúnoma étheto Pérsi̱n, toúton dé a̓f̱toú kataleípei:̱ etýnchane gár ápais eó̱n o Ki̱fèf̱s érsenos gónou. epí toútou dí̱ tí̱n epo̱nymíi̱n éschon</i>.<br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-77899699535380452992015-07-05T04:08:00.001-07:002019-02-05T12:18:23.723-08:00Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)Suggested prior reading:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/kurdish-origins-saka-pt-1-credibility.html">» Kurdish Origins & the Saka. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/herodotus-references-to-saka.html">» Herodotus' References to the Saka</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/saka/index.htm">» Saka (& Scythians)</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sakkez"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Harmatta's Claim: 'Scythian' Connection</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUBw35WKsORPGGI6VRNYIzYIpsWXh0dCWVP8A1n7c7wnhIO6hq9gNT-dt9Q2VdaP5jdz6Mylwx_yFuG6_1BzeXO_CeCPvpkyhZTNgyzqFeYdhLEI4rNiuMdSiMEfNJSlHM-M0yLel4JIL/s1600/Sakkez+dish+-+trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUBw35WKsORPGGI6VRNYIzYIpsWXh0dCWVP8A1n7c7wnhIO6hq9gNT-dt9Q2VdaP5jdz6Mylwx_yFuG6_1BzeXO_CeCPvpkyhZTNgyzqFeYdhLEI4rNiuMdSiMEfNJSlHM-M0yLel4JIL/s320/Sakkez+dish+-+trim.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dish found at Sakkez/Saqqez, Iranian Kurdistan.</td></tr>
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J. Harmatta in his article 'Herodotus, historian of the Cimmerians and the Scythians' at <i><a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=3eg9RJLn2x4C&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=harmatta+herodotus+historian+of+the+cimmerians+and+the+scythians+h%C3%A9rodote+et+les+peuples+non+grecs&source=bl&ots=hZWVqn69jX&sig=lvhR79vSyDTQZPwplACyKWLV1CA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DAOZVYq4EM-yogTUnoCoAQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=harmatta%20herodotus%20historian%20of%20the%20cimmerians%20and%20the%20scythians%20h%C3%A9rodote%20et%20les%20peuples%20non%20grecs&f=false">Hérodote et les peuples non grecs</a></i> (Genève, 1990, pp. 123–126) provides his translation and analysis of an inscription in Hieroglyphic Luwian (33 characters)/<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm">Hittite</a> (15 characters) incised on a silver dish fragment found at a "rich" burial site uncovered at Sakkez (Ziwiye) in Iranian <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/index.htm#kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> south of <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/urmia/index.htm#urmia">Lake Urmia</a>.<br />
<br />
The inscription and Harmatta's translation are as follows:<br />
<b>Transliteration:</b> "<i>patinasana tapa wasnam XL waswaski XXX arstim shkarkar (HA) harsta lugal. partita tawa kisaa kurupati quwaa. ipasam</i>"<br />
<b>Transcription:</b> "<i>patinasana tapa vasnam 40 vasaka 30 arzatam shikar. uta harsta khshayal. partitava khshaya dahyuupati khva ipashyam</i>"<br />
<b>Translation:</b> "Delivered dish. Value: 40 calves 30 silver shiqlu. And it was presented to the king. King Partitavas, the masters of the land property."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIRGObfvobxG8MINixBMcPcdNdvKjF7vt12WGI4DNEoXWIuHV4c7CJ01ndywnKh-MFJzHpNbCHzsqCSK5mONQoPZmr3YDbHrboWBmX1DkLzlZFx3u0S4esp6i14W511UV5BCsqN9NRf9y/s1600/Anatolian_Seal_of_Tarkummuwa_King_of_Mera-Walters+Lg+-+Trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIRGObfvobxG8MINixBMcPcdNdvKjF7vt12WGI4DNEoXWIuHV4c7CJ01ndywnKh-MFJzHpNbCHzsqCSK5mONQoPZmr3YDbHrboWBmX1DkLzlZFx3u0S4esp6i14W511UV5BCsqN9NRf9y/s320/Anatolian_Seal_of_Tarkummuwa_King_of_Mera-Walters+Lg+-+Trim.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c. 1400 BCE Hittite Seal of Tarkummuwa King of Mera with<br />
Hittite hieroglyphs text in the inner circle and in cuneiform<br />
around the rim. Image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anatolian_-_Seal_of_Tarkummuwa,_King_of_Mera_-_Walters_571512.jpg">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Harmatta deduces that the name 'Partita' translates as 'Partitavas'. Earlier in his article, he informed us that the Scythian name 'Protothyes' ("who liberated Ninua from the siege of the Medes" according to Herodotus) is the same as the personage named 'Partatua' on Assyrian texts. From this Harmatta concludes, "Obviously, this inscription represents an administrative record prepared in the court or in the chancellery of the Scythian king Partatua of the Assyrian texts, the Protothyes of the Greek sources, the master of the land of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannaeans">Mannai</a>* in the 7th century BCE." This is quite a dramatic conclusion and a leap considering it is the only such inscription found in the region and one limited to 48 characters. We find the equating of homonyms and then planting the label 'Scythian' based on Herodotus' vague notion of Scythians as problematic. [*Mannai/Manna = approx. S. Azerbaijan/S. Lake Urmia today. See our map at <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/index.htm#tigriseuphrates">Ranghaya, Upper Tigris-Euphrates Basin</a>.]<br />
<br />
The stitching together of similar sounding words would be similar to us stating that 3=8=6 (by slightly manipulating, adding or subtracting minor lines). Even if the names equate, we don't have any evidence they refer to the same person. We will have to await far more evidence for us to accept Harmatta's conclusions. However, if the transliteration of the text is correct, then the word endings 'ita', 'pati' and 'asam' are identifiable Old Irano-N. Indian word endings and there is no need at this stage to further extrapolate, speculate and build a fantastic and implausible construct on such meagre evidence.<br />
<br />
Harmatta goes on to state, "The Iranian character of the language used in the inscription cannot be mistaken: it is Old Iranian." Harmatta seems to imply that the language of the 'Scythians' was Old Iranian. If so, Harmatta is likely referring to the Eastern Aryan (Iranian) Saka and not the language of European Scythians.<br />
<br />
Harmatta concludes by stating, "Thus the inscription of Sakkez fully verifies the narrative of Herodotus on the Scythian king Partatua-Protothyes...." At the end of it all, Harmatta's contention is that the Sakas (who he calls 'Scythian' in the fashion of other European writers) of the <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/index.htm">Ranghaya</a>-<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/mitanni.htm">Mitanni</a>-<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/medians/index.htm">Media</a>-<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/index.htm#kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> region adapted the Luwian and <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm">Hittite</a> scripts of Asia Minor in order "to write their own Old (Saka) Iranian language." [Regrettably, Harmatta does not provide a dating for the plate though he indirectly refers to the 7th century BCE when King Partitavas was "master of the land Mannai".]<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sakkez"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Are the Kurds Descendants of the Saka ('Scythians' sic)?</span><br />
It would also be hasty to surmize from this single inscription that the Kurds have Saka origins as some participants in online discussion groups on the net have done. Given that we find that modern Kurdistan stands where <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/index.htm">Ranghaya</a>, the <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/airyanavaeja.htm#avesta">sixteenth Aryan nation of the Zoroastrian scriptures', the <i>Avesta</i>'s, book of <i>Vendidad</i></a> stood, as also where the later kingdoms of <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/mitanni.htm">Mitanni</a> and <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/medians/index.htm">Media</a> stood, the Kurds are likely descendants of a branch of the mainstream Aryan family: the Mitanni anciently and later the Medes. This does not exclude the possibility of a mixing of the original Aryan migrants with Saka-Aryan elements who could have migrated to the same or adjacent lands. Also see our page on the <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/index.htm">Aryans</a>.]<br />
<br />
What the inscription does demonstrate is yet another added clue to the close cultural connection between Asia Minor, the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia (via Old Iranian). <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="script"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Luwian-Hittite Inscription Script</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jyb_8D7LxYcYumAK2_jwEhZkqgaUk8FeDFZtW9kL6z772tQmPEM_UutdFnMzPI4YnPnyWJ8PPOvwuR94n58nLU3ktpH_ugPJsutlaPCxH7S1OouSpUHaXXXIb7ILcHSLrUxFNF00gsf8/s1600/Inscription+using+Hieroglyphic+Hittite+Luwian+Sakkez+Kurdistan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jyb_8D7LxYcYumAK2_jwEhZkqgaUk8FeDFZtW9kL6z772tQmPEM_UutdFnMzPI4YnPnyWJ8PPOvwuR94n58nLU3ktpH_ugPJsutlaPCxH7S1OouSpUHaXXXIb7ILcHSLrUxFNF00gsf8/s640/Inscription+using+Hieroglyphic+Hittite+Luwian+Sakkez+Kurdistan.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luwian-Hittite hieroglyphic script characters of the type used on the Sakkez/Saqqez, Iranian Kurdistan plate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Harmatta remarks that while there are some similarities in the script with Luwian/Hittite, the two alphabets are not identical. Harmatta also notes that the plate was found together with "some pieces decorated in Scythian animal style." We also note that the use of the Luwian/Hittite script for writing an Old Iranian dialect does not in itself indicate a connection between the Luwian or Hittite languages and Old Iranian. [Also see <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html">Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor</a>.]<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="languages"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Luwian-Hittite Languages</span><br />
The Luwian language was spoken across western Asia Minor including Arzawa,Troy, the Seha River Lands and lands now in northern Syria (cf. western Kurdish lands). The name 'Arzawa' gave way to 'Luwiya', the forerunner of the name 'Lydia'. From the 14th century BCE, Luwian became the majority language in Hattusa, the <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm">Hittite</a> capital. The Luwian language, while still linked to the Central Asia based quasi-Aryan languages, does not appear to be as close to Old Iranian as the language of the Sakkez/Saqqez plate inscription. It does seem that the further from the Central Asian center the Aryans migrated, the less connected was their language with Old Iranian. Local languages and possibly even Greek may have mingled to produce what became the Hittite language. We again caution the reader that the use of the same script, or parts, in different artifacts does not imply that the same language is being used.<br />
<br />
The Lydian, Carian and Lycian languages belonged to the Hittite-Luwian subfamily of languages.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="hittites"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Mitanni & Hittites of Asia Minor - an Introduction</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWuC8uRXFWEI5_NeFu3nd3qyrEMQfQQx61pQZtwX7_lUCKYBS5NAUghMBdFKsCXqOlFDnYqcWv26as7SSh67dIKzMx0JqXUxOD2fR08cZlaPWjKQQznuwJI09XuJ0_KtG9XqV2yO2Z4Rn/s1600/Near_East_1400_BCE+Wikipedia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWuC8uRXFWEI5_NeFu3nd3qyrEMQfQQx61pQZtwX7_lUCKYBS5NAUghMBdFKsCXqOlFDnYqcWv26as7SSh67dIKzMx0JqXUxOD2fR08cZlaPWjKQQznuwJI09XuJ0_KtG9XqV2yO2Z4Rn/s640/Near_East_1400_BCE+Wikipedia.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lands of Mitanni and Hatti (Hittite). Assuwa/Arzawa was part of the greater Hittite lands. Image credit: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Mitanni dynasty ruled over the northern Euphrates-Tigris region between c.1475 and c.1275 BCE. The Mitanni were an Irano-N. Indian Aryan dynasty that ruled in the land of the Hurrians located in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin - land that is now part of northern Iraq, Syria and south-eastern Turkey and, which coincides quite well with the Kurdish lands of today. While the Mitanni kings were Aryans, they used the local language Hurrian, leaving us to question to what extent the population they governed were Mitanni. Very little evidence exists of the Mitanni after 1275 BCE when their lands appear to have been divided and absorbed into Hittite Hatti and Assyria (reminiscent of the manner in which the Kurds have been dispersed today).<br />
<br />
The Hittites were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c. 700 BCE. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine. <br />
<br />
A c.1380 BCE treaty between the royal houses of the Hittites and the Mitanni acknowledge various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra together with names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots. Name beginnings with 'Arta' are rooted in Aryan-Zoroastrian tradition. The Mitanni and Hittites appear on the historical stage in the Upper Euphrates basin, the Hittites to the north of the Euphrates and the Mitanni to the south. At different periods, they were allies or rivals and in any event, their royal houses behaved as kin.<br />
<br />
The land of the Hittites was called Katpatuka (Cappadocia) during Persian Achaemenid times (c. 675 to 330 BCE). Strabo in the first century CE noted that the Magi (Zoroastrian priests) of Cappadocia “...have Pyraetheia (fire-houses), noteworthy enclosures...” the first record of priestly Zoroastrian fire temples (the general population, even royalty, worshipped in the open and on hilltops). The Hittite lands of Hatti could have formed the western extent of Ranghaya, the sixteenth and last Aryan land in the Vendidad – the last land mentioned before the Avestan canon was closed. <br />
<br />
Also see:<br />
» <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/mitanni.htm">Mitanni</a><br />
» <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm">Hittites</a><br />
» <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/suppiluliuma_shattiwaza_treaty.htm">Mitanni-Hittite Treaty</a><br />
» <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/ancient-westernmost-asia-minor.html">Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor</a>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0VouWl2p3bRFoxHgPQ0a5pfaY3Kw1Ub4exQSqW36fABk3uNSw8OibkU-kXEtWXRqwFurUCome_ZLXctacj1o0SDHLio0ZADQzLYuS_ganSG21PR4PP-QCwzhcXEuRN5AkPPfOO0c5mJM/s1600/asia_minor+Greek+Roman+-+Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0VouWl2p3bRFoxHgPQ0a5pfaY3Kw1Ub4exQSqW36fABk3uNSw8OibkU-kXEtWXRqwFurUCome_ZLXctacj1o0SDHLio0ZADQzLYuS_ganSG21PR4PP-QCwzhcXEuRN5AkPPfOO0c5mJM/s640/asia_minor+Greek+Roman+-+Edit.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asia Minor with classical Greco-Roman names.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-71092952899685495532015-07-05T02:50:00.000-07:002019-02-05T10:47:47.787-08:00Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="introduction"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Introduction</span><br />
The westernmost regions of ancient Asia Minor - otherwise known as Anatolia (meaning 'east' or 'rising Sun' in Greek) and today as Turkey - was where Aryana, more commonly known as the Persian Empire, met Hellenic lands. It was the theatre of the start of the Greco-Persian Wars. Below, we introduce the names of the westernmost regions and give a brief timeline of the region's history.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="placenames"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Place Names on the Western Asian Seaboard</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8JG8-FqFVYrHCWaYsPszll0jK3rYNX2yTOvMmeqthBucM9WuzPKMwieE3VmpHLEow3A9Ig8WJU0-rvIySfI6faeVTNgfAJn5VOidk5BDJteTYuiEg6GNGMu346Ykhr67j1Y1FmMQaaCc/s1600/Hitti+lands+largest+extent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8JG8-FqFVYrHCWaYsPszll0jK3rYNX2yTOvMmeqthBucM9WuzPKMwieE3VmpHLEow3A9Ig8WJU0-rvIySfI6faeVTNgfAJn5VOidk5BDJteTYuiEg6GNGMu346Ykhr67j1Y1FmMQaaCc/s640/Hitti+lands+largest+extent.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lands of the Hittites/Hatti.Image credit: <a href="https://suite.io/robert-mcroberts/3qs02z5">Robert Mcroberts</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The following are the Hittite and Greco-Roman based English names of states on the western seaboard of Asia Minor: <br />
- Taruisha (Hittite)/Troad (English)<br />
- Wilusa/Troy<br />
- Seha (River Land)/Mysia<br />
- Arzawa/Lydia, Caria,Phrygia<br />
- Ahhiyawa/Lydia, Caria<br />
- Apasa/Ephesus<br />
- Mira/Phrygia<br />
- Miletus/Milawanda<br />
- Karkija (OP Karka)/Caria<br />
- Lukka/Caria, Lycia<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="chronology"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Chronology of the Region's History</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.1900 to c.1200 BCE: Hittite Era.</span></b> The Hittites - a people with Irano-N. Indian (Aryans) ties - were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c.1200 BCE. Anatolia is otherwise known as Central Asia. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine. Successors of the Hittite called neo-Hittites asserted control over parts of Asia Minor until c. 700 BCE. <br />
<br />
In Hittite annals from 1800 to 1200 BCE, we find mention of the chiefdom of Karkisa/Karkiya (the predecessor to Caria?). In 1274 BCE, Karkisa joined the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians. A shared heritage did not prevent the Hittites, Karkisa and other related groups from fighting against one-another from time to time. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.1200 BCE: Trojan War.</span></b> Writing around the eight century BCE, Hellenic poet Homer noted in the 'Catalogue of Ships' (that consisted of lines 494 to 759 of his epic, the <i>Iliad</i>'s of Book), that Miletus (just north of Halicarnassus and south of Samos that would later become one of the most prosperous Greek settlement in Asia Minor) was inhabited by Carians. Later in Homer's epic (at 2.867ff), we also learn that the Carians and Lydians came to the defence of the Trojans when the latter were attacked by the Greeks. We can reasonably surmize that around 1200 BCE, the Miletians, Carians and Lydians were not Greek but Asians as were the Trojans. (For a further discussion on the ethnicity of the Carians and their Persian-Aryan links, <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-troy-western-realms-of-aryana.html#lydians">see 'Mausolus, Artemisia & Ethnicity'</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.1475 to c.1275 BCE: Mitanni rule.</span></b> Mitanni were an Irano-N. Indian Aryan dynasty that ruled in the land of the Hurrians located in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin - land that is now part of northern Iraq, Syria and south-eastern Turkey and, which coincides quite well with the Kurdish lands of today. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.1380 BCE: Hittite-Mittanni Treaty.</span></b> The treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni royal houses acknowledges various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra. The treaty also contains names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.1200 to c.700 BCE: Neo-Hittite & Greek Occupation era.</span></b> It is estimated by several authors that refugee-invaders from Greece began to aggressively displace and settle the coast of Caria and Lydia after the Trojan War, i.e., between c.1200 and c.1100 BCE.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">c.700 - c.550 BCE: Lydian Rule.</span></b> Around 700 BCE, Lydian king Gyges invaded Smyrna and Miletus. During the reign of Croesus (560–545 BCE), the Ionians and their Grecian cousins, the (Thracian) Aeolians, all became subjects of the Lydians (<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-troy-western-realms-of-aryana.html#lydians">see 'Media & Lydians' in our article 'Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana'</a>). Lydia for its part was allied to, or subject to, the Aryan Medes.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">545-7 BCE: Beginning of Persian Rule.</span></b> In 545 BCE, Persian Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great defeated Lydian king Croesus and Croesus' Milesian subjects accepted (perhaps at the urging of Thales) Cyrus' terms to become part of the Persian Empire. Herodotus in his <i>Histories</i> (at 1.143 tr. Rawlinson) states, "The Milesians had separated from the common cause [of the Greek settlements] solely on account of the extreme weakness of the Ionians: for, feeble as the power of the entire Hellenic race was at that time, of all its tribes the Ionic was by far the feeblest and least esteemed, not possessing a single state of any mark excepting Athens. The Athenians and most of the other Ionic States over the world, went so far in their dislike of the name as actually to lay it aside; and even at the present day the greater number of them seem to me to be ashamed of it." [This unflattering assertion earned Herodotus yet another dose of abuse from Plutarch.] Greece was known to the Achaemenid Persians as 'Yauna' (Ionia) and we see from Herodotus' account that mainland Athens was a part of the Ionian confederation of city states. Herodotus at 1.141 states, "Immediately after the subjugation of Lydia by the Persians, the Ionian and Aeolian Greeks sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, and prayed to become his lieges [subjects] on the [same]footing which they had occupied under Croesus."<br />
<br />
In 547 BCE, Cyrus brought the Ionians under his control, though we read that the Ionians enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy from central Persian authority.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="occupation"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Greek Occupation & Ethnic Cleansing in Western Asia Minor</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzckAWbvEGEVwsvVry6_1fFBxn-YpO8dQoeuH3XZjQZ90yipEi22PD68wjXE5UqdEjimZ7pLt-PaqakQAODbubiW-Zkz5OqmRuKBvZH1bEHRHUrt39poYKy_p_0m-JVyLbVoD-_7V9PuC9/s1600/Greek_Colonization+wTroy+Med+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzckAWbvEGEVwsvVry6_1fFBxn-YpO8dQoeuH3XZjQZ90yipEi22PD68wjXE5UqdEjimZ7pLt-PaqakQAODbubiW-Zkz5OqmRuKBvZH1bEHRHUrt39poYKy_p_0m-JVyLbVoD-_7V9PuC9/s640/Greek_Colonization+wTroy+Med+Wikipedia.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greek settlements in Asia Minor. Image courtesy: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A citizen of Caria himself, Herodotus records in his <i>Histories</i> (at 1.145-6) that when the Ionians (previously Aegialians from European Hellenica) from the Peloponnese - the peninsula now part of southern Greece - were displaced by the invading Achaeans, they fled to Asia. Rawlinson's translation states, "Even those who came from the Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls whose fathers they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them, "That none should ever sit and eat with her husband, or call him by his name"; because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and then forced them to become their wives. It was at <b>Miletus</b> [just north of Herodotus' hometown Halicarnassus] that these events took place." What we read here that Miletus in Caria was one of the earliest Greek settlements and that in those parts of coastal Caria that the displaced Ionians seized, the Ionians massacred the aboriginal Carian men and then bred with the aboriginal Carian women - a form of 'ethnic cleansing' that when repeated in other centers, quickly Hellenized the west coast of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, the subsequent generations of Ionians therefore had no claim to be pure 'Greeks' (if we may use that term). Not only did the invading Ionians ethically cleanse Caria, they culturally cleansed it as well, with Greek becoming the lingua-franca of the region. Nevertheless, at <i>Histories</i> 1.148 we have, "The names of festivals, not only among the Ionians but among all the Greeks, end, like the Persian proper names, in one and the same letter." We suspect, that after the initial pogrom and once the Ionians felt secure, non-Greeks ('barbarians' as the Greek called them) re-entered Miletus and the philosopher Thales was said to have one such 'barbarian' born of 'barbarian' parents in Miletus - according to Herodotus (at 1.170) of of Phoenician descent. [For all this troubles recording the history of the formation of Hellenic Ionia, Herodotus was rewarded with much abuse by first century CE super nationalist Plutarch in his diatribe titled the <i>Malice of Herodotus</i>. Plutarch specialist R. H. Barrow, in his <i>Plutarch and His Times</i> (1967) concludes, “Plutarch is fanatically biased in favour of the Greek cities; they can do no wrong.”]<br />
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While the Ionians were occupying the central western coast (and offshore islands) of Asia Minor - the coast of Lydia and northern Caria, the Aeolians of Boeotia (NW of Athens) simultaneously settled the coast north of the Ionians while the Dorians of the island of Crete settled the southern coast of Caria. [The Greeks divided themselves into four major tribes: the Aeolians, Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians.]<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="rockreliefs"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Hittite Rock Reliefs in Western Asia Minor</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcH0tI536BZcJRQq7VLmJifXf2vezBFzifaCBaBEaKwO0SGcGQxz59jVwBAyPGFQ6IMyc-TsfGbtS42PntFx_HqLVB2P5GC-tbcx4bP5YOP-rkyePV-2Fl4DpigwVbIODUznOPiPKRJSj/s1600/Karabel+Cliff+Nejdet+Duzen+at+Panoramio+COM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcH0tI536BZcJRQq7VLmJifXf2vezBFzifaCBaBEaKwO0SGcGQxz59jVwBAyPGFQ6IMyc-TsfGbtS42PntFx_HqLVB2P5GC-tbcx4bP5YOP-rkyePV-2Fl4DpigwVbIODUznOPiPKRJSj/s640/Karabel+Cliff+Nejdet+Duzen+at+Panoramio+COM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c.1400 BCE Hittite-Luwian rock-face carving of Tarkasnawa, King of Mira at the Karabel cliffs, <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Arzawa</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> (</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Smyrna</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">) near modern Izmir in Kemalpasa dist. </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Turkey. Image credit: Nejdet Duzen at </span><a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4844582" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Panoramio</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKu8qQ6NKeCrZyb7nBiE3sMaw4_8VGAUgl-T0GtGVtCmXReM-8ifZFVzNm80yDVQmtLV4GkfYwxu90y9IyBi5pJQoM4UAU8M6bwlrgNafEZpXmxqr_kZ-vpJiID2vzIc8BCwjL3x8Irupt/s1600/Akpinar+Kybele+Manisa+Wiki.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKu8qQ6NKeCrZyb7nBiE3sMaw4_8VGAUgl-T0GtGVtCmXReM-8ifZFVzNm80yDVQmtLV4GkfYwxu90y9IyBi5pJQoM4UAU8M6bwlrgNafEZpXmxqr_kZ-vpJiID2vzIc8BCwjL3x8Irupt/s640/Akpinar+Kybele+Manisa+Wiki.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c.1400 BCE Luwian-Hittite rock-face carving (perhaps a deity) at Manisa, Arzawa (Lydia) modern Akpinar, Turkey. <br />
Image credit; <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felsrelief_von_Manisa">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4_ZAZFy9ohLKCl3-etg7drhDRfQREQ1K8SADhd4RNgEQjJKOex0FFkBoHfbPwpBwpVEXfH110B-0ovBnUQR7KmZMzjScYnY6s38UlMN6ALo1L-ymL1cCapaf4BGqz7GXhtYVbZu-kmMm/s1600/suratkaya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4_ZAZFy9ohLKCl3-etg7drhDRfQREQ1K8SADhd4RNgEQjJKOex0FFkBoHfbPwpBwpVEXfH110B-0ovBnUQR7KmZMzjScYnY6s38UlMN6ALo1L-ymL1cCapaf4BGqz7GXhtYVbZu-kmMm/s640/suratkaya.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c.1400 BCE Luwian-Hittite rock-face carving of a personage ("great prince") in a rock shelter at Mira-Ahhiyawa (Caria) modern Suratkaya, Turkey. Image credit: <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0ZDbRvnoXmUJ:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ancient-Cities-Of-Turkey/132763056745686+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca">Ancient Cities of Turkey on Facebook</a> </td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sites"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Hittite-Luwian Rock Monument Sites</span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOmDwaCQ3VTakokU8_4aKpLIlBt1dleLOIQTFTKq5V-ib1updUhEQFKKbyTtfRHlTfONMTNmfj5r6KPAHENsGZM_uNS4hP2IdmT5FKyLKmXd_HrXUclGMpEjuxTHo_76r6pNio2raQH5W/s1600/hittite+rock+monument+sites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOmDwaCQ3VTakokU8_4aKpLIlBt1dleLOIQTFTKq5V-ib1updUhEQFKKbyTtfRHlTfONMTNmfj5r6KPAHENsGZM_uNS4hP2IdmT5FKyLKmXd_HrXUclGMpEjuxTHo_76r6pNio2raQH5W/s640/hittite+rock+monument+sites.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hittite-Luwian and neo-Hittite rock monument site locations. Sites in red date to the Empire Period (1480 to 1200 BCE).<br />
Sites in Black date to the Neo-Hittite Period (1200 to 712 BCE). <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Image credit: </span><a href="http://www.hittitemonuments.com/" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Tayfun Bilgin at hittitemonuments.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The map at the comprehensive site <a href="http://www.hittitemonuments.com/">HittiteMonuments.com</a> has interactive links to each of the site descriptions.<br />
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<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-41799558313213560192015-07-05T02:32:00.001-07:002015-07-20T00:37:15.432-07:00Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="credibility"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Credibility of Research Sources</span><br />
There is a fair amount of information and speculation in books and on the internet regarding the ethnic antecedents of the the Kurdish peoples in particular and western Aryans (ancient Irano-N. Indians) in general. Some of the discussion speculates on the possible Saka/Scythian origins of the Kurdish people. Since conclusions are only as good as the information on which they are based, before we review the information available to us, it is prudent to assess the credibility of our information sources.<br />
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Researchers are essentially of two kinds and then everything in-between: Those who approach research scientifically and analytically and those who skew information to support a bias, or speculate, or jump to conclusions, or who are inclined towards the fantastic making them better suited as writers of fiction.<br />
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We find many English translations of texts originally in Avestan, Greek and Latin to be extremely problematic and subject to a translator's bias. As such, we have been compelled to conduct our own translations.<br />
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The sources cited by researchers are useful if they provide consistent, factual or credible information. If the researcher provides information that is objective rather than laced with opinions, the reader can agree or disagree with any conclusions drawn by the researcher and in the event of the latter, make her or his own informed and considered decision.<br />
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This holds true for the information on the Medes, Saka & Kurds of Kurdistan.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="herodotusxenophon"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Information via Herodotus & Xenophon</span><br />
For instance, two of our primary sources of Achaemenid and Parthian era historical information are the famed classical (we use 'classical' loosely here) Greek authors Herodotus (c.484-c.425 BCE) and Xenophon (c.430-c.354 BCE). At times, the information one provides contradicts the other, compelling us to make a choice. While the circumspect researcher will seek to make a choice based on whose information is more credible, some researchers appear to make a choice based on a personal bias. Researchers with a Eurocentric or anti-Iranian/Persian bias will gravitate towards the source (and translation) which supports that bias.<br />
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One the one hand, Greeks such as Xenophon who held the Persian system of governance in high regard (and even served the Persians) were labelled derogatorily as medized Greeks. Those researchers who are offended by Xenophon's pro-Persian approach, dismiss his accounts such as those on the life of King Cyrus as romanticized fiction. They prefer the works of 'classical' authors who are more critical of Cyrus.<br />
<br />
Jacob Abbott in his <i>Histories of Cyrus the Great and Alexander</i> the Great (New York, 1880, pp. 13-36) offers us some valuable insights on bias and credibility. While Abbott does not venture a judgement on credibility, he notes that Herodotus’ "object was to read what he was intending to write at great public assemblies in Greece, he was, of course, under every possible inducement to make his narrative as interesting as possible." Xenophon on the other hand was a military commander who in Abbott’s opinion presented a more authentic (and therefore more reliable) account in the form of a chronicle. In classical antiquity, Polybius, Cicero, Tacitus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius and Longinus ranked Xenophon among philosophers and historians of the highest calibre. They considered his <i>Cyropaedia</i> as the masterpiece of a very widely respected and studied author. Then there are classical Greek writers who for one reason or the other criticize Herodotus quite severely. Photius in his <i>Bibliotheca</i> (at 72) cites Ctesias’ <i>Persica</i> as stating, "In nearly every instance he (Ctesias) gives an opposing account to Herodotus, going so far as to expose him as a liar and label him an inventor of fables (other translators have ‘spinner of yarns’)." Those opposed to Ctesias make a similar charge against him. Plutarch, however, goes the other way and finds Herodotus a 'barbarian' lover.<br />
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Despite all that is said about these two great souls, we have found the writings of both Herodotus and Xenophon (and others) to be remarkable achievements and stores of invaluable information.<br />
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We use context and corroborating evidence as our guide in selecting between competing sources of information. It is necessary to be circumspect while being as thorough as the space available in a non-technical forum as this reasonably allows us to be.<br />
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Regarding information provided by classical writers on the Saka (Sacae) and Scythians, Roman author Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) in his <i>Natural History</i> at 6.19 (on Scythians) says it best: "<i>Nec in alia parte maior auctorum inconstantia....</i>" Translation: "On no other subject are the major authorities/authors more inconsistent (i.e. confused)...."<br />
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Next page: <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/inscriptions-found-at-c-kurdistan-iran.html">» Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)</a><br /><br />
Also see:<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/07/herodotus-references-to-saka.html">» Herodotus' References to the Saka</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/saka/index.htm">» Saka (& Scythians)</a><br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-5894949234681659632015-07-05T02:28:00.002-07:002015-07-05T02:28:38.374-07:00Herodotus' References to the Saka<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="conflation"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Conflation of Saka with Scythes</span><br />
Herodotus in his <i>Histories</i> and Strabo in his <i>Geography</i> conflate the Saka with the Scythians. In our research, we have found the two to be different peoples [we invite the reader to read our <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/saka/index.htm">webpage on the Saka & Scythians</a> for an expanded discussion on the subject]. Perhaps a reason for the conflation was that the Saka lay at the frontiers of western consciousness and at times shared traits such as their mastery of horsemanship and a nomadic lifestyle. However, we have not found any evidence that the western Scythians and the eastern Saka made community together or promoted being a single national or ethnic group. Nor were all the Saka nomadic. The conflation of the two by Herodotus and Strabo is compounded by the bias of modern authors such as those who are Eurocentric and racists or those who wished to provide justification for the Soviet era consolidation of the Russian Empire in the eastern 'stans' that were earlier part of Iranian domains ('stan' means 'place or 'land' in Persian and is used as a suffix cf. Eng-land or Ire-land). It is in the eastern 'stans' such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that the Saka had their original home).<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="easternborder"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Herodotus on the Eastern Border of Scythia</span><br />
Herodotus defines the extent of Scythia quite well in his <i>Histories</i> at 4.21: Travelling west to east, "<u>Across the Tanais (commonly today's Don River in the Ukraine) it is no longer Scythia</u>; the first of the districts belongs to the Sauromatae, whose country begins at the inner end of the Maeetian lake (commonly taken to mean the Sea of Azov at the north of the Black Sea) and stretches fifteen days' journey north, and is quite bare of both wild and cultivated trees. Above these in the second district, the Budini inhabit a country thickly overgrown with trees of all kinds." In other words, we can approximate ancient Scythia around present-day Ukraine. Having said this, Herodotus at 1.201 begins the conflation of the Scythians with the Saka by noting that "some say" the Massagetae (in Central Asia) are Scythians.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="saka"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Herodotus Introduces the Saka</span><br />
At 7.64 of his Histories, Herodotus makes a revealing statement, "<i>Σάκαι δὲ οἱ Σκύθαι</i>...", i.e., "Sákai dé oi Skýthai", which translates as, "The Sakai (Sakas) who are Skythai (Scyths)...." A sentence later, "<i>τούτους δὲ ἐόντας Σκύθας Ἀμυργίους Σάκας ἐκάλεον: οἱ γὰρ Πέρσαι πάντας τοὺς Σκύθας καλέουσι Σάκας</i>" i.e., "<i>toútous dé eóntas Skýthas Amyrgíous Sákas ekáleon:̱ oi gár Pérsai pántas toús Skýthas kaléousi Sákas</i>.", which translates as, "But these (people) are <u>in reality</u> called Amyrgyian* Sakas. For the Persians call all those Scythians, Sakas." Most translators do not translate <i>τοὺς/toús</i> (epic form of <i>ὁ</i>, 'the following' and here 'those', a demonstrative pronoun), leaving the phrase to incorrectly read "...the Persians call all Scythians, Sakas." The exclusion of <i>τοὺς/toús</i> changes the meaning of the phrase substantially. [*5th cent. BCE Greek historian Ctesias in his <i>Persica</i> at § 3 has Amorges as king of the Sacae in the time of Cyrus. Polyaenus (2nd. cent. CE) in his <i>Stratagems</i> at vii. 12 has Amorges as king at the time of Darius. 'Amorg' is likely derived from the Old Iranin/Avestan 'amer' meaning 'immortal'.]<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="pliny"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Pliny on the Saka & Location</span><br />
Compare our translation to the statement by Pliny in his <i>Natural Geography</i> at 6.19: "<i>Ultra sunt Scytharum populi. Persae illos Sacas universos appellavere a proxima gente, antiqui Aramios, Scythae ipsi Persas Chorsaros et Caucasum montem Croucasim, hoc est nive candidum</i>". For the primary translation of this passage, we get, "Beyond* (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya mentioned previously in 6.18) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?*) and/also the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white/whitened (cf. Safeed Kuh/Paropamisus)." We get a secondary translation by inserting '<u>call</u>': "Beyond (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves (<u>call</u>) Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?**) and/also (<u>call</u>) the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white." [*"Beyond" the Jaxartes means east of the Jaxartes. **Khor in Old Iranian = Sun; as in Khorasan and Khorasmia/Chorasmia.]<br />
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Pliny continues, "Multitudo populorum innumera et quae cum Parthis ex aequo degat." Out translation reads, "The multitude of the (Saka) populace is innumerable and they live on equal terms with the Parthians."<br />
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Significantly, Pliny places his description of the 'Scythians' after his chapter on the Caspian Sea and before his chapter on the Seres (eastern most lands). His passage states (as does Herodotus) that the Persians call all those 'Scythians" descended from the Arami as Saka. 'Aram' is an Irano-N. Indian word. It could also be a corruption of Herodotus' 'Amyrgi'. Pliny lived during the Parthian reign of Aryana and we also know of Parthava as Khorasan. This might explain Pliny's statement regarding the "Persians Chorsares". Paradoxically, even though the West knew the Parthians under the general appellation of 'Persians', the Parthians were originally a Saka group.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="behistun"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Darius' Behistun Inscription & the Saka</span><br />
A note by Maj. Gen. Sir A. Cunningham in his article (at p. 223) published in the Royal Numismatic Society's <i><a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=410UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA223&lpg=PA223&dq=aramii+%22saka+OR+sacae+OR+syctia+OR+sycthian%22&source=bl&ots=mRyrwf7RwE&sig=84CFj54hRiLquSK_gYUjKpuFlhQ&hl=en&ei=3VSuToDhNqemiQL0yb2JCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AE">Numismatic Chronicle (Great Britain, 1888)</a></i> states, "In the Babylonian version of the inscriptions of Darius (likely at Behistun), Namiri (N'amiri?) is substituted for Saka. Perhaps Aramii should be Amarii." King Darius' inscription at Behistun that chronicles a secession by the Saka Tigra-Khauda is on column five. Gen. Cunningham's note indicates a possible relationship between 'Arami', 'Amyrgi' via 'Amiri' and the
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/saka/saka3.htm#massagetaesubgroups">Saka Tigra-Khauda</a>.<br />
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Darius in responding to the secession of the Saka Tigra-Khauda, states in his inscription that went he marched with his army to the Saka lands, he crossed a 'draya', a river, likely today's Syr Darya before encountering the Saka. Modern translators inevitably translate 'draya' as 'sea' and therefore translate 'para draya' incorrectly as 'across the sea'.<br />
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For a further discussion on the Aryan Saka see our pages <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-1-introduction.html">Pahlavans & Sakastan</a>.
K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-76458356459365000682015-06-24T03:49:00.000-07:002016-06-18T21:32:15.518-07:00Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-kurdish-women-warriors.html">» Suggested prior reading: Amazons & Kurdish Women Warriors - A Tradition Continues</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="amazonaryans"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Amazons as Aryans</span><br />
As we have noted previously, the Greeks associated the Amazons with the Persians in their wars between them. The Greeks used the term 'Persians' to mean not just the Persians specifically but the Aryans around the S.E. Black Sea, the Caucuses, Central Asia and elsewhere in Aryana. [The use of 'Persians' to mean 'Aryans'/'Iranians' is similar to using 'English' to mean 'British'. It is only in the past century that the West has begun to use 'Iran' instead of 'Persia' when referring to the larger Aryan nation-of-nations.]<br />
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Greek artists frequently used the clothing worn by their subjects to distinguish ethnicity especially 'Persians' i.e. Aryans from Greeks (<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-troy-western-realms-of-aryana.html#penthesileia">see Troy & the Amazon Queen Penthesileia below</a>). This trait extended to Roman artists as well - perhaps via Greece's occupation and settlements in Italy. For instance, the clothing worn by the Magi as depicted by Roman artists is quite similar to the clothing worn by the Amazons in several depictions. These include elaborately patterned leggings, tunics and so-called (incorrectly) "Phrygian caps" - a cap style widely used by the Magi all over Aryana including Bactria. This fashion of clothing was also applied to Roman depictions of Mithra and is commonly called "Persian clothing" by modern authors - though it should correctly be called "Aryan clothing", Aryan being the name from which "Iranian" evolved. The artists' depictions are not entirely consistent, sometimes missing one piece or the other or all.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ranghaya"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ranghaya & the Western Extent of Aryana</span><br />
Ranghaya, the upper Tigris-Euphrates Aryan lands is the sixteenth and last (Aryan) nation listed in the Zoroastrian scriptures, the <i>Avesta</i>. Persia and Media are not mentioned in the list of sixteen nations and were thus likely formed after the Avestan canon had been closed. While Persia would go on to become the center of Zoroastrianism until the Arab invasion, the historic Kurdish lands may have a better claim to antiquity in an expanding Aryana (and Zoroastrian heritage).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhLGr7WrDt8XM3-CVlHTM-9mlQUmq8br_wDa7VRjc7_vvnP85Q3tJ2YJg9sa9YXDGXCapoGA-OeZYoOfOfRrADwIUzx62lpd_W8d79Vm6G41KjhvcWeOLmE_NLwa2a3h9jCcXoGebH1gu/s1600/Anatolia_Ancient_Regions_baseWikipedia2000px-+w+Troy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhLGr7WrDt8XM3-CVlHTM-9mlQUmq8br_wDa7VRjc7_vvnP85Q3tJ2YJg9sa9YXDGXCapoGA-OeZYoOfOfRrADwIUzx62lpd_W8d79Vm6G41KjhvcWeOLmE_NLwa2a3h9jCcXoGebH1gu/s640/Anatolia_Ancient_Regions_baseWikipedia2000px-+w+Troy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Asia Minor/Anatolia. Base map courtesy Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Federal control over frontier Aryan lands varied depended on the power asserted by the dominant Aryan nation at a particular phase in history. When the Persian Achaemenids held power, at one time they asserted control over all Anatolian lands that were once a part of an Aryan kingdom such as the lands of the Hittites that included what became Lydian, Carian and Trojan lands. The extent of Aryan lands in Anatolia approximates the present division of lands between Turkey and Greece.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="lydians"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Medes & Lydians</span><br />
When the Medes (Mada) became an Aryan-Zoroastrian nation, they soon asserted their dominance over all the Aryan nations (including the fledgling Persia - the Aryan tradition of a Aryan confederation with a king-of-kings at its head is ancient). Herodotus informs us that a conflict developed between the Medes and the western Lydians. According to Herodotus (at <i>Histories</i> 1.73), the conflict was over the Lydians giving refuge to a group of renegade 'Scythians' (likely Saka who the Greeks frequently confused with the European Scythians).<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="treaty"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Treaty Between Medes & Lydians</span><br />
Now, Lydia was the successor state to the Aryan Hittite (later the Persian satrapy of Katpatuka/ Cappadocia) sub-kingdom of <b>Arzawa</b> which encompassed the lands that became Lydia, Caria and Troy (on the north-western Anatolian coast on the Aegean Sea). We will get to the story of the Amazons, Troy, Greece and the Persian wars shortly. First, after engaging in a battle that came to a stalemate, the Lydians and Medes established a treaty making their border the River Halys (Kizilirmak today) in central Anatolia (Herodotus' <i>Histories</i> 1.73-74). To cement the treaty, the Lydian king Alyattes gave in marriage his daughter Aryenis (<i>Ἀρύηνιν</i>/Aryinin) to the Median king Cyaxares' son Astyages. If there is ever an Aryan sounding name, it would be Aryin.<br />
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When the Persian Achaemenid King Cyrus deposed the Medians as the dominant Aryan nation, the Lydian king Croesus took umbrage and attacked Cappadocia in retaliation. Cyrus responded and defeated Croesus compelling Lydia and its own vassal kingdoms (including perhaps Troy) to accept the Persians as overlords. Once the family spat and who was top dog had been resolved, Cyrus kept Croesus on as an advisor and confidant.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="penthesileia"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Troy & the Amazon Queen Penthesileia</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_YCvQjkomZKJfEV3VStXCwUsdF85yG0dM5HnYHf2y_D5uUTMx-4Xp2VbCG15jsEde3VFWIebcDKEwJ8b4JtPClseWO1OtwQpnHu3Ipy_tNp2AXBMRSe7ntE09sJXpgxtC3A3_kfGWZnY/s1600/showme.com+found+in+S.+Italy+-+Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_YCvQjkomZKJfEV3VStXCwUsdF85yG0dM5HnYHf2y_D5uUTMx-4Xp2VbCG15jsEde3VFWIebcDKEwJ8b4JtPClseWO1OtwQpnHu3Ipy_tNp2AXBMRSe7ntE09sJXpgxtC3A3_kfGWZnY/s400/showme.com+found+in+S.+Italy+-+Cropped.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Achilles killing the Amazon queen Penthesileia at the Battle of Troy<br />
(c. 1200 BCE). Penthesileia is wearing 'Persian' i.e. Aryan attire<br />
- elaborately patterned tunic and trousers. Scene painted by Exekias<br />
on a c. 540-530 BCE amphora (wine jug) found in S. Italy,<br />
then part of Magna Greece. Image credit: showme.com</td></tr>
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We can now resume our story about Troy and the Amazons. The Greek invasion of Troy (c. 1200 BCE) was a pivotal event in Greek history - and in the history of Greek-Persian (i.e. Aryan) relations as well. So much so, that Herodotus starts his <i>Histories</i> by stating that the battle of Troy was the beginning of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians - i.e., Aryans, since Persia did not exist as a country at that time. Why the wars? Because the 'Persians', i.e. Aryans, thought of Troy and all of Anatolia as part of their sovereign territory. And who do you think came to help the Trojans defend themselves against the invading Greeks? None other than the Amazons led by their queen Penthesileia. Penthesileia died in combat with the Greek hero, Achilles (who in typical Greek fashion, fell in love with her after he had killed her). And there we have it. The rest as they say is history. Since then, Greeks and 'Persians' (Persians=Aryans and Amazons) began sticking spears and other pointed objects into one-another.<br />
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<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-kurdish-women-warriors.html">» Also see: Amazons & Kurdish Women Warriors - A Tradition Continues</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-45298071974827727092015-06-12T02:19:00.000-07:002019-11-27T12:27:14.573-08:00Amazons & Kurdish Women Warriors - A Tradition Continues<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Amazons of Western Aryana in Ammanius Marcellinus' <i>History</i></span><br />
Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c.320-c.390 CE), a native of Antioch, Anatolia (today's Antakya, Turkey, close to Kurdish enclaves), described the Amazons - legendary women warriors of Asia Minor. At one time in history, the Amazons of Asia Minor dwelt in lands that stretched from the south-eastern shores of the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea (<i>Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus</i> 8.18-27) - lands that were once part of western <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/airyanavaeja.htm">Aryana</a> and perhaps just north of and adjacent to the Kurdish lands of today. Let us know what you think of this article on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zoroastrian-Heritage/147603758630520">our Facebook page</a>.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8H4gxmeKYYVO7uj5DBec2zl_WGpfCZ22Moa9Kxgow6Hc6rGo3nxPrjqnjCWX9sUzqdf4TICJOaRq3s-SygSu5FfiAoZL42k70c2UgtCSV2YKfGIYOaO2k8_WAQmUVnTlHFj8HOEUqz8Ee/s1600/map1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8H4gxmeKYYVO7uj5DBec2zl_WGpfCZ22Moa9Kxgow6Hc6rGo3nxPrjqnjCWX9sUzqdf4TICJOaRq3s-SygSu5FfiAoZL42k70c2UgtCSV2YKfGIYOaO2k8_WAQmUVnTlHFj8HOEUqz8Ee/s640/map1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map showing the region inhabited by the Amazons:<br />
from the SE Black Sea, the Thermodon River, S. Caucasus Mtns, to the SW Caspian Sea.</td></tr>
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[For the origins of the name 'Amazon', <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-kurdish-women-warriors.html#notes">» see the notes at the bottom of this page.</a>]<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Strabo on the Difference between History & Myth</span><br />
In discussing the Amazons, geographer and historian Strabo (<i>Geographia</i> 11.5.3 etc.) draws a distinction between historical and mythical accounts. The famed tribe could not be found. That was likely because the Amazons were not so much a tribe exclusively of women but rather part of a community that saw women and men as equals - where the women were either part of exclusive or blended fighting units - as are today's Kurdish women's fighting units - and where the women (and men) rose at different times to become noteworthy and legendary leaders of the army and the entire community (unusual for others). In ancient times, the few outside recorders who came into contact with the 'Amazon' i.e., women fighting units led by women could well have embellished their stories to mythical proportions. Strabo gives us the example of fantastic myths that developed around Alexander of Macedonia. The personage is fact; the myths are false.<br />
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History records brave women warriors who rose to positions of leadership throughout the realms of Greater Aryana. For instance, Artemisia I who was queen or satrap (governor general) of Caria/Karka (anciently, the Hittite sub-kingdom of Arzawa) under Persian King Xerxes (486-466 BCE). Artemisia I (fl. 480 BCE) also served as admiral of her navy and in this capacity did battle with the Greeks. Then we have the example of Tomyris related below. Alexandrian historian Arrian (c.86-160 CE at 1.23.7) wrote that "it had been a custom in Asia (largely Greater Aryana), ever since the time of Semiramis, for women to rule men." We can myth-making at work in an exaggerated statement like this. But it was addressed to a Greek audience that decried women rising to power. <br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Herodotus: Woman Massagetae-Saka Chieftain Killed King Cyrus</span><br />
This tradition prevailed in north-eastern Aryana as well (on the other side of the Caspian), where a woman <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/saka/index.htm"><u>Saka</u></a>* chieftain named Tomyris (cf. Tahmina < Tahmiras < Tahmirath) had the distinction of either killing or mortally wounding Cyrus the Great (Herodotus, <i>Histories</i>, 1.205-214) - an object lesson of history. [*<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pahlavans-sakastan-1-introduction.html">Pahlavans Rustam & Sohrab</a>, champions and protectors of the Aryan/Iranian throne were also Saka as were the <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/parthia/index.htm">Parthava (Parthians)</a>] (Also see <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm#demise">» Zoroastrian Heritage's Cyrus page on his demise</a>, <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/herodotus_histories1.htm">» Herodotus' <i>Histories</i></a>, <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» the Cyrus pages on this blog</a> and <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-kurdish-women-warriors.html#nearyana">» 'Amazons in North-East Aryana' in the notes at the bottom of this page</a>.)<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Amazons & Turks</span><br />
A 2002 paper written by the Amazon Research Subscriber Network states that even after the Amazons ceased to be an identifiable group in Greco-Roman literature, reports from the region record the important position of women in society and also the many women martyrs who died in battle against the invading foreign Turks. The report ends with these words: "The defence of the Ünye castle only some kilometres east of the Thermodon [River Terme today] against the Turks was commanded by a woman. The Turks were only capable of capturing this castle through treachery. The commanding woman committed suicide to escape her capture. A very similar story is reported from Lemnos (island in the northern Aegean Sea). A woman named Maroula defended the castle Kotsinas for a long period against the Turks. These medieval accounts seem to be the last aftermaths of the famous Amazons." "So we hear about many women as martyrs."
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Amazons on the Darius Vase</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1se1fu0Wh-zyUlMRo2eDWp5UNeCapqiUXa03iB2fVrhbit7RdoNCuXDIfhrB3HwhimAEhteCavnA0hZXjvGMfEOLruytH_69qudrz4YRvVmfytebVI3B1Lmee6j9ARB-j2xftJQzfc3fm/s1600/Darius+Vase+close-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1se1fu0Wh-zyUlMRo2eDWp5UNeCapqiUXa03iB2fVrhbit7RdoNCuXDIfhrB3HwhimAEhteCavnA0hZXjvGMfEOLruytH_69qudrz4YRvVmfytebVI3B1Lmee6j9ARB-j2xftJQzfc3fm/s400/Darius+Vase+close-up.jpg" width="360"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Darius Vase (320-340 BCE) close-up.<br />
The Amazon battle scene is topmost.<br />
The vase is actually a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krater">krater</a> used to mix wine & water.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7Kz7kSf3FPc1JKerb-qD0wh5ScAjsDfLunKn6mb97GwSaNzixUHede9ZtaPPio-10Sur1ibvr9fMwIHMWM5dmgIhQfCu7xpR3ViGtk-Wvgs3P4uRHDc9P6PlZqCzN1kBNwRW9ZmaBbpC/s1600/Darius+Vase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7Kz7kSf3FPc1JKerb-qD0wh5ScAjsDfLunKn6mb97GwSaNzixUHede9ZtaPPio-10Sur1ibvr9fMwIHMWM5dmgIhQfCu7xpR3ViGtk-Wvgs3P4uRHDc9P6PlZqCzN1kBNwRW9ZmaBbpC/s400/Darius+Vase.jpg" width="206"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Darius Vase (320-340 BCE).<br />
The Amazon battle scene is on<br />
the vase's neck (topmost).</td></tr>
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An ancient vase/krater dating to 320-340 BCE vase found in the Apulia region of SE Italy (the region that forms the heel of Italy's 'boot' then part of Magna Grecia/Greater Greece) - called The Darius Vase - depicts the Amazons fighting Greek warriors. Greeks doing battle with Amazons (called Amazono-machy or Amazonomachia/Amazon battle) is a scene that frequently accompanied Greek-Persian battle scenes in fifth century BCE Greek art.
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The Darius Vase depicts <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/darius.htm">King Darius the Great</a> being counselled to go to war with Greece. Playwright Aeschylus (c.525-c.455 BCE) in his play <i>Persae</i> (<i>Persians</i>) has Darius’ wife Atossa as saying that despite several provocations the great king decided against going to war with Greece. The inclusion of the Greeks attacking the Amazons at the top of the main body of the vase's motif, could be an indication that the Greek attack might have been one such provocation.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UAe4e7sCWFaCFj3p0E4o7FEBAcJuNAr-UUBBIaL4-sWt04dhCQR3Bjh1cyUe3vlFIdxKQtndTKGlQQJtxaf8AdFcHUhD90-vZxF9Rdg0dKb4o-ZsmKCqaLXLbU3KQNnwVmMtlo4-xlo1/s1600/Amazonomachy_Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UAe4e7sCWFaCFj3p0E4o7FEBAcJuNAr-UUBBIaL4-sWt04dhCQR3Bjh1cyUe3vlFIdxKQtndTKGlQQJtxaf8AdFcHUhD90-vZxF9Rdg0dKb4o-ZsmKCqaLXLbU3KQNnwVmMtlo4-xlo1/s640/Amazonomachy_Wikipedia.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazonomachy scene on a lekythos (oil vase) like the Darius Vase c.420 BCE attributed to the so-called Eretria Painter<br />
Patterned leggings and short tunics together with crescent shaped shields were considered as 'Persian'.<br />
Image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazonomachy_Met_31.11.13.jpg">Wikimedia</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Valiant Kurdish Women & Men Freedom Fighters</span><br />
The pen of history has not ceased to record the valiant deeds and heroism of the original people of the region. Kurdish women who together with Kurdish men, have risen to take up arms and defend their historic homeland, are reliving ancient and medieval history. An otherwise peace-loving and egalitarian people have been compelled to distinguish themselves once more in the battlefield.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkdDdb_5SocuGWIkCgBA9BNJzmATVvPbVOBlLNJZgGgRyU7nvBgfN3I4OH5LFdUcidV1m9z5EQMb_MAS2SSaxtEQ4ZYL5Gex3C8CrPbXUXU-ZLiKHKRK6LmzSLDRc_QElB4Od1zZOC2oW/s1600/credit+ww2f+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkdDdb_5SocuGWIkCgBA9BNJzmATVvPbVOBlLNJZgGgRyU7nvBgfN3I4OH5LFdUcidV1m9z5EQMb_MAS2SSaxtEQ4ZYL5Gex3C8CrPbXUXU-ZLiKHKRK6LmzSLDRc_QElB4Od1zZOC2oW/s640/credit+ww2f+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kurdish Woman freedom fighter. Image credit: ww2f.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yJW9329lm1y3ZuhTV5Hhgso8PYzQLGCgt-arRllhb-38PBIPqRQB04TyVwVGdDrauOeqBeXYVREkVS2onAbrZ1AAx45z2GWHfozGmg5hqQAObyUks27KElzvmsMcEXZflQG5JfGsJU3Z/s1600/PKK-Kurdistan-Workers-Party-near-Makhmour-Iraq_Joey_L_Photographer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yJW9329lm1y3ZuhTV5Hhgso8PYzQLGCgt-arRllhb-38PBIPqRQB04TyVwVGdDrauOeqBeXYVREkVS2onAbrZ1AAx45z2GWHfozGmg5hqQAObyUks27KElzvmsMcEXZflQG5JfGsJU3Z/s640/PKK-Kurdistan-Workers-Party-near-Makhmour-Iraq_Joey_L_Photographer.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Kurdish warriors near Makhmour, Iraq. Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.joeyl.com/blog/all/post/guerrilla-fighters-of-kurdistan">Joey L.</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Happy Dance - You Can't Keep a Good People Down</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhKlX4QjsVS37qeXJ3nTjdhj7883nc4P7Rdttq6s7RlLMj_wqM2OXbZ6rMr_VfAICVCovghGkCfhpkO3fnbNTKzokzbbDgizBZtMXgA0kobU__ns7tLEVh8prspSmF_pUIirY4_ae6802/s1600/mustsweden+at+YouTube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhKlX4QjsVS37qeXJ3nTjdhj7883nc4P7Rdttq6s7RlLMj_wqM2OXbZ6rMr_VfAICVCovghGkCfhpkO3fnbNTKzokzbbDgizBZtMXgA0kobU__ns7tLEVh8prspSmF_pUIirY4_ae6802/s640/mustsweden+at+YouTube.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In good times... (photo credit: mustsweden at YouTube) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0foDwuoPZXar946jnLfVXsjmm0MoEXVj6AzIzqZaq_58b9ejyhb1PdezdOPuEdufhCu94v7jQlJ2_epavIkaIyximEADBd-cMWsrkG7C5EnBhbk2NE3Esl9ns9e9d2X9zVBPFwLX7fs_G/s1600/qandil+iraq.+credit+sebastian+meyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0foDwuoPZXar946jnLfVXsjmm0MoEXVj6AzIzqZaq_58b9ejyhb1PdezdOPuEdufhCu94v7jQlJ2_epavIkaIyximEADBd-cMWsrkG7C5EnBhbk2NE3Esl9ns9e9d2X9zVBPFwLX7fs_G/s640/qandil+iraq.+credit+sebastian+meyer.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and bad times (at Qandil, Iraq). Photo credit: Sebastian Meyer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4ITSPjecknrM40veJ3CJK-WZ6Y0YhnUbmlDhUL7cNPejHD__2izNvUnplNEV86lHuS3X2K6COgmsMeeWgRNr-JcHWzMAOwPhaiVWT_kBbaSwkbzlM9APSBvrIywq_Cv3J53-a88urBnA/s1600/Near+Derek%252C+Syria.+Credit+Erin+Trieb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4ITSPjecknrM40veJ3CJK-WZ6Y0YhnUbmlDhUL7cNPejHD__2izNvUnplNEV86lHuS3X2K6COgmsMeeWgRNr-JcHWzMAOwPhaiVWT_kBbaSwkbzlM9APSBvrIywq_Cv3J53-a88urBnA/s640/Near+Derek%252C+Syria.+Credit+Erin+Trieb.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and bad times after a vistory (at Derek, Syria). Photo credit: Erin Trieb</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="notes"></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Notes</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">1. Origins of the Name 'Amazon'</span></b><br />
There is a considerable amount of speculation and fantasizing (in the tradition of continual myth-making) regarding the origins of the name 'Amazon' which comes to us via the Greek <i>Ἀμαζόνες</i> = <i>Amazónes</i> (plural) & <i>Ἀμαζών</i> = <i>Amazōn</i> (singular). In our estimation, the most credible explanation is one of the oldest: the gloss provided by 4th century CE Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria who compiled a <a href="https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%BB%CF%8E%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B1%CE%B9">lexicon</a> of obscure Greek words [q.v. Xenia Lidéniana Lagercrantz (1912) 270ff, cited in Hjalmar Frisk's <i>Greek Etymological Dictionary</i> (1960–1970) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons">Wikipedia</a>]. There we find <i>ἁμαζακάραν· πολεμεῖν. Πέρσαι</i> (<i>amazakáran: polemeín. Pérsai</i>) meaning "amazakaran: 'to make war' in (Old) Persian". We further read from our reference that '<i>Amazakaran</i>' in turn may be derived from the Old Persian '<i>ha-mazan</i>' meaning 'war' or 'warriors' and '<i>kar</i>' meaning 'to do'/'to make'. While also lamenting the many fanciful explanations available, erudite A. Shapour Shahbazi (1942-2006) in his 1989 article posted on <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amazons">Iranica</a>, notes that the word 'Amazons' was derived from Old Iranian '*maz-' [i.e. '(a)maz' meaning 'combat'] leading to the folk name or ethnonym '<i>*ha-mazan</i>' meaning 'warrior' [citing J. Pokorny in <i>Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch</i> (Bern) I, p. 1959]. What we learn from this etymology and further references (see below) is that the word and thereby the tradition is an integral part of Iranian/Aryan heritage. What also emerges from our research is that the 'Amazons' were not so much an ethic group or sub-group of the Aryans, but a tradition within an Aryan group such as one of the Saka groups (see below). Also see <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2012/09/who-were-aryans.html">Who Were the Aryans</a> on this blog.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="nearyana"></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">2. Amazons in North-East Aryana</span></b><br />
Shapour Shahbazi who we cited above adds, "The Greeks placed the Amazons on the edge of the world they knew: first, on the Thermodon in north-east Asia Minor and later on the Tanais; and on the Caucasus or even on the Jaxartes as [Greek] geographical explorations pushed “the East” further (Toepfer, ibid., cols. 1755f)." Further citing the mythology that developed around Alexander of Macedonia, "...it was on the Jaxartes [River Syr Darya in Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan - Saka country] that an Amazon queen came to Alexander’s camp with 300 female warriors to beget children from him and his Macedonian notables (Arrian's <i>Anabasis </i>4.15, 4, 7.13, 4; Curtius 6.5, 24f.; Plutarch's <i>Alexander</i> 46). Dionysus [mythologised by the Greeks as the god of wine] also conquered them on his Eastern campaign, a modification, it is claimed, of Alexander stories [W. R. Halliday in <i>The Greek Questions of Plutarch</i> (Oxford, 1928) p. 210f.]."<br />
<br />
Strabo (at 11.5.4) states that in one account of the Amazonian queen Themiscyra (cf. Herodotus' Tomyris and Aryan-Iranian name Tahmina < Tahmiras < Tahmirath) came from the Caspian Gates (east of present-day Tehran) and another that they had intercourse for the purpose of breeding in Hyrcania i.e. Gorgan (NE Iran today and bordering Parthian Saka country).<br />
<br />
Given the Central Asian origins of the Aryans as well as the connections of the Amazon tradition with the Saka, it is possible that the Amazons were part of a group with Saka-Aryan origins.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="aryanculture"></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">3. Amazons in Iranian/Aryan Culture</span></b><br />
Shahbazi contd. "The Amazons have also found their way into Persian literature and romances through the Alexander-romance of the Pseudo-Callisthenes [<i>The History of Alexander</i>: being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes, ed. and tr. by E. A. W. Budge (Cambridge, 1889) pp. 127f]."<br />
<br />
Next: <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2015/06/amazons-troy-western-realms-of-aryana.html">» Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana</a> <b style="color: #cc0000;">(New)</b>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-32532514864812160882015-04-22T14:11:00.000-07:002020-04-07T15:46:20.823-07:00Herodotus on Persian Attire<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Persian Attire</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Herodotus <i>Histories</i></span></b> (7.61.1) selection:<br />
<b>Translation by George Rawlinson</b>: "...The Persians wore on their heads the soft hat called the tiara, and about their bodies, tunics with sleeves of divers colours.... Their legs were protected by trousers...."<br />
<b>Translation by A. D. Godley</b>: "...the Persians ...wore on their heads loose caps called tiaras, and on their bodies embroidered sleeved tunics ...and trousers on their legs."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9jRsjtA5BW35Qh43EwNwHdLDY5cmGdt_YUikX0Bw1xZkCZ4IjCu3SjP77nu88ZwAwXwO3Zkzcwh4F46_6D7tu-_N1-bhHJmFZnSqSSRLKVQapugDUOLpux4eMOwwr4-VDG0IZ2dc-T4v/s1600/565+CE+Ravenna+Italy+Wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9jRsjtA5BW35Qh43EwNwHdLDY5cmGdt_YUikX0Bw1xZkCZ4IjCu3SjP77nu88ZwAwXwO3Zkzcwh4F46_6D7tu-_N1-bhHJmFZnSqSSRLKVQapugDUOLpux4eMOwwr4-VDG0IZ2dc-T4v/s1600/565+CE+Ravenna+Italy+Wiki.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">c. 565 CE mosaic in Byzantine style depicting the Magi named as Balthassar, Melchor & Caspar in Persian attire with so-called Phrygian caps (also seen on Mithraic images; are these Herodotus' loose caps called tiaras?), belted tunics and leggings, at the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy. Image credit: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Greek</span></b>: οἱ δὲ στρατευόμενοι οἵδε ἦσαν, <b>Πέρσαι μὲν</b> <b>ὧδε ἐσκευασμένοι</b>: περὶ μὲν τῇσι κεφαλῇσι εἶχον <b>τιάρας καλεομένους πίλους ἀπαγέας</b>, περὶ δὲ τὸ σῶμα κιθῶνας χειριδωτοὺς ποικίλους, ... λεπίδος σιδηρέης ὄψιν ἰχθυοειδέος, περὶ δὲ τὰ σκέλεα ἀναξυρίδας, ἀντὶ δὲ ἀσπίδων γέρρα: ὑπὸ δὲ φαρετρεῶνες ἐκρέμαντο: αἰχμὰς δὲ βραχέας εἶχον, τόξα δὲ μεγάλα, ὀιστοὺς δὲ καλαμίνους, πρὸς δὲ ἐγχειρίδια παρὰ τὸν δεξιὸν μηρὸν παραιωρεύμενα ἐκ τῆς ζώνης.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Transcription</span></b>: <i>oi dé stratevómenoi oíde ísan, Pérsai mén óde eskevasménoi: perí mén tísi kefalísi eíchon tiáras kaleoménous pílous apagéas, perí dé tó sóma kithónas cheiridotoús poikílous, ... lepídos sidiréis ópsin ichthyoeidéos, perí dé tá skélea anaxyrídas, antí dé aspídon gérra: ypó dé faretreónes ekrémanto: aichmás dé vrachéas eíchon, tóxa dé megála, oistoús dé kalamínous, prós dé encheirídia pará tón dexión mirón paraiorévmena ek tís zónis.</i>.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Notes</span></b> (Reginald Walter Macan) at <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+7.61&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126#note1">Perseus</a>:<br />
<b>Πέρσαι μέν</b> (Pérsai mén), answered by Μῆδοι δέ (Mí̱doi dé, Mede not) in c. 62.<br />
<b>ὧδε ἐσκευασμένοι</b> (<i>ó̱de eskev̱asménoi</i>): there follows a description of the Persian, or rather Median, dress and equipments, which had once been such a fearsome sight for Greek eyes (6.112), more fully and systematically (head, body, legs) described here than in 5.49: a difference which is at least consistent with the earlier composition of this passage.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Tiara/Farshiang/Phrygian cap</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj_9rzMnDMeK9kDAltg46VETX6QfQTSgoDmcnOHg8I94839Pe3e8GhS-Hig30Op0iYzrH-jJuJbFL82ZSLe9ndtFtFjRZ-LP2ABTRZg5E1CFuTryE2NrDfA0r8vdQfzF5KhvlgwTvQPgN/s1600/Magian+with+barsom+-+Oxus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj_9rzMnDMeK9kDAltg46VETX6QfQTSgoDmcnOHg8I94839Pe3e8GhS-Hig30Op0iYzrH-jJuJbFL82ZSLe9ndtFtFjRZ-LP2ABTRZg5E1CFuTryE2NrDfA0r8vdQfzF5KhvlgwTvQPgN/s1600/Magian+with+barsom+-+Oxus.jpg" width="240"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man holding a barsom from the Oxus treasures. <br />
Note the limp felt-like head-covering, tunic and<br />
trousers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>τιάρας καλεομένους πἰλους ἀπαγέας</b> (<i>tiáras kleoménous pírous apagéas</i>). The first two words look rather like a gloss: κυρβασίας (<i>kyrvasías</i>) is the word in 5.49, but τὸν τιάραν (<i>tón tiáran</i>) occurs 1.132, πίλους τιάρας (<i>pílous tiáras</i>) 3.12, and τιήρῃ χρυσοπάστῳ (<i>tií̱ri̱ chrysopásto̱</i>) 8.120 infra. τιάρα, τιάρας (τιήρης) [<i>tiára, tiáras (tií̱ri̱s)</i>], apparently a Persian (Median?) word for a Persian (Median) thing, but can hardly have been a ‘turban’ [L. & S. sub v. πῖλος (<i>pílos</i>)] as we understand the word. πῖλος (<i>pílos</i>) is ‘felt’ in name and nature. ἀπαγής (πήγνυμι) [<i>apagí̱s (pí̱gnymi)</i>] ‘not fixed, not stiffened,’ i.e. ‘soft,’ or perhaps ‘hanging,’ in contrast to κυρβασίαι ἐς ὀξὺ ἀπηγμέναι ὀρθαὶ πεπηγυῖαι (<i>kyrvasíai es oxý api̱gménai orthaí pepi̱gyíai</i>) c.64 infra, the king alone wearing the point of his Fez upright, Xen. Anab. 2.5.23; Arrian, Anab. 3.25.3 (ἤγγελλον) Βῆσσον τήν τε τιάραν ὀρθὴν ἔχειν καὶ τὴν Περσικὴν στολὴν φοροῦντα Ἀρταξέρξην τε καλεῖσθαι ἀντὶ Βήσσου καὶ βασιλέα φάσκειν εἶναι τῆς Ἀσίας [<i>(í̱ngellon) Ví̱sson tí̱n te tiáran orthí̱n échein kaí tí̱n Persikí̱n stolí̱n foroúnta Artaxérxi̱n te kaleísthai antí Ví̱ssou kaí vasiléa fáskein eínai tí̱s Asías</i>]. cf. the mosaic in Naples Museum of the so-called ‘Battle of Issus’ (Baumeister, Denkmaeler, ii. 873, Tafel xxi.).
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Our Notes</span></b>:<br />
<b>Xenophon</b> in his <i><b>Cyropaedia</b></i> at 8.3.13 (translation by Walter Miller); "Next after these Cyrus himself upon a chariot appeared in the gates wearing his <b>tiara</b> upright, a purple tunic shot with white (no one but the king may wear such a one), trousers of scarlet dye about his legs, and a mantle all of purple. He had also a fillet [ribbon worn around the head - across the forehead] about his tiara, and his kinsmen also had the same mark of distinction, and they retain it even now."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y0VJB1OWBxPOfHOm1v0386r05OyVWzjbIwFVC0OmUNbExxqJygaGCt8UdVAEOmAMPjMMjDTtH8Iya_OEbdbmamEd-2FsJ5Gp60MR9UlcDh5M9aqfztQM4Xu6Jt8YqbgZfY-TqSSUk7uI/s1600/mithradates+I_coin+Parthian+dynasty+c171-138+BCE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-y0VJB1OWBxPOfHOm1v0386r05OyVWzjbIwFVC0OmUNbExxqJygaGCt8UdVAEOmAMPjMMjDTtH8Iya_OEbdbmamEd-2FsJ5Gp60MR9UlcDh5M9aqfztQM4Xu6Jt8YqbgZfY-TqSSUk7uI/s1600/mithradates+I_coin+Parthian+dynasty+c171-138+BCE.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Coin with </span>Mithradates I (Parthian dynasty)<br />
c. 171-138 BCE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First(?) century CE Roman historian <b>Quintus Curtius</b> author of <i><b>Historiae Alexandri Magni</b></i> (Histories of Alexander the Great) noted at 3.3.19 that "The Persians call the king's head-dress '<b>cidaris</b>'. This was bound by a blue fillet variegated with white." (Translation by J. C. Rolfe). At 6.6.4, the description reads “purple variegated with white”<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Arrian</b> in his <i><b>Annabasis</b></i> at 4.7.4 calls the head-dress κίταριν/κίθαρις (<b>kitarin/kitaris</b> - should this be <b>kyrbasía</b>? See below). Also see 6.29.3 and <b>Ammianus</b> at 18.5.6 & 18.8.5.<br />
<br />
The coins of Tissaphernes (q.v. Achithrafarnah 3) and Pharnabazus [q.v. W. Hinz, <i>Darius und die Perser</i> Vol. 2 (Baden-Baden, 1979) figs. 31, 12], a figurine from Persepolis [q.v. Hinz, ibid. Vol. 1 (1976) fig. 34 at p. 141] depict Persian officials with their diadems knotted in front of the tiara. Shapur Shahbazi in '<i><a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-ii">Clothing ii. In the Median and Achaemenid Periods</a></i>' at Iranica states, "In any event, the tiara had a top like a hood, often lined inside with luxurious animal fur. Ordinarily it was worn flat, either pressed down in front to form three knobs or falling in folds on either side. Only the great king had the right to wear his tiara (<b>kyrbasía</b>) “upright,” that is, with the top erect, presumably held by inner retainers (Xenophon, Anabasis 2.5.23; Arrian, Anabasis 3.25.3; Plutarch, Artaxerxes 26, 28; idem, Themistocles 29)."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Phrygian Cap = Persian Cap</b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-drls-ltCONo-XEGQifx4Q1LlQ6201W1UJ-7jkfOhOUNHk-D16UWS-w8J1BbB08f8pwbEhDV_nQy3VbykWLHLK1uX5LcFpfC_LdKtPHOEbWgi9x53KcoyFOkBCQvBai1fIBwihxp3tgn/s1600/tiara_18093+tiff.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-drls-ltCONo-XEGQifx4Q1LlQ6201W1UJ-7jkfOhOUNHk-D16UWS-w8J1BbB08f8pwbEhDV_nQy3VbykWLHLK1uX5LcFpfC_LdKtPHOEbWgi9x53KcoyFOkBCQvBai1fIBwihxp3tgn/s1600/tiara_18093+tiff.tif" width="252"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiara. Source: William Smith in<br />
<i>A School Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities</i><br />
(New York, 1873) p.323 as shown at <a href="http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/18000/18093/tiara_18093.htm">usf.ca</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Phrygian cap should be called the Persian cap as the two are similar if not the same.<br />
<br />
According to William Smith at <i>A School Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities</i> (New York, 1873) p. 323, "Tiara or Tiaras, a hat with a large high crown. This was the head-dress which characterized the north-western Asiatics, and more especially the Armenians, Parthians, and Persians, as distinguished from the Greeks and Romans, whose hats fitted the head, or had only a low crown. The king of Persia wore an erect tiara, whilst those of his subjects were soft and flexible, falling on one side. The Persian name for this regal head-dress was <b>cidaris</b>."<br />
<br />
A tiara is a head band. This is likely the Persian <b>farshiang</b> - a mark of royalty - usually made from cloth and knotted with a tassel at the back. If a hat/cap and tiara are being described together, then the tiara could have been worn either under (more likely) or over the cap. The tiara/farshiang's presence would be evidenced by its tassels.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Notes</span></b> (Reginald Walter Macan) contd.:<br />
κιθῶνας χειριδωτοὺς ποικίλους, ‘embroidered tunics with sleeves’ just such as represented on the frieze from Susa, now in the Louvre.<br />
<br />
Some words must have fallen out from the description which follows: cp. App. Crit. In 9. 22 infra Masistios wears ἐντὸς θώρηκα χρύσεον λεπιδωτόν and over that κιθῶνα φοινίκεον. (In 2. 68 the crocodile is λεπιδωτός.)<br />
<br />
ἀναξυρίδας. The Median ‘trews’ (cp. 5. 49), Baehr states (note to 1. 70), were wider, ampler, those worn by Skyths and other nomads of tighter make, and the Persians (he adds) preferred the latter. They were wide enough above to have pockets apparently; cp. 3. 87 τὴν χεῖρα κρύψας ἐν τῆ̣σι ἀναξυρίσι.<br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-91230275448228865402014-08-27T15:48:00.002-07:002014-08-27T18:52:58.926-07:00Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent PhilosophersEnglish translation by R. D. Hicks at <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0258%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3Dprologue">Perseus</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Prologue</span><br />
1. <i>Τὸ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἔργον ἔνιοί φασιν ἀπὸ βαρβάρων ἄρξαι. γεγενῆσθαι γὰρ παρὰ μὲν Πέρσαις Μάγους, παρὰ δὲ Βαβυλωνίοις ἢ Ἀσσυρίοις Χαλδαίους, καὶ Γυμνοσοφιστὰς παρ᾽ Ἰνδοῖς, παρά τε Κελτοῖς καὶ Γαλάταις τοὺς καλουμένους Δρυΐδας καὶ Σεμνοθέους, καθά φησιν Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν τῷ Μαγικῷ καὶ Σωτίων ἐν τῷ εἰκοστῷ τρίτῳ τῆς Διαδοχῆς. Φοίνικά τε γενέσθαι Μῶχον, καὶ Θρᾷκα Ζάμολξιν, καὶ Λίβυν Ἄτλαντα. </i><br />
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There are some who say that the study of philosophy had its beginning among the foreigners. They urge that the Persians have had their Magi, the Babylonians or Assyrians their Chaldaeans, and the Indians their Gymnosophists; and among the Celts and Gauls there are the people called Druids or Holy Ones, for which they cite as authorities the <i>Magicus</i> of Aristotle and Sotion in the twenty-third book of his <i>Succession of Philosophers</i>. Also they say that Mochus was a Phoenician, Zamolxis a Thracian, and Atlas a Libyan.<br />
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6. <i>Οἱ δὲ φάσκοντες ἀπὸ βαρβάρων ἄρξαι φιλοσοφίαν καὶ τὸν τρόπον παρ᾽ ἑκάστοις αὐτῆς ἐκτίθενται: καί φασι τοὺς μὲν Γυμνοσοφιστὰς καὶ Δρυΐδας αἰνιγματωδῶς ἀποφθεγγομένους φιλοσοφῆσαι, σέβειν θεοὺς καὶ μηδὲν κακὸν δρᾶν καὶ ἀνδρείαν ἀσκεῖν. τοὺς γοῦν Γυμνοσοφιστὰς καὶ. θανάτου καταφρονεῖν φησι Κλείταρχος ἐν τῇ δωδεκάτῃ: τοὺς δὲ Χαλδαίους περὶ ἀστρονομίαν καὶ πρόρρησιν ἀσχολεῖσθαι: τοὺς δὲ Μάγους περί τε θεραπείας θεῶν διατρίβειν καὶ θυσίας καὶ εὐχάς, ὡς αὐτοὺς μόνους ἀκουομένους. ἀποφαίνεσθαί τε περί τε οὐσίας θεῶν καὶ γενέσεως, οὓς καὶ πῦρ εἶναι καὶ γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ: τῶν δὲ ξοάνων καταγινώσκειν, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν λεγόντων ἄρρενας εἶναι θεοὺς καὶ θηλείας.</i><br />
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But the advocates of the theory that philosophy took its rise among the barbarians go on to explain the different forms it assumed in different countries. As to the Gymnosophists and Druids we are told that they uttered their philosophy in riddles, bidding men to reverence the gods, to abstain from wrongdoing, and to practise courage. That the Gymnosophists at all events despise even death itself is affirmed by Clitarchus in his twelfth book; he also says that the Chaldaeans apply themselves to astronomy and forecasting the future; while the Magi spend their time in the worship of the gods, in sacrifices and in prayers, implying that none but themselves have the ear of the gods. They propound their views concerning the being and origin of the gods, whom they hold to be fire, earth, and water; they condemn the use of images, and especially the error of attributing to the divinities difference of sex.<br />
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7. <i>περί τε δικαιοσύνης λόγους ποιεῖσθαι, καὶ ἀνόσιον ἡγεῖσθαι πυρὶ θάπτειν: καὶ ὅσιον νομίζειν μητρὶ ἢ θυγατρὶ μίγνυσθαι, ὡς ἐν τῷ εἰκοστῷ τρίτῳ φησὶν ὁ Σωτίων: ἀσκεῖν τε μαντικὴν καὶ πρόρρησιν, καὶ θεοὺς αὑτοῖς ἐμφανίζεσθαι λέγοντας. ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰδώλων πλήρη εἶναι τὸν ἀέρα, κατ᾽ ἀπόρροιαν ὑπ᾽ ἀναθυμιάσεως εἰσκρινομένων ταῖς ὄψεσι τῶν ὀξυδερκῶν: προκοσμήματά τε καὶ χρυσοφορίας ἀπαγορεύειν. τούτων δὲ ἐσθὴς μὲν λευκή, στιβὰς δὲ εὐνή, καὶ λάχανον τροφή, τυρός τε καὶ ἄρτος εὐτελής, καὶ κάλαμος ἡ βακτηρία, ᾧ κεντοῦντες, φασί, τοῦ τυροῦ ἀνῃροῦντο καὶ ἀπήσθιον. </i><i>Τὴν δὲ γοητικὴν μαγείαν οὐδ᾽ ἔγνωσαν, φησὶν Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν τῷ Μαγικῷ καὶ Δείνων ἐν τῇ πέμπτῃ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν: ὃς καὶ μεθερμηνευόμενόν φησι τὸν Ζωροάστρην ἀστροθύτην εἶναι: φησὶ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἑρμόδωρος. </i><br />
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They hold discourse of justice, and deem it impious to practise cremation; but they see no impiety in marriage with a mother or daughter, as Sotion relates in his twenty-third book. Further, they practise divination and forecast the future, declaring that the gods appear to them in visible form. Moreover, they say that the air is full of shapes which stream forth like vapour and enter the eyes of keen-sighted seers. They prohibit personal ornament and the wearing of gold. Their dress is white, they make their bed on the ground, and their food is vegetables, cheese and coarse bread; their staff is a reed and their custom is, so we are told, to stick it into the cheese and take up with it the part they eat. With the art of magic they were wholly unacquainted, according to Aristotle in his <i>Magicus</i> and Dinon*. In the fifth book of his <i>History</i>, Dinon tells us that the name Zoroaster, literally interpreted, means "star-worshipper"; and Hermodorus agrees with him in this. [*Dinon (c. 360-340 BCE), was a contemporary of Alexander and the author of a lost <i>Persica</i>. He is likely the Dino referred to by Clement of Alexandria.]<br />
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8. <i>Ἀριστοτέλης δ᾽ ἐν πρώτῳ Περὶ φιλοσοφίας καὶ πρεσβυτέρους εἶναι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων: καὶ δύο κατ᾽ αὐτοὺς εἶναι ἀρχάς, ἀγαθὸν δαίμονα καὶ κακὸν δαίμονα: καὶ τῷ μὲν ὄνομα εἶναι Ζεὺς καὶ Ὠρομάσδης, τῷ δὲ ᾍδης καὶ Ἀρειμάνιος. φησὶ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ Ἕρμιππος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ περὶ Μάγων καὶ Εὔδοξος ἐν τῇ Περιόδῳ καὶ Θεόπομπος ἐν τῇ ὀγδόῃ τῶν Φιλιππικῶν.</i><br />
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Aristotle in the first book of his dialogue <i>On Philosophy</i> declares that the Magi are more ancient than the Egyptians; and further, that they believe in two principles, the good spirit and the evil spirit, the one called Zeus or Oromasdes, the other Hades or Arimanius. This is confirmed by Hermippus in his first book about the Magi, Eudoxus in his <i>Voyage Around the World</i>, and Theopompus in the eighth book of his <i>Philippica</i>.<br />
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9. <i>ὃς καὶ ἀναβιώσεσθαι κατὰ τοὺς Μάγους φησὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἀθανάτους ἔσεσθαι, καὶ τὰ ὄντα ταῖς αὐτῶν ἐπικλήσεσι διαμενεῖν. ταῦτα δὲ καὶ Εὔδημος ὁ Ῥόδιος ἱστορεῖ. Ἑκαταῖος δὲ καὶ γενητοὺς τοὺς θεοὺς εἶναι κατ᾽ αὐτούς. Κλέαρχος δὲ ὁ Σολεὺς ἐν τῷ Περὶ παιδείας καὶ τοὺς Γυμνοσοφιστὰς ἀπογόνους εἶναι τῶν Μάγων φησίν: ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἐκ τούτων εἶναι. πρὸς τούτοις καταγινώσκουσιν Ἡροδότου οἱ τὰ περὶ Μάγων γράψαντες: μὴ γὰρ ἂν εἰς τὸν ἥλιον βέλη Ξέρξην ἀκοντίσαι, μηδ᾽ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν πέδας καθεῖναι, θεοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν Μάγων παραδεδομένους. τὰ μέντοι ἀγάλματα εἰκότως καθαιρεῖν.</i><br />
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The last-named author says that according to the Magi men will live in a future life and be immortal, and that the world will endure through their invocations. This is again confirmed by Eudemus of Rhodes. But Hecataeus relates that according to them the gods are subject to birth. Clearchus of Soli in his tract <i>On Education</i> further makes the Gymnosophists to be descended from the Magi; and some trace the Jews also to the same origin. Furthermore, those who have written about the Magi criticize Herodotus. They urge that Xerxes would never have cast javelins at the sun nor have let down fetters into the sea, since in the creed of the Magi sun and sea are gods. But that statues of the gods should be destroyed by Xerxes was natural enough.<br />
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10. <i>Τὴν δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φιλοσοφίαν εἶναι τοιαύτην περί τε θεῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ δικαιοσύνης. φάσκειν τε ἀρχὴν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ὕλην, εἶτα τὰ τέσσαρα στοιχεῖα ἐξ αὐτῆς διακριθῆναι, καὶ ζῷα παντοῖα ἀποτελεσθῆναι. θεοὺς δ᾽ εἶναι ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην, τὸν μὲν Ὄσιριν, τὴν δ᾽ Ἶσιν καλουμένην: αἰνίττεσθαί τε αὐτοὺς διά τε κανθάρου καὶ δράκοντος καὶ ἱέρακος καὶ ἄλλων, ὥς φησι Μανέθως ἐν τῇ τῶν Φυσικῶν ἐπιτομῇ καὶ Ἑκαταῖος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ Περὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτίων φιλοσοφίας. κατασκευάζειν δὲ <καὶ> ἀγάλματα καὶ τεμένη τῷ μὴ εἰδέναι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ μορφήν</i>.<br />
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The philosophy of the Egyptians is described as follows so far as relates to the gods and to justice. They say that matter was the first principle, next the four elements were derived from matter, and thus living things of every species were produced. The sun and the moon are gods bearing the names of Osiris and Isis respectively; they make use of the beetle, the dragon, the hawk, and other creatures as symbols of divinity, according to Manetho in his Epitome of Physical Doctrines, and Hecataeus in the first book of his work On the Egyptian Philosophy. They also set up statues and temples to these sacred animals because they do not know the true form of the deity.<br />
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11. <i>τὸν κόσμον γενητὸν καὶ φθαρτὸν καὶ σφαιροειδῆ: τοὺς ἀστέρας πῦρ εἶναι, καὶ τῇ τούτων κράσει τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς γίνεσθαι: σελήνην ἐκλείπειν εἰς τὸ σκίασμα τῆς γῆς ἐμπίπτουσαν: τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἐπιδιαμένειν καὶ μετεμβαίνειν: ὑετοὺς κατὰ ἀέρος τροπὴν ἀποτελεῖσθαι: τά τε ἄλλα φυσιολογεῖν, ὡς Ἑκαταῖός τε καὶ Ἀρισταγόρας ἱστοροῦσιν. ἔθεσαν δὲ καὶ νόμους ὑπὲρ δικαιοσύνης, οὓς εἰς Ἑρμῆν ἀνήνεγκαν: καὶ τὰ εὔχρηστα τῶν ζῴων θεοὺς ἐδόξασαν. λέγουσι δὲ καὶ ὡς αὐτοὶ γεωμετρίαν τε καὶ ἀστρολογίαν καὶ ἀριθμητικὴν ἀνεῦρον. καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τῆς εὑρέσεως ὧδε ἔχει.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
They hold that the universe is created and perishable, and that it is spherical in shape.
They say that the stars consist of fire, and that,
according as the fire in them is mixed, so events
happen upon earth; that the moon is eclipsed when
it falls into the earth's shadow; that the soul
survives death and passes into other bodies; that
rain is caused by change in the atmosphere; of all
other phenomena they give physical explanations,
as related by Hecataeus and Aristagoras. They
also laid down laws on the subject of justice, which
they ascribed to Hermes; and they deified those
animals which are serviceable to man. They also
claimed to have invented geometry, astronomy, and
arithmetic. Thus much concerning the invention
of philosophy.K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-12230067351154438002014-08-27T11:52:00.001-07:002014-08-27T11:52:54.073-07:00Porphyry on the Magi, Animals and DietAccording to Roger Pearse at <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm#Porphyry_Abstinence">Tertullian</a>, Porphyry's <i>De Abstinentia</i> (<span class="Greek">Περὶ αποχης εμψγχων</span>) is "the longest work by Porphyry to survive more or less intact is this curious tract advocating that animals should not be killed, not even for food. The end of the work seems to be lost, but otherwise it is complete and preserves a mass of detail on pagan religious customs and beliefs."
<br />
<br />
"The date of composition is as uncertain as for most of Porphyry's works. It was plainly written after Porphyry's arrival in Rome in 263 AD, and before the <i>Life of Plotinus</i> in 301 AD. The favoured date is 268-70, while Porphyry was living in Sicily recovering from his breakdown during which he had become suicidal. Suicide is often mentioned in the
work. The mention of a partridge that Porphyry himself reared at Carthage (3.4.7) fits this locale also, since Carthage is only a short hop from Sicily. The work is addressed to Castricius, who is known to us only from what Porphyry says about him in this work and in the <i>Life of Plotinus</i>. He was one of the circle around Plotinus, and had estates at Minturnae, from which he supplied Plotinus with money."<br />
<br />
Book 4 (Translated by Thomas Taylor)<br />
<span class="chapterno">16.</span> Among the Persians, indeed, those
who are wise in divine concerns, and worship divinity, are called Magi;
for this is the signification of <i>Magus, </i>in the Persian tongue.
But so great and so venerable are these men thought to be by the
Persians, that Darius, the son of Hystaspes, had among other things this
engraved on his tomb, that he had been the master of the Magi. They are
likewise divided into three genera, as we are informed by Eubulus, who
wrote the history of Mithra, in a treatise consisting of many books. In
this work he says, that the first and most learned class of the Magi
neither eat nor slay any thing animated, but adhere to the ancient
abstinence from animals. The second class use some animals indeed [for
food], but do not slay any that are tame. Nor do those of the third
class, similarly with other men, lay their hands on all animals. For the
dogma with all of them which ranks as the first is this, that there is a
transmigration of souls; and this they also appear to indicate in the
mysteries of Mithra. For in these mysteries, obscurely signifying our
having something in common with brutes, they are accustomed to call us
by the names of different animals. Thus they denominate the males who
participate in the same mysteries lions, but the females lionesses, and
those who are ministrant to these rites crows. With respect to their
fathers also, they adopt the same mode. For these are denominated by
them eagles and hawks. And he who is initiated in the Leontic mysteries,
is invested with all-various forms of
animals <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm#16"><sup>16</sup></a>;
of which particulars, Pallas, in his treatise concerning Mithra,
assigning the cause, says, that it is the common opinion that these
things are to be referred to the circle of the zodiac, but that truly
and accurately speaking, they obscurely signify some thing pertaining to
human souls, which, according to the Persians, are invested with bodies
of all-various forms. For the Latins also, says Eubulus, call some men,
in their tongue, boars and scorpions, lizards, and blackbirds. After
the same manner likewise the Persians denominate the Gods the demiurgic
causes of these: for they call Diana a she-wolf; but the sun, a bull, a
lion, a (p.128) dragon, and a hawk; and Hecate, a horse, a bull, a lioness, and a dog. But most theologists say that the name of Proserpine (<span class="Greek">της φερεφαττης</span>)<i> </i>is derived from nourishing a ringdove, (<span class="Greek">παρα το φερβειν την φατταν</span>)<i> </i>for
the ringdove is sacred to this Goddess. Hence, also the priests of Maia
dedicate to her a ringdove. And Maia is the same with Proserpine, as
being obstetric, and a
nurse <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm#17"><sup>17</sup></a>.
For this Goddess is terrestrial, and so likewise is Ceres. To this
Goddess, also a cock is consecrated; and on this account those that are
initiated in her mysteries abstain from domestic birds. In the
Eleusinian mysteries, likewise, the initiated are ordered to abstain
from domestic birds, from fishes and beans, pomegranates and apples;
which fruits are as equally defiling to the touch, as a woman recently
delivered, and a dead body. But whoever is acquainted with the nature of
divinely-luminous appearances knows also on what account it is
requisite to abstain from all birds, and especially for him who hastens
to be liberated from terrestrial concerns, and to be established with
the celestial Gods. Vice, however, as we have frequently said, is
sufficiently able to patronize itself, and especially when it pleads its
cause among the ignorant. Hence, among those that are moderately
vicious, some think that a dehortation of this kind is vain babbling,
and, according to the proverb, the nugacity of old women; and others are
of opinion that it is superstition. But those who have made greater
advances in improbity, are prepared, not only to blaspheme those who
exhort to, and demonstrate the propriety of this abstinence, but
calumniate purity itself as enchantment and pride. They, however,
suffering the punishment of their sins, both from Gods and men, are, in
the first place, sufficiently punished by a disposition [<i>i.e. </i>by a
depravity] of this kind. We shall, therefore, still farther make
mention of another foreign nation, renowned and just, and believed to be
pious in divine concerns, and then pass on to other particulars.<br />
<br />
p.129<br />
<span class="chapterno"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="C17"></a>17.</span> For the polity
of the Indians being distributed into many parts, there is one tribe
among them of men divinely wise, whom the Greeks are accustomed to call
Gymnosophists <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm#18"><sup>18</sup></a>.
But of these there are two sects, over one of which the Bramins
preside, but over the other the Samanaeans. [Our note: Known locally as Sramanas, they were the non-Vedic Indian religious movement that gave rise to Yoga, Jainism and Buddhism. Clement of Alexandria in <i>Exhortation to the Heathen</i> mentions the Sramanas as Bactrians and the Indians: "Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations. And afterwards it came to Greece. First in its ranks were the prophets of the Egyptians; and the Chaldeans among the Assyrians; and the Druids among the Gauls; and the Samanaeans among the Bactrians ("Σαμαναίοι Βάκτρων"); and the philosophers of the Celts; and the Magi of the Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of Judaea guided by a star. The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sarmanae ("Σαρμάναι"), and Brahmanae ("Βραχμαναι")."]
The race of the Bramins,
however, receive divine wisdom of this kind by succession, in the same
manner as the priesthood. But the Samanaeans are elected, and consist of
those who wish to possess divine knowledge. And the particulars
respecting them are the following, as the Babylonian Bardesanes
<a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm#19"><sup>19</sup></a>
narrates, who lived in the times of our fathers, and was familiar with
those Indians who, together with Damadamis, were sent to Caesar. All the
Bramins originate from one stock; for all of them are derived from one
father and one mother. But the Samanaeans are not the offspring of one
family, being, as we have said, collected from every nation of Indians. A
Bramin, however, is not a subject of any government, nor does he
contribute any thing together with others to government. And with
respect to those that are philosophers, among these some dwell on
mountains, and others about the river Ganges. And those that live on
mountains feed on autumnal fruits, and on cows' milk coagulated with
herbs. But those that reside near the Ganges, live also on autumnal
fruits, which are produced in abundance about that river. The land
likewise nearly always bears new fruit, together with much rice, which
grows spontaneously, and which they use when there is a deficiency of
autumnal fruits. But to taste of any other nutriment, or, in short, to
touch animal food, is considered by them as equivalent to extreme
impurity and impiety. And this is one of their dogmas. They also worship
divinity with piety and purity. They spend the day, and the greater
part of the night, in hymns and prayers to the Gods; each of them having
a cottage to himself, and living, as much as possible, alone. For the
Bramins cannot endure to remain with others, nor to speak much; but when
this happens to take place, they afterwards withdraw themselves, and do
not speak for many days. They likewise frequently fast. But the
Samanaeans are, as we have said, elected. When, however, any one is
desirous of being enrolled in their order, he proceeds to the rulers of
the city; but abandons the city or village that he inhabited, and the
wealth and all the other property
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="p130"><span class="pb">|130</span></a> that he possessed.
Having likewise the superfluities of his body cut off, he receives a
garment, and departs to the Samanaeans, but does not return either to
his wife or children, if he happens to have any, nor does he pay any
attention to them, or think that they at all pertain to him. And, with
respect to his children indeed, the king provides what is necessary for
them, and the relatives provide for the wife. And such is the life of
the Samanaeans. But they live out of the city, and spend the whole day
in conversation pertaining to divinity. They have also houses and
temples, built by the king, in which they are stewards, who receive a
certain emolument from the king, for the purpose of supplying those that
dwell in them with nutriment. But their food consists of rice, bread,
autumnal fruits, and pot-herbs. And when they enter into their house,
the sound of a bell being the signal of their entrance, those that are
not Samanaeans depart from it, and the Samanaeans begin immediately to
pray. But having prayed, again, on the bell sounding as a signal, the
servants give to each Samanaean a platter, (for two of them do not eat
out of the same dish,) and feed them with rice. And to him who is in
want of a variety of food, a pot-herb is added, or some autumnal fruit.
But having eaten as much as is requisite, without any delay they proceed
to their accustomed employments. All of them likewise are unmarried,
and have no possessions: and so much are both these and the Bramins
venerated by the other Indians, that the king also visits them, and
requests them to pray to and supplicate the Gods, when any calamity
befalls the country, or to advise him how to act.<br />
<br />
<span class="chapterno">18.</span> But they are so disposed with respect
to death, that they unwillingly endure the whole time of the present
life, as a certain servitude to nature, and therefore they hasten to
liberate their souls from the bodies [with which they are connected].
Hence, frequently, when they are seen to be well, and are neither
oppressed, nor driven to desperation by any evil, they depart from life.
And though they previously announce to others that it is their
intention to commit suicide, yet no one impedes them; but, proclaiming
all those to be happy who thus quit the present life, they enjoin
certain things to the domestics and kindred of the dead: so stable and
true do they, and also the multitude, believe the assertion to be, that
souls [in another life] associate with each other. But as soon as those
to whom they have proclaimed that this is their intention, have heard
the mandates given to them, they deliver the body to fire, in order that
they may separate the soul from the body in the purest manner, and thus
they die celebrated by all the Samanaeans. For these men dismiss their
dearest friends to death more easily than others part with their
fellow-citizens when going the longest journeys. And they lament
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="p131">|131</a> themselves, indeed, as
still continuing in life; but they proclaim those that are dead to be
blessed, in consequence of having now obtained an immortal allotment.
Nor is there any sophist, such as there is now amongst the Greeks,
either among these Samanaeans, or the above-mentioned Bramins, who would
be seen to doubt and to say, if all men should imitate you [<i>i.e. </i>should
imitate those Samanaeans who commit suicide] what would become of us?
Nor through these are human affairs confused. For neither do all men
imitate them, and those who have, may be said to have been rather the
causes of equitable legislation, than of confusion to the different
nations of men. Moreover, the law did not compel the Samanaeans and
Bramins to eat animal food, but, permitting others to feed on flesh, it
suffered these to be a law to themselves, and venerated them as being
superior to law. Nor did the law subject these men to the punishment
which it inflicts, as if they were the primary perpetrators of
injustice, but it reserved this for others. Hence, to those who ask,
what would be the consequence if all men imitated such characters as
these, the saying of Pythagoras must be the answer; that if all men were
kings, the passage through life would be difficult, yet regal
government is not on this account to be avoided. And [we likewise say]
that if all men were worthy, no administration of a polity would be
found in which the dignity that probity merits would be preserved.
Nevertheless, no one would be so insane as not to think that all men
should earnestly endeavour to become worthy characters. Indeed, the law
grants to the vulgar many other things [besides a fleshly diet], which,
nevertheless, it does not grant to a philosopher, nor even to one who
conducts the affairs of government in a proper manner. For it does not
receive every artist into the administration, though it does not forbid
the exercise of any art, nor yet men of every pursuit. But it excludes
those who are occupied in vile and illiberal
arts,<a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm#20"><sup>20</sup></a>
and, in short, all those who are destitute of justice and the other
virtues, from having any thing to do with the management of public
affairs. Thus, likewise, the law does not forbid the vulgar from
associating with harlots, on whom at the same time it imposes a fine;
but thinks that it is disgraceful and base for men that are moderately
good to have any connexion with them. Moreover, the law does not
prohibit a man from spending the whole of his life in a tavern, yet at
the same time this is most disgraceful even to a man of moderate worth.
It appears, therefore, that the same thing must also be said with
respect to diet. For that which is permitted
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="p132">|132</a> to the multitude, must
not likewise be granted to the best of men. For the man who is a
philosopher, should especially ordain for himself those sacred laws
which the Gods, and men who are followers of the Gods, have instituted.
But the sacred laws of nations and cities appear to have ordained for
sacred men purity, and to have interdicted them animal food. They have
also forbidden the multitude to eat certain animals, either from motives
of piety, or on account of some injury which would be produced by the
food. So that it is requisite either to imitate priests, or to be
obedient to the mandates of all legislators; but, in either way, he who
is perfectly legal and pious ought to abstain from all animals. For if
some who are only partially pious abstain from certain animals, he who
is in every respect pious will abstain from all animals.<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
16. * Similar to this was the garment with which Apuleius was
invested after his initiation into the mysteries of Isis, and which he
describes as follows:-"There [<i>i.e. </i>on a wooden throne] I sat
conspicuous, in a garment which was indeed linen, but was elegantly
painted. A precious cloak also depended from my shoulders behind my
back, as far as to my heels. Nevertheless, to whatever part of me you
directed your view, you might see that I was remarkable by the animals
which were painted round my vestment, in various colours. Here were
Indian dragons, there Hyperborean griffins, which the other hemisphere
generates in the form of a winged animal. Men devoted to the service of
divinity, call this cloak the Olympic garment." - See Book II. of my
translation of the Metamorphosis of Apuleius.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="17"></a>17. * The first subsistence of Maia, who, according
to the Orphic theology, is the same with the Goddess Night, is at the
summit of the <i>intelligible and at the same time intellectual </i>order,
and is wholly absorbed in the intelligible. As we are also informed by
Proclus (in Cratylum), "She is the paradigm of Ceres. For immortal Night
is the nurse of the Gods [according to Orpheus]. Night, however, is the
cause of aliment intelligibly: for the intelligible is, as the Chaldean
Oracle says, the aliment of the intellectual orders of Gods. But Ceres,
first of all separates the two kinds of aliment [nectar and ambrosia]
in the Gods." He adds, "Hence our sovereign mistress Ceres, not only
generates life, but that which gives perfection to life; and this from
supernal natures, to such as are last. For <i>virtue is the perfection of
souls</i>." <span style="color: red;">[Note to the online edition: See
also endnote 3]</span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="18"></a>18. * Concerning the Indian philosophers, see the second Book of Diodortus
Siculus.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="19"></a>19. <sup>+</sup> This is the Bardesanes who lived in
the time of Marcus Antoninus, and who wrote a treatise on the Lake of
Probation in India, which is mentioned by Porphyry in his fragment de
Styge, preserved by Stobaeus.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="20"></a>20. * <span class="Greek">βαναυσοι</span>, <i>i.e. </i>dirty mechanists and bellows-blowers, an appellation by which Plato in his <i>Rivals </i>designates the <i>experimentalists.</i>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-74143760331341738762013-09-22T00:46:00.002-07:002014-08-27T13:21:52.352-07:00Influence of Persians and Others on Greek Philosophy, Arts and Science - Clement of Alexandria<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Clement of Alexandria</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><i>The Stromata</i> or <i>Miscellanies</i> </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Book I, </span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Chapter XV - The Greek Philosophy in Great Part Derived from the Barbarians</span><br />
<a href="http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book1.html">(Original at Early Christian Writings - Peter Kirby)</a><br />
1. These are the times of the oldest wise men and philosophers among the Greeks.
And that the most of them were barbarians by extraction, and were trained among
barbarians, what need is there to say? Pythagoras is shown to have been either a
Tuscan or a Tyrian. And Antisthenes was a Phrygian. And Orpheus was an Odrysian
or a Thracian. The most, too, show Homer to have been an Egyptian. Thales was a
Phoenician by birth, and was said to have consorted with the prophets of the
Egyptians; as also Pythagoras did with the same persons, by whom he was
circumcised, that he might enter the adytum and learn from the Egyptians the
mystic philosophy. He held converse with the chief of the Chaldeans and the
Magi; and he gave a hint of the church, now so called, in the common hall which
he maintained.
<br />
<br />
2. And Plato does not deny that he procured all that is most excellent in
philosophy from the barbarians; and he admits that he came into Egypt. Whence,
writing in the Phoedo that the philosopher can receive aid from all sides, he
said: "Great indeed is Greece, O Cebes, in which everywhere there are good men,
and many are the races of the barbarians." Thus Plato thinks that some of the
barbarians, too, are philosophers. But Epicurus, on the other hand, supposes
that only Greeks can philosophise. And in the Symposium, Plato, landing the
barbarians as practising philosophy with conspicuous excellence, truly says:
"And in many other instances both among Greeks and barbarians, whose temples
reared for such sons are already numerous." And it is clear that the barbarians
signally honoured their lawgivers and teachers, designating them gods. For,
according to Plato, "they think that good souls, on quitting the supercelestial
region, submit to come to this Tartarus; and assuming a body, share in all the
ills which are involved in birth, from their solicitude for the race of men;"
and these make laws and publish philosophy, "than which no greater boon ever
came from the gods to the race of men, or will come."<br />
<br />
4. Democritus appropriated the Babylonian ethic discourses, for he is said to
have combined with his own compositions a translation of the column of Acicarus.
And you may find the distinction notified by him when he writes, "Thus says
Democritus." About himself, too, where, pluming himself on his erudition, he
says, "I have roamed over the most ground of any man of my time, investigating
the most remote parts. I have seen the most skies and lands, and I have heard of
learned men in very great numbers. And in composition no one has surpassed me;
in demonstration, not even those among the Egyptians who are called
Arpenodaptae, with all of whom I lived in exile up to eighty years." For he went
to Babylon, and Persis, and Egypt, to learn from the Magi and the priests.
<br />
<br />
5. Zoroaster the Magus, Pythagoras showed to be a Persian. Of the secret books
of this man, those who follow the heresy of Prodicus boast to be in possession.
Alexander, in his book On the Pythagorean Symbols, relates that Pythagoras was a
pupil of Nazaratus the Assyrian a (some think that he is Ezekiel; but he is not,
as will afterwards be shown), and will have it that, in addition to these,
Pythagoras was a hearer of the Galatae and the Brahmins. <br />
<br />
7. Numa the king of the Romans was a Pythagorean, and aided by the precepts of
Moses, prohibited from making an image of God in human form, and of the shape of
a living creature. Accordingly, during the first hundred and seventy years,
though building temples, they made no cast or graven image. For Numa secretly
showed them that the Best of Beings could not be apprehended except by the mind
alone. Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity
among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations. And afterwards it
came to Greece. First in its ranks were the prophets of the Egyptians; and the
Chaldeans among the Assyrians; and the Druids among the Gauls; and the
Samanaeans among the Bactrians; and the philosophers of the Celts; and the Magi
of the Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of
Judaea guided by a star. The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and
the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of
them called Sarmanae, and others Brahmins. And those of the Sarmanae who are
called Hylobii neither inhabit cities, nor have roofs over them, but are clothed
in the bark of trees, feed on nuts, and drink water in their hands. Like those
called Encratites in the present day, they know not marriage nor begetting of
children.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Chapter XVI - That the Inventors of Other Arts were Mostly Barbarians
</span><br />
And barbarians were inventors not only of philosophy, but almost of every
art. The Egyptians were the first to introduce astrology among men. Similarly
also the Chaldeans. The Egyptians first showed how to burn lamps, and divided
the year into twelve months, prohibited intercourse with women in the temples,
and enacted that no one should enter the temples from a woman without bathing.
Again, they were the inventors of geometry. There are some who say that the
Carians invented prognostication by the stars. The Phrygians were the first who
attended to the flight of birds. And the Tuscans, neighbours of Italy, were
adepts at the art of the Haruspex. The Isaurians and the Arabians invented
augury, as the Telmesians divination by dreams. The Etruscans invented the
trumpet, and the Phrygians the flute. For Olympus and Marsyas were Phrygians.
And Cadmus, the inventor of letters among the Greeks, as Euphorus says, was a
Phoenician; whence also Herodotus writes that they were called Phoenician
letters. And they say that the Phoenicians and the Syrians first invented
letters; and that Apis, an aboriginal inhabitant of Egypt, invented the healing
art before Io came into Egypt. But afterwards they say that Asclepius improved
the art. Atlas the Libyan was the first who built a ship and navigated the sea.
Kelmis and Damnaneus, Idaean Dactyli, first discovered iron in Cyprus. Another
Idaean discovered the tempering of brass; according to Hesiod, a Scythian. The
Thracians first invented what is called a scimitar (<i>arph</i>), -- it is a
curved sword, -- and were the first to use shields on horseback. Similarly also
the Illyrians invented the shield (<i>pelth</i>). Besides, they say that the
Tuscans invented the art of moulding clay; and that Itanus (he was a Samnite)
first fashioned the oblong shield (<i>qureos</i>). Cadmus the Phoenician
invented stonecutting, and discovered the gold mines on the Pangaean mountain.
Further, another nation, the Cappadocians, first invented the instrument called
the nabla, and the Assyrians in the same way the dichord. The Carthaginians were
the first that constructed a triterme; and it was built by Bosporus, an
aboriginal. Medea, the daughter of Æetas, a Colchian, first invented the dyeing
of hair. Besides, the Noropes (they are a Paeonian race, and are now called the
Norici) worked copper, and were the first that purified iron. Amycus the king of
the Bebryci was the first inventor of boxing-gloves. In music, Olympus the
Mysian practised the Lydian harmony; and the people called Troglodytes invented
the sambuca, a musical instrument. It is said that the crooked pipe was invented
by Satyrus the Phrygian; likewise also diatonic harmony by Hyagnis, a Phrygian
too; and notes by Olympus, a Phrygian; as also the Phrygian harmony, and the
half-Phrygian and the half-Lydian, by Marsyas, who belonged to the same region
as those mentioned above. And the Doric was invented by Thamyris the Thracian.
We have heard that the Persians were the first who fashioned the chariot, and
bed, and footstool; and the Sidonians the first to construct a trireme. The
Sicilians, close to Italy, were the first inventors of the phorminx, which is
not much inferior to the lyre. And they invented castanets. In the time of
Semiramis queen of the Assyrians, they relate that linen garments were invented.
And Hellanicus says that Atossa queen of the Persians was the first who composed
a letter. These things are reported by Seame of Mitylene, Theophrastus of
Ephesus, Cydippus of Mantinea also Antiphanes, Aristodemus, and Aristotle and
besides these, Philostephanus, and also Strato the Peripatetic, in his books
Concerning Inventions. I have added a few details from them, in order to confirm
the inventive and practically useful genius of the barbarians, by whom the
Greeks profited in their studies. And if any one objects to the barbarous
language, Anacharsis says, "All the Greeks speak Scythian to me." It was he who
was held in admiration by the Greeks, who said, "My covering is a cloak; my
supper, milk and cheese." You see that the barbarian philosophy professes deeds,
not words. The apostle thus speaks: "So likewise ye, except ye utter by the
tongue a word easy to be understood, how shall ye know what is spoken? for ye
shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kind of voices in the
world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the
meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that
speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me." And, "Let him that speaketh in an
unknown tongue pray that he may interpret." <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><i>Exhortation to the Heathen</i> </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Magi & Magians - Beliefs & Customs</span><br />
<a href="http://www.piney.com/MuClement.html">(Original at Piney.com)</a><br />
Chap. 5. Let the philosophers, then, own as their teachers the Persians, or the Sauromatae, or the Magi...
<br />
<br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-83042042401120566402013-08-15T22:55:00.000-07:002016-06-26T16:18:25.970-07:00The Difference between Ahura (Khoda), Mazda & Yazata (Yazdan) - Lord, God & DivineSuggested prior reading: <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/khv-xv-and-hv-sounds-in-avestan.html"> » Etymology of Khoda / Khuda & khvet-vadta</a><br />
Also see <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2009/12/god-time-creation-in-zoroastrianism.html">» God, Time & Creation in Zoroastrianism</a><br />
<br />
What is the difference between the Avestan, Old Iranian words Ahura, Mazda and Yazata (Khoda, Hormazd/Hormuz/Hormozd and Yazdan in Pazand, New Persian)?<br />
<br />
The words 'ahura' and 'khoda' mean 'lord'. Khoda has its roots in Avestan khvadata (khvadhatahe) meaning sovereign i.e. self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-governing and independent. Khvata or khwada (lord)/ khvatay or khwaday (of the lord) is Middle Persian (Pahlavi) while khoda / khodai is Pazand or New Persian (Pazand). Khvadata is linked to Khshatra (meaning lord or king).<br />
<br />
The difference between God and Lord is that between creator and sovereign. While today 'Khoda' is used almost exclusively to mean 'God', in the past, it could mean a temporal lord or king as well.<br />
<br />
The words 'ahura' (Avestan, Old Iranian), 'khvatay' or 'khwaday' (Pahlavi, Middle Persian) and 'khoda' (Pazand, New Persian) share the same root word 'ahu' (Av.) meaning 'lord'. 'Ahu' evolved to the Middle Persian 'akhv' or 'akhw'. Ahu has been used in words such as landlord or village chief.<br />
<br />
However, the words 'ahura' and 'khoda' appear to have taken on slightly different nuances in meaning through usage. The difference to this writer appears to be that while people may live under the dominion of an ahura (a lord who has dominion or control), khoda denotes being sovereign. Therefore, the distinction this author sees is that 'khvadata'/'khoda' means 'sovereign' while 'ahura' means 'having dominion'. Both are attributes of a lord whether temporal or divine.<br />
<br />
The title Mazda, God, confers the supreme quality of being a creator ex-nihilo i.e. out of nothing or from a thought as alluded to be Gatha Y. 31.11, the intermediate agency being the spiritual creation with the material manifesting itself from the spiritual (cf. Gatha chapter Y 30). Some authors translate the creative ability from a thought as a function of wisdom and therefore we have Mazda = Wise God. The creative function of Mazda is affirmed and reaffirmed repeated throughout the Zoroastrian scriptures, the <i>Avesta</i>, in the term 'Mazda-data' which translates variously as God-created, God-given and God-gifted.<br />
<br />
[According to Prof. Martin Haug in <i>Essays on the Sacred Language</i> etc. at p. 301 note 1, originally 'Mazda' (which he feels is phonetically identical with the Sanskrit 'medhas' from 'mad' = 'all' + 'dhao' = 'creating') would not have originally meant 'wise'. Rather, it would have originally meant "creator of all" as demonstrated in Yasna 45.1. Zarathushtra combined his concept of a singular creator God with Ahura-Tkaesha, the 'Doctrine of the Lord' to promulgate the Mazdayasno Zarathushtrish Vidaevo Ahura-Tkaesho meaning 'Zarathushtrian God-Worship, opposed to the Daevas (through the) doctrine of the Lord.]<br />
<br />
Why make a distinction between God and Lord? Because it is possible to be a lord and not a god. When we perceive yazatas (Avestan, Old Iranian) as being (divine) angels with specific areas of dominion, they are ahuras over their areas of guardianship as agents of God. However, yazata angels do not have the supreme quality of being creators ex-nihilo i.e. they are not Mazda. [Yazata can mean 'of the Divine' or 'venerable'. It can also mean ‘divine quality’ or ‘divine attribute’. 'Yazamaide' means 'venerate'.]<br />
<br />
The poet Ferdowsi uses the word 'yazdan' in Parsi, New Persian ('yazdan' being derived from the Avestan, Old Iranian 'yazata') in 'Pak-e Yazdan' to mean 'Pure Divinity'. <br />
<br />
Today, therefore, we have four primary ways to address the Ultimate: Khoda (Lord Sovereign), Ahura (Lord with Dominion), Mazda (Creator) and Yazdan (Divinity). While 'Mazda Ahura' is commonly translated as 'Wise God', if we define Ahura Mazda by attribute, it translates as Lord God.<br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-69316437215272229862013-03-14T00:32:00.000-07:002013-03-14T15:54:47.347-07:00Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
Today, over twenty five hundred years after his death, we celebrate and honour the life of King Cyrus II, the Great. He is famed as an icon for his humanity and benevolence. What inspired him to these acts? Was he irreligious or pious? If he had a faith, to what religion did he belong? Since we know of no direct statement by him about his faith, we will search the oldest available records about him to seek answers to our questions.<br />
<br />
King Cyrus lived between 600 and 530 BCE and was a member of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty of kings. Alexander of Macedonia destroyed the bulk of Achaemenid records when he invaded Persia and deposed the Achaemenids. What remains of the records are mainly rock inscriptions. Most of our information about the Achaemenids now comes from foreign sources: Classical Greek and Roman texts – even the Hebrew Bible. We will examine these records in our search for answers.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Achaemenid Inscriptions</span><br />
Before we review the surviving Achaemenid inscriptions, a few words about a name we will encounter and its implications. Zoroastrianism is an English name of Greek origin for an old Iranian-Aryan religion founded by Zarathushtra. The older name for the religion is Mazdayasna meaning ‘Mazda-worship’ i.e. ‘God-worship’. A Mazdayasni is a person who worships, reveres, acknowledges or extols Ahura Mazda/Ahuramazda. The Zoroastrian/ Zarathushtrian religion is the only religion whose term or word for God is ‘Ahura Mazda’ –written in the Achaemenid inscription translations as ‘Ahuramazda’.<br />
<br />
The earliest surviving Achaemenid stone inscriptions are brief lines by King Ariaramnes the third member of the Achaemenid dynasty (who reigned from 640 to 590 BCE), and those by his son, Arsames. Ariaramnes and Arsames are English names derived from the Greek versions of the names. The original Old Persian names are Ariyaramna and Arshama.<br />
<br />
Ariaramnes’ inscription states “Great God Ahuramazda bestowed kingship upon me. By the grace of Ahuramazda, I am king of this country. May Ahuramazda help me.” In his inscription, Arsames states, “Ahuramazda, Great God, the greatest of deities, made me king. By the grace of Ahuramazda, I reign over this land. May Ahuramazda protect me, my royal house and this land over which I reign.”<br />
<br />
Only two short inscriptions of Cyrus II, the Great, survive. One states, “I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian.” Cyrus was the seventh in the Achaemenid dynastic line.<br />
<br />
Darius I, the Great, the ninth in the dynastic line, left behind several inscriptions that have survived and which mention Ahuramazda. In one, Darius states, “By the grace of Ahuramazda I am king; Ahuramazda bestowed this kingdom upon me.”<br />
<br />
We see that the Achaemenids before and after Cyrus acknowledged and extolled Ahuramazda. We can only hope that intact inscriptions of Cyrus still survive and await discovery. Thankfully, we have numerous Greek and Roman references to the religion of the Persians, Achaemenids and Cyrus. It is to these references that we now turn our attention.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Greek/Roman Texts</span><br />
In his <i>Alcibiades I</i>, Greek philosopher, Plato called Zoroaster (Zarathushtra) the founder of the doctrine of the magi. Plato’s disciple, Hermodorus, said Zoroaster was the first Magian. During Cyrus’ time, the Western, i.e. Greek/Latin based, name for the Zoroastrian or Mazdayasna religion was either the ‘Religion of the Magi’ or the ‘Magian Religion’. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Persian Religion</span><br />
Several Classical Greek and Roman authors describe the Persian religion from their frame of reference. They call Ahura Mazda ‘Zeus’ or ‘Jupiter’ and call the Yazata-angels, ‘gods’ (that is how the English translations read). We will begin our review with Classical Greek author Herodotus’ (c. 485-420 BCE) account of the Persian religion in his Histories (at 1.130).<br />
<br />
Immediately after describing the rise of Cyrus the Great as ‘master of Upper Asia’, Herodotus, launches into a description of the customs and religion of the Persians. [Herodotus’ understanding of Upper Asia was the region we know as Aryana, the Aryan lands, i.e., the region west of the Jaxartes River (Syr Darya) and below Scythia (i.e. south of present-day Russia).]<br />
<br />
What Herodotus describes is a religion whose priests were the magi. Importantly, he notes that the Persian religion “has come down to them (the Persians) from ancient times.” In other words, the religion of Persia that he describes was not a newly formed religion, but an ancient one. Herodotus then states that the Persians “have no images of the gods, no temples and no altars – and consider their use a sign of folly. This comes, I think, from their not believing the gods (sic) to have the same nature with men, as the Greeks imagine. Their wont, however, is to ascend the summits of the loftiest mountains, and there to making offerings to Jupiter (chief Roman deity i.e. Ahura Mazda), which is the name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament.” Herodotus adds that during a religious offering, one of the “magi comes forward and chants a hymn, which they say recounts the origin of the cosmos. No prayer or offering can be made without a magus present.” At 1.140, Herodotus states, “There is another custom which is spoken of with reserve, and not openly, concerning their dead.” After describing the practice he adds, “That the magi have this custom is beyond a doubt, for they practise it without any concealment.” The one feature that sets the Zoroastrian/ Zarathushtrian religion apart is its funerary customs (also see <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/death/index.htm">Funerary Customs page</a> 1 & <a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/death/page3.htm#towersofsilence">towers of silence</a>).<br />
<br />
Herodotus and other Classical authors make the magi part of all the stories regarding Cyrus’ birth and his early years. We describe their involvement during his later years below.<br />
<br />
Herodotus does not note the presence of any other Persian religion. Albert de Jong in <i>Traditions of the Magi: Zoroastrianism in Greek and Latin Literature</i> states, “There is no trace of a plurality among the Iranians. On the contrary, in the (Greek and Latin) Classical texts, only one religion is recognized: the religion of the Persians. This religion is often connected with the name Zoroaster, who enjoyed a wide reputation in the ancient world as the founder of the order of the magi, and by extension as the founder of the wisdom and religion of the Persians.”<br />
<br />
The Classical texts are, nevertheless, replete with references to the Achaemenid kings expressing their Magian piety, their consultations with the magi, and their participation in ceremonies officiated by the magi. We will now begin an examination of Cyrus’ religion.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Religion of Cyrus</span><br />
Mary Boyce in <i>A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume II: Under the Achaemenians</i> at page 46 makes a convincing argument about a dramatic congruence between the writings of the Second (post Babylonian) Isaiah (in the Hebrew Bible) and the much older Yasna 44, part of the Gathas, the hymns of Zarathushtra in the scriptures, the <i>Avesta</i>. [It is in Isaiah 44-45 that we read a reference to Cyrus that bears some similarities to the first part of the text on the Cyrus Cylinder.] Boyce suggests that the relationship between the Second Isaiah and the teachings of Zarathushtra developed through the agency of a magus during the time Cyrus liberated the Jews from Babylon. She ends her analysis by stating that this was “good evidence that the Persian king (Cyrus) was not only a believer (in Zoroastrianism), but one committed to establishing the faith throughout his realms….” Boyce goes on to state that the cosmological teachings of Anaximander of Miletus – a contemporary of Cyrus from Greek Ionia – “show marked Zoroastrian influences”.<br />
<br />
Of the several references relating to Cyrus and the magi in Classical Greek/Roman literature, we will mention only a few. Arrian, a second century CE Roman historian, notes that the magi were charged with looking after Cyrus’ tomb at Pasargadae and had a “small house” close to the tomb. The only purpose of having priests close to a tomb continuously is to tend to an ongoing religious function at the tomb site. One such function could have been the tending of an ever-burning fire and another could have been the recitation of prayers during the five watches of a day. Broken fire-holders (also called fire altars by some) have been found in Pasargadae. The same style of the fire holders continued to be used for Zoroastrian fire-holders/altars in later centuries.<br />
<br />
Xenophon in his Cyropaedia devotes a great deal of Book 8 to Cyrus’ piety and his Magian beliefs. At 8.1.23, Xenophon notes that Cyrus “showed himself in the first place more devout in his worship of the deities (Ahura Mazda and the Yazata angels) now that he was more fortunate. From the first time he instituted the College of Magi, he has never failed to sing hymns to the deities at daybreak and to make offerings daily to whatsoever deities the magi directed. <br />
<br />
24. Thus, the institutions established by him at that time have continued in force with each successive king even to this day (Cyrus’ faith was not any different from the faith of his successors). In this respect, therefore, the rest of the Persians also imitated him from the first; for they believed that they would be more certain of good fortune if they revered the deities just as he who was their sovereign did – for he was the most fortunate of all. (The Persians) thought also that in doing this they would please Cyrus. <br />
<br />
25. Cyrus considered that the piety of his friends was a good thing for him too. For he reasoned – as are the preferences of those who embark on a voyage – that he would rather set sail with pious companions than with those who commit impiety. He reasoned besides, that if all his associates were God-fearing men, they would be less inclined to commit crimes against one another or against him, and if they considered him to be their benefactor. <br />
<br />
26. He made it plain how important it was to wrong none of his friends or allies. If he always paid scrupulous regard to what was upright, others also, he thought, would be more likely to abstain from improper gains and to endeavour to make their way by upright methods.” Xenophon goes on to note Cyrus’ piety and his creed’s principles of self-control and moderation.<br />
<br />
Further along in his book, Xenophon describes a procession directed by the magi [“for the Persians (i.e. Cyrus as well) think that they scrupulously ought to be guided by those whose profession it is with things divine than those from other professions”] where Cyrus’ chariot was preceded by a chariot carrying the sacred fire on a great altar. <br />
<br />
From these few references, we see that Cyrus was a devout and pious man. His Magian faith inspired him to value above all the qualities of character that made him care about the welfare of others. They inspired him to treat others with dignity and respect. He embraced honesty and trustworthiness while spurning greed and lust. Though supremely self-confident in his goals, he was humble when dealing with others.<br />
<br />
Xenophon ends his narrative with a lament, that immediately upon Cyrus’ death, his heirs began to quarrel, and everything began to deteriorate including the Persian’s attitude towards religion. In the past, if the king or anyone under his authority made a commitment, they adhered to that commitment strictly, “even if it benefited persons who had committed the greatest offenses.” Because they were of such character and had earned a reputation of honesty and trustworthiness, everyone trusted Cyrus and his officials implicitly and readily placed themselves in their charge. Now (in Xenophon’s time), because of their impiety, nobody trusted the Persians. The Persians had become less regardful of piety towards God, less equitable in their relationships, less just in their dealings, and less vigorous in war.<br />
<br />
Alexander, it is said, read Xenophon’s lament and was thus emboldened to hatch his schemes. What happened next is a repeat of the historic tragic Aryan cycle of rise to greatness followed by impiety, lack of regard for a strict ethical code and internecine conflicts that led to a devastating fall from grace.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Religion & Inspiration of Cyrus – In Conclusion</span><br />
We have seen that:<br />
<ol>
<li>The Achaemenid kings before and after Cyrus, acknowledged Ahuramazda and were by definition Mazdayasni. </li>
<li>The Achaemenid kings were simultaneously described by Greek/Latin writers as Magian and the magi officiated in all religious duties at court to the exclusion of any other religion’s priests. </li>
<li>The Achaemenid kings therefore belonged to the Mazdayasna-Magian-Zarathushtrian (Zoroastrian) religion. </li>
<li>Cyrus was a pious Magian-Mazdayasna-Zarathushtrian (Zoroastrian) and his faith inspired his acts of greatness. Indeed, he demonstrated the efficacy of faithfully following the edicts of the Zoroastrian (Zarathushtrian) creed – it is the formula for success and greatness.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
___________________________________</div>
<ol>
</ol>
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
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<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-66848303396541884202013-03-12T05:24:00.000-07:002013-03-14T00:40:51.820-07:00Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
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<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
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<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">The Hebrew Bible</span><br />
The Hebrew or Jewish Bible, which for the main part forms the Christian Bible’s Old Testament has the following three main sections consisting of the books that are relevant to our discussion:<br />
<ol>
<li>The Torah (Instructions). The history of the Kingdom of Judah (Judea) figures prominently in the Torah. Judea was a kingdom south of the Kingdom of Israel.</li>
<li>The Nevi'im (Prophets) includes writings ascribed to Jeremiah and Isaiah.</li>
<li>The Ketuvim (Writings) includes those books attributed to Ezra and Daniel.</li>
</ol>
The sections noted above contain references to Cyrus II, the Great (reigned from 559-530 BCE), Darius I, the Great (reigned from 522-486) and the Medes and Persians in general (we will not limit ourselves to only those sections related to Cyrus). For instance, the Book of Ezra concerns itself with 1. the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity in the 'first' year of Cyrus the Great (538 BCE), and 2. the completion and dedication of the new Temple in Jerusalem in the sixth year of Darius.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Prophets - Isaiah</span><br />
(Based on the JPS Edition 1917)<br />
Thus says the Lord of Cyrus: he is My anointed and I hold his right hand that he may subdue nations before him. I will loose the strength in the loins of their kings and will open before him the two leaved gates of cities so that the gates shall not be shut. (Isaiah 45.1)<br />
<br />
Thus says the Lord of Cyrus: he is My shepherd and he will accomplish My desire by decreeing that Jerusalem be built, and of the temple, that its foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44.28)<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Writings – the Book of Ezra</span><br />
(Based on the JPS Edition 1917)<br />
<br />
[From about the 8th century BCE until the coming of Cyrus, the kingdom of Judah was a vassal kingdom first to the Assyrians and then to the rulers of Babylon. In c. 588 BCE, a revolt by Judah was suppressed by the Babylonian armies of <b>Nebuchadnezzar II</b> (605-562 BCE). Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed and the King of Judah, <b>Zedekiah</b>, was forced to watch the execution of his own two sons, after which his own eyes were put out. Then he, his court and all but farmers and the poor of Judah were forced into exile in Babylon (2 Kings 25). The deportees were led by <b>Sheshbazzar</b>, also called the Prince of Judah, and <b>Zerubbabel</b> the son of Shealtiel a descendant of King David. The Jews in Babylon never lost the affinity they had for Jerusalem as well as their faith in salvation.<br />
<br />
While Sheshbazzar, who was likely Shenazzar, the son of Jeconiah, King of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:18), was picked by Cyrus to lead the deportees, Cyrus appointed Zerubbabel shortly afterwards as a representative of the Persian Empire in Judea (though some claim Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar where the same person). According to the Hebrew Bible 50,000 Judeans, led by Zerubabel returned to Judah and rebuilt the temple. A second group of 5000, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, returned to Judah in 456 BCE although non-Jews wrote to Cyrus to try to prevent their return.]<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Book 1</span><br />
1. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying:
<br />
2. 'Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
<br />
7. Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
<br />
8. even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
<br />
9. And this is the number of them: thirty basins of gold, a thousand basins of silver, nine and twenty knives.
<br />
10. thirty bowls of gold, silver bowls of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.
<br />
11. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Book 4</span><br />
3. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Book 5</span><br />
13. But in the first year of Cyrus king of (Persia and) Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.<br />
14. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple of Jerusalem to the temple of Babylon – those did Cyrus the king removed from the temple of Babylon and delivered to the custody of Sheshbazzar, whom he had named as governor (of Judah).<br />
15. And Cyrus said to Sheshbazzar, “Take these vessels and go, restore them to the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.
<br />
16. Then Sheshbazzar went to Jerusalem and laid the foundations of the house of God which till now has is still being built and remains incomplete.
<br />
17. Now therefore, if it seems proper to the king (Darius), let a search be made in the king's treasury in Babylon, so, that the decree made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem be located and fulfilled, and let the king (Darius) send his response to us in this matter.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Book 6</span><br />
1. As a result, Darius the king commanded that a search to be conducted in the (Persian Administration’s) house of archives.
<br />
2. There in the palace of Ahmetha (Achmetha, Ecbatana) in the province of Media, a roll was found titled, A Record (and which read:)
<br />
3. In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid. Its height and breadth shall be sixty cubits each,
<br />
4. “…with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber. And let the expenses be given out of the king's house.
<br />
5. “Furthermore, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple at Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple at Jerusalem, every one to its place, and you shall place them in the house of God.”
<br />
(Upon reading the decree Darius issued his own decree that read:)
<br />
6. “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River Shethar-Bozenai (Euphrates), and your companions the apharesachites (counsellors, associates, officials) who are beyond the River, stay away from there.
<br />
7. “Leave this work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
<br />
8. “I make a further decree concerning what you are to do to assist the elders of the Jews in the rebuilding of the house of God: the full cost is to be paid to them from the royal treasury and from the taxes of the provinces beyond the River. Moreover, without delay,
<br />
9. “Whatever is needed as requested by the priests in Jerusalem, be it young bulls, rams, lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, are to be given to them daily and without fail,
<br />
10. “…so that they may offer appropriate sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
<br />
11. “I (Darius) decree that should anyone who violates this edict, he be impaled on a post of timber removed from his house, and his house be made a refuse heap.
<br />
12. May God whose name dwells there overthrow any king or people who raise a hand to destroy the house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out with all diligence.”
<br />
13. Upon receiving Darius’ command, Tattenai, governor (of the satrapy) beyond the River Shethar-Bozenai (Euphrates) and his counsellors, diligently complied with the edict.
<br />
14. Thereafter the elders of the Jews successfully went about building (the temple) as prophesied by Haggai the prophet and by Zechariah, the son of Iddo. And they finished building (the temple) in accordance with the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
<br />
15. This temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius (II?).<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Prophets – Jeremiah (the 70 year Exile)</span><br />
1.1. The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
<br />
25.12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the King of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever.
<br />
29.10 This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
br />
K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-34647949847720274132013-03-10T19:17:00.003-07:002013-03-14T00:41:41.744-07:00Cyrus Cylinder: Talk by Neil MacGregor, Dir. British Museum<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
Neil MacGregor is a director of the British Museum. The video below was taken during a talk he gave on the Cyrus Cylinder at TEDGlobal 2011. Neil MacGregor accompanied the cylinder when it was loaned to Iran for display.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QpmsftF2We4" width="853"></iframe>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-2968890393655623112013-03-10T01:08:00.003-08:002014-03-17T17:08:48.369-07:00Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
In 1928, Xue Shenwei, a Chinese traditional doctor was shown two inscribed fossilized horse bones that bore a script that was unknown to him [and presumably to the then owner(s) of the artifacts as well].<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsSiazPq4zJ767gNPXktUjQ5ZhxAy8ZQ-jFzjfVLylr-XvyOugKCds8_Gn1vNb9DP98nxyOHzs8kPg_3ZerGt1UPYWE0BOnHWaJdBv8G9yvirEuX_7KS-hVY9U-w3N-0EFiuSLysMRL_8/s1600/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsSiazPq4zJ767gNPXktUjQ5ZhxAy8ZQ-jFzjfVLylr-XvyOugKCds8_Gn1vNb9DP98nxyOHzs8kPg_3ZerGt1UPYWE0BOnHWaJdBv8G9yvirEuX_7KS-hVY9U-w3N-0EFiuSLysMRL_8/s640/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone+-+Copy.jpg" height="232" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bone shaft found in China and inscribed in a cuneiform script.<br />
Image credit: Palace Museum, China and currently at <a href="http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2010/august2010/09-08.htm">CAIS</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Bnd_hJw0gVzHsFmdEv8Ji100Ww3hyphenhyphenMxu1FOojxk0YwZ_oGKkqtjPJZzSC_HmHu8Jhaeza4TTl9VLqT3jBKy_2xaCLf_x1BskX3hO-TEfb6Vp_XWFv-T6OxS-HoJz6JI7Jg6kZrNy10ht/s1600/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone1+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Bnd_hJw0gVzHsFmdEv8Ji100Ww3hyphenhyphenMxu1FOojxk0YwZ_oGKkqtjPJZzSC_HmHu8Jhaeza4TTl9VLqT3jBKy_2xaCLf_x1BskX3hO-TEfb6Vp_XWFv-T6OxS-HoJz6JI7Jg6kZrNy10ht/s640/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone1+-+Copy.jpg" height="302" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second bone shaft found in China and inscribed in a cuneiform script.<br />
Image credit: Palace Museum, China and currently at <a href="http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2010/august2010/09-08.htm">CAIS</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The bones had been found somewhere in China. Seven years later, Xue decided to purchase the bones. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second one in 1940. Xue presumed they were written in an unknown ancient script that had been used in China.<br />
<br />
In 1966, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Xue buried the bones for safe keeping. Years later, when he thought the threat of the bones being confiscated or destroyed had passed, he dug up bones and in 1983, took them to the Palace Museum in Beijing' Forbidden City for examination and assessment. The inscription collection of the Palace Museum is the largest of its kind in China and Xue likely hoped that the museums curators and experts might be able to shed some light on the script. It was then that Xue learnt that the script on the bones was not a lost Chinese script, but cuneiform. In 1985, shortly before his demise, Xue donated the bones to the Museum naming the seller(s) from whom he had purchased the bones.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkDGz8MPVBjQ-qKrNIxXVo6MOubOMtMhyphenhyphen6l30zgtEwlHMmvMQo-ecH1n0BI-svGPK2NTfXFy3PS9WuFG7SiJFT8AV4xc1uMdcDgSfUBHOpMT7CBrW3buSFXWApbDkv4cczBcyNIgKEp2L/s1600/Chinese+Oracle+Bones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkDGz8MPVBjQ-qKrNIxXVo6MOubOMtMhyphenhyphen6l30zgtEwlHMmvMQo-ecH1n0BI-svGPK2NTfXFy3PS9WuFG7SiJFT8AV4xc1uMdcDgSfUBHOpMT7CBrW3buSFXWApbDkv4cczBcyNIgKEp2L/s640/Chinese+Oracle+Bones.jpg" height="640" width="384" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14th-12th cent. oracle (ox) bones from<br />
Xiaotun, China. Excavated in 1945.<br />
Currently part of the Schøyen Collection<br />
Image credit: <a href="http://www.schoyencollection.com/firstalpha2.html">Schøyen Collection</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
[It is of some interest to note that inscribed animal bones have been discovered in China dating back to the 14th-12th cent. BCE. The inscriptions are the oldest surviving examples of the Chinese script used to write complete and meaningful sentences. The inscribed bones are referred to as oracles bones. The bones in our example shown at the right are from an ox’s scapula (shoulder blade). About 10,000 oracle bones are known to exist.<br />
<br />
Nearly all known Chinese oracle bones are from Xiaotun (also Yinxu or Yin Xu) located 3 km north-west of Anyang the ancient capital of the Late Shang Dynasty. Anyang itself is located in the northern province of Henan not far from the eastern terminus of the Silk Roads (<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/trade.htm">the Aryan trade roads</a>), namely, the cities of Zhengzhou and Luoyang. This region would have been very familiar to Iranian traders especially Sogdians who had colonies along the Silk Roads in China.<br />
<br />
The oracle bones date to the reign of Wu Ding, who died around 1189 BCE. The oracular use of the bones involved the interpretation of pattern of cracks which appeared on the bones after subjecting them to heat via a heated metal rod. The text on the bones records the interpretation of the oracle and the date of its production. We make this note since the use of inscriptions on bones is very specific to one area of China known to ancient Iranian (Persian) traders and where they have been found in great abundance.]<br />
<br />
Palace Museum specialist Wu Yuhong determined that the text on one of the bones bore similarities to the text on the Babylonian Cyrus Cylinder. That bone’s text contained one in every twenty of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform characters in correct order. As he could not identify the text on the other bone, the Palace Museum sent images of the script on the two bones to the British Museum for further study.<br />
<br />
At this juncture in the narrative, we need to turn our attention to the ongoing analysis of the (incomplete) text contained on the Cyrus Cylinder found in Babylon. In 2009, Wilfred Lambert, a retired professor from Birmingham University and Irving Finkel, Curator of Cuneiform Collections at the British Museum, had determined that the text on some tablet fragments in the British Museum's possession, were part of Cyrus' proclamation. These fragments had been uncovered by Hormuzd Rassam in Dailem (a site near but separate from Babylon). Shortly after this discovery by Lambert, Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper, Department of the Middle East, similarly identified another tablet fragment. Perhaps, now aware of the possibility that the text on the Cyrus Cylinder was not unique to the Babylon temple where the cylinder had been found - that it might have been only one instance of Cyrus' proclamation being distributed throughout Cyrus' empire - we read that Finkel re-examined the images of the Chinese bones. He now determined that the text on the second bone that had not been previously been connected to Cyrus, was also part of Cyrus' proclamation.<br />
<br />
Finkel communicated his finding to the Palace Museum and at the same time requested better images of the text. The request prompted Chinese Assyriologist Dr. Yushu Gong to make a set of rubbings of the bone inscriptions using black wax (on white paper). The resulting contrast provided a more distinct representation of the script on the bones than had the previous photographs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58g0T_xTCDtOulqy0b-74I3obvGoeubOMt6XuSiMgREMYumwtLG1DT6HHFOq5sz-nCPxavmhgA3H9jNEPZKtiew6chW2bVY_BCcimnzhu6TxvSps1DQhyphenhyphenX6hNNCPvtADWWtG2zot3hP3m/s1600/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone2+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58g0T_xTCDtOulqy0b-74I3obvGoeubOMt6XuSiMgREMYumwtLG1DT6HHFOq5sz-nCPxavmhgA3H9jNEPZKtiew6chW2bVY_BCcimnzhu6TxvSps1DQhyphenhyphenX6hNNCPvtADWWtG2zot3hP3m/s640/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone2+-+Copy.jpg" height="368" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubbing of the bone with cuneiform script attributed to the edict of Cyrus<br />
Image credit: Palace Museum, China and currently at <a href="http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2010/august2010/09-08.htm">CAIS</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6lFm1_u4-I-NqAKaSNnSyuUDGu6mTjXQNcX0OUSn9tsjsVCubMtnoIH5pMzRDpFVpiHSrJt2-AdX-lI2_f5KDLtoh11xoL-TlPruHKTihERsm9QtMICP7jW79NFC_rl7XgAFbwlBEOIs/s1600/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone3+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6lFm1_u4-I-NqAKaSNnSyuUDGu6mTjXQNcX0OUSn9tsjsVCubMtnoIH5pMzRDpFVpiHSrJt2-AdX-lI2_f5KDLtoh11xoL-TlPruHKTihERsm9QtMICP7jW79NFC_rl7XgAFbwlBEOIs/s640/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone3+-+Copy.jpg" height="298" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubbing of the bone with cuneiform script attributed to the edict of Cyrus<br />
Image credit: Palace Museum, China and currently at <a href="http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2010/august2010/09-08.htm">CAIS</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRx3Jq-uYnfLQa5HdotPiFbHOq8JKWZhoH3Ie2n4m60Jqt0vcANAP92RD6v8gbMVUAXTT05nE7hUcWFvCvqpKort1LvtcswjuNol1ukvRRoP5QGEnUWB2VZFIpYJqCMWK05ujru4tidG-/s1600/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone4+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRx3Jq-uYnfLQa5HdotPiFbHOq8JKWZhoH3Ie2n4m60Jqt0vcANAP92RD6v8gbMVUAXTT05nE7hUcWFvCvqpKort1LvtcswjuNol1ukvRRoP5QGEnUWB2VZFIpYJqCMWK05ujru4tidG-/s640/cyrus_cylinder_chinese_horse_bone4+-+Copy.jpg" height="396" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubbing of the bone with cuneiform script attributed to the edict of Cyrus<br />
Image credit: Palace Museum, China and currently at <a href="http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2010/august2010/09-08.htm">CAIS</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At about the same time that the communication between Finkel and Gong had been taking place, the British Museum and the Iran Heritage Foundation cosponsored a two-day workshop on new discoveries concerning the Cyrus Cylinder to be held on June 23rd and 24th, 2010. Yushu Gong carried the cuneiform bone rubbings with him to the workshop in London where he presented them to the participants. The findings of the workshop were announced to a public information session on the evening of June 24th - by presenters Neil MacGregor, Irving Finkel, Matthew Stolper and John Curtis.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnSL9sR0Omcmh3J2pK73rmOebXekaVbbbIyt299dEEtVDD1Fjk4og0sBBEYrChrTLRtydqOJFpMvFzxGF8J3prqH2IOk408QsVOjlzTIYncSORg5a6GRM7YfsI03NNIjeCj3E3RtpanOO/s1600/irving_finkel.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnSL9sR0Omcmh3J2pK73rmOebXekaVbbbIyt299dEEtVDD1Fjk4og0sBBEYrChrTLRtydqOJFpMvFzxGF8J3prqH2IOk408QsVOjlzTIYncSORg5a6GRM7YfsI03NNIjeCj3E3RtpanOO/s400/irving_finkel.jpg.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irving Fenkel, Curator of<br />
Cuneiform Collections at the British Museum<br />
and a rubbing of a Chinese<br />
cuneiform inscribed horse-bone before him.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finkel had determined that both the script and the text on the Chinese bones were similar to, but not identical to those on the Cyrus Cylinder. The peculiarity of the text on the Chinese bones - with every twentieth word transcribed - was that they were linguistically correct. In addition, the individual wedge-like strokes of the cuneiform characters had a slightly different v-shaped top compared to the Babylonian standard. The shape of the top of the characters was instead similar to the form used by scribes in Persia. Finkel therefore stated, "The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon." <br />
<br />
If the writing on the bones was a forgery written by someone with no knowledge of the cuneiform script, one could reasonably expect a number of errors and even a made-up script. Regardless of the authenticity of the Chinese bones as a legitimately distributed copy of Cyrus' edict, whoever made the bone inscriptions would have had to have access to the Persian version of Cyrus' edict. This in itself is a further indication that Cyrus' edict was not limited to Babylon and for this reason alone, the text merits serious consideration as a copy of the edict that had been circulated throughout Cyrus' realm. That version could have been written not as a clay inscription, but on any substrate. It could have been carved on stone or written with ink on leather as well as parchment.<br />
<br />
There wasn't sufficient time at the workshop for an in-depth analysis of the Chinese cuneiform bones. That would require further debate. Nevertheless, what was beginning to take hold was the concept that Cyrus' Cylinder was not just another foundation deposit - it was part of a larger distribution of Cyrus' edict. The corollary to this concept was that Cyrus had intended the edict to be a universal policy of governance throughout his empire. While there was some scepticism towards this concept expressed by a few of the workshop's participants, Finkel (whose opinion appears to have changed diametrically on this issue) believed that the evidence was "completely compelling."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-33440589532029198292013-03-09T19:53:00.002-08:002013-03-20T16:26:38.913-07:00Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
The text on the Cyrus Cylinder can be divided into two parts. The first part appears to have been written by someone like a Babylonian head priest of the Temple of Marduk. Here, the reader will note some similarities with the text in the Hebrew Bible. For instance Cyrus is seen as a saviour whose hand is held by God (Marduk). The second part is written in a style reminiscent of the Persian Achaemenid inscriptions adapted from a Babylonian perspective (we can expect that if other such edicts are found distributed in other parts of Cyrus' realm, they will all be adapted from a local or regional perspective).<br />
<br />
The following is a free adaptation of the various English translations of the text of the Cyrus Cylinder by K.E. Eduljee:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Part 1</b></span> (possibly authored by the head priest of the Temple of Marduk):<br />
<br />
"(King Nabonidus of Babylon) put a low person in charge of the country and constructed false temples in Ur and other cities. He instituted improper rites and brought the daily religious offerings to a halt within the sanctuaries. He no longer feared Marduk, supreme God. He caused evil acts within the city every day, burdened the people without relief thereby bringing ruin.<br />
<br />
"The supreme God became furious at these transgressions. Taking pity on all the settlements whose sanctuaries were in ruins, and for the populations who had become like corpses, He sought to find relief. He searched all the countries for a saviour seeking an upright king. He took the hand of Cyrus, king of Anshan, and proclaimed his kingship over all the world. He made the land of the Qutu and all the Median troops prostrate themselves at Cyrus' feet. He looked for justice and righteousness for the black-headed people whom he had put under his care.<br />
<br />
"Marduk, the great lord, who nurtures his people, saw with pleasure Cyrus' fine deeds and true heart and ordered that Cyrus go to Babylon. He had Cyrus take the road to Tintir, and, like a friend and companion, walked at his side. Cyrus' vast troops whose number, like the water in a river, could not be counted, marched fully-armed at his side. Marduk had Cyrus enter Shuanna without fighting or battle. He saved Babylon from hardship. He handed over to Cyrus Nabonidus, the king who did not fear him. All the people of Tintir, Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down before Cyrus and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone. The lord through whose trust all were rescued from death and who saved them all from distress and hardship, they blessed him sweetly and praised his name."<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Part 2</span></b>: The edict (or decree/proclamation) of Cyrus:<br />
<br />
"I am Cyrus, emperor, king of kings, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world, son of Cambyses, great king, king of the city of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, great king, descendant of Teispes, great king, king of Anshan, of the lineage of kings whose reign is blessed by Bel and Nabu, and whose kingship they are pleased to protect.<br />
<br />
"Amid jubilation and rejoicing, I entered Babylon in peace to establish a just government and strive for peace. My troops wandered peacefully throughout Babylon. In all of Sumer and Akkad, I gave no cause for fear and no one was terrorized. I concerned myself with the needs and welfare of the citizens of Babylon, Sumer and Akkad, and with promoting their well-being. I freed them from their improper oppression & bondage. I healed their afflictions and put an end to their misfortune. I restored their dilapidated dwellings. I gathered and assisted the displaced held in bondage, to return to their homes.<br />
<br />
"I rebuilt sanctuaries and chapels that lay in ruins. The deities of Sumer and Akkad that Nabonidus had, to the fury of the people, brought to Shuanna, I returned unharmed to their rightful sanctuaries. I have returned all the deities to their sanctuaries and restored their temples.<br />
<br />
"All the enthroned kings from every quarter, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, from the city of Ashur and Susa, Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Qutu the kings of Amurru who live in tents, and from remote lands, brought tribute into Shuanna and laid them at my feet. My government has enabled all these lands to live in peace and order.<br />
<br />
"For the protection of the citizens, I have strengthened with baked brick and tar, the protecting walls of Imgur-Enlil and the fortifications of the city of Babylon beside the city's moat. I have completed sections of the fortifications that had remained unfinished despite the bondage in which previous kings had placed the people. I have had constructed from cedar, copper cladding and copper hinges and fittings, the large gates of the city. When I had all the gates strengthened, I saw inscribed the name of my predecessor, King Ashurbanipal." <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-55704816567546372912013-03-09T19:53:00.001-08:002013-03-14T00:43:41.420-07:00Cyrus Cylinder - Translation of the Text (Rogers)<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
The following is a transcription and translation of the text (lines 1 to 36 only) inscribed on the main body Cyrus Cylinder as adapted by Gösta Ahlström in <i>The History of Ancient Palestine</i> (Minneapolis, 1993) from the work of Robert William Rogers as in <i>Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament</i> (Eugene, 1912) and as presented by <a href="http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/cyrus.html#R">K. C. Hanson</a>. The translation by Rogers is also available at <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Cyrus_cylinder">Wikisource</a>.
<br />
<table cellpadding="10" cellspacing="6" style="height: 4px; width: 98%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td width="50%"><br />
<center>
<span style="font-size: large;">TRANSLITERATION</span></center>
<center>
(Rogers
1912:380-84)</center>
</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br />
<center>
<span style="font-size: large;">TRANSLATION</span></center>
<center>
(Adapted from Rogers
1912:380-84)</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top">[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . ]<i>-ni-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">1</td>
<td valign="Top">[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
] his troops</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top">[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. ]<i>-ki-ib-ra-tim</i></td>
<td valign="Top">2</td>
<td valign="Top">[ . . . . . . . . . . . . four] quarters of the
world</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top">[. . . ]<i>-ka gal ma tu-û i<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> -<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ak-na a-na e-nu-tu ma-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">3</td>
<td valign="Top">[ . . . ] a weakling was established as ruler over
his land</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-</i>[ . . . .
. . . . . . <i>ta-am</i>]<i>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-li ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>a-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-ki-na <u>s</u>i-ru-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
u-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">4</td>
<td valign="Top">and [ . . . . . ] a similar one he appointed over
them,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ta-am-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-li É-sag-ila
i-te-</i>[. . . . . . <i>-ti</i>]<i>m a-na Uri<sup>ki</sup> ù si-it-ta-tim
ma-<u>h</u>a-za</i></td>
<td valign="Top">5</td>
<td valign="Top">like Esagila he made [ . . . ] to Ur and the rest
of the cities,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>pa-ra-a<u>s</u> la si-ma-a-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u-nu ta-</i>[ . . . . . <i>l</i>]<i>i û-mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á-am-ma id-di-ni-ib-bu-ub ù ana na-ak-ri-tim</i></td>
<td valign="Top">6</td>
<td valign="Top">a command dishonoring them [ . . . . . ] he planned
daily and in enmity,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>sat-tuk-ku ù-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ab-ti-li
ú-ad-</i>[<i>di</i> . . . . . . <i>i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span></i>]<i>
-tak-ka-an ki-rib ma-<u>h</u>a-zi pa-la-<u>h</u>a <sup>ilu</sup>Marduk <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ar ilâni</i> [<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á</i>]<i>-qi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>e a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u-u<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">7</td>
<td valign="Top">he caused the daily offering to cease; he appointed
[ . . . ] he established within the city. The worship of Marduk, king of the
gods [ . . . ]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>li-mu-ut-ti ali-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u</i>
[<i>i-te</i>]<i>-ni-ip-pu-u<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> û-mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á-am-ma na-</i>[<i>. . . . ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e</i>
] <i>i-na ab-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a-a-ni la ta-ap-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-ú<u>h</u> -tim ú-<u>h</u>al-li-iq kul-lat-si-in</i></td>
<td valign="Top">8</td>
<td valign="Top">he showed hostility toward his city daily<br />
[ . . . ] his people; he brought all of them to ruin through servitude
without rest.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>a-na ta-zi-im-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-na
<sup>ilu</sup>Ellil <sup>lil</sup>ilani iz-zi-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
i-gu-ug-ma</i> [ . . . ] <i>ki-su-úr-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú-un
ilâni a-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>i-ib lib-bi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-nu i-zi-bu ad-ma-an-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>ú-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">9</td>
<td valign="Top">On account of their complaints, the lords of the
gods became furiously angry and left their land; the gods, who dwelt among
them, left their homes,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>i-na ug-ga-ti <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á
ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>e-ri-bi a-na ki-rib Babili <sup>ilu</sup>
Marduk ti-</i>[<i> . . . .</i> ] <i>li-sa-a<u>h</u>-ra a-na nap-<u>h</u>ar
da-ád-mi <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>á in-na-du-ú <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú-bat-su-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">10</td>
<td valign="Top">in anger over his bringing into Babylon. Marduk
[ . . . ] to all the dwelling places, which had become ruins,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ù ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e <sup>mât</sup><span style="font-size: small;">
Š</span>ú-me-ri ù Ak-ka-di<sup>ki</sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
a i-mu-ú <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>a-lam-ta-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-sa-a<u>h</u>-<u>h</u>i-ir ka-</i> [ <i>. . . .</i> ]<i>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>i ir-ta-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> i ta-a-a-ra kul-lat ma-ta-a-ta ka-li-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>i-na i-<u>h</u> i-it ib-ri-e-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">11</td>
<td valign="Top">and the people of Sumer and Akkad, who were like
corpses [ . . . . ] he turned and granted mercy. In all lands everywhere</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-te-'-e-ma ma-al-ki i-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>a-ru bi-bil lib-bi <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á it-ta-ma-a<u>
h</u> qa-tu-u<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú <sup>
m</sup> Ku-ra-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar ali An-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á-an it-ta-bi ni-bi-it-su a-na ma-li-ku-tim kul-la-ta nap-<u>
h</u> ar iz-zak-ra <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú-</i>[<i>ma-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> u</i>]</td>
<td valign="Top">12</td>
<td valign="Top">he searched; he looked through them and sought
a righteous prince after his own heart, whom he took by the hand. He called
Cyrus, king of Anshan, by name; he appointed him to lordship over the whole
world.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i><sup>mât</sup>Qu-ti-i gi-mir Um-man Man-da
ú-ka-an-ni-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>a a-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
e-pi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u ni<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>e <u>s</u>al-mat
qaqqadu<sup>du</sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>
á-ak-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-du ka-ta-a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u
</i></td>
<td valign="Top">13</td>
<td valign="Top">The land of Qutu, all the Umman-manda, he cast
down at his feet. The black-headed people, whom he gave his hands to conquer,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>i-na ki-it-tim ú mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
a-ru i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-te-ni-'e-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-na-a-tim
<sup> ilu</sup>Marduk belu rabu ta-ru-ú ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
e-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>u ip-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-e-ti <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á dam-qa-a-ta ù lib-ba-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú
i-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á-ra <u>h</u>a-di-i<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>
ip-pa-al-li-is</i></td>
<td valign="Top">14</td>
<td valign="Top">he took them in justice and righteousness. Marduk,
the great lord, looked joyously on the caring for his people, on his pious
works and his righteous heart.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>a-na ali-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú Bab-ilani<sup>
ki</sup> a-la-ak-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú ik-bi ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> a-a<u>s</u>-bi-it-su-ma <u>h</u>ar-ra-nu Babili ki-ma ib-ri ú
tap-pi-e it-tal-la-ka i-da-a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">15</td>
<td valign="Top">To his city, Babylon, he caused him to go; he made
him take the road to Babylon, going as a friend and companion at his side.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>um-ma-ni-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u rap-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>a-a-tim <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á ki-ma me-e nari la &uacute-ta-ad-du-ú
ni-ba-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>&uacute-un kakke-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-nu <u>s</u>a-an-du-ma i-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á-ad-di-<u>
h</u>a i-da-a-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>ú</i></td>
<td valign="Top">16</td>
<td valign="Top">His numerous troops, in unknown numbers, like the
waters of a river, marched armed at his side.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ba-lu qab-li ù ta-<u>h</u>a-zi ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>e-ri-ba-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> ki-rib Babili ala-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú Bab-ilani<sup>ki</sup> i-<u>t</u>i-ir i-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> ap-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á-ki <sup>m, ilu</sup>Nabu-na'id
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>arru la pa-li-<u>h</u>i-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú ú-ma-al-la-a qa-tu-u<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u</i></td>
<td valign="Top">17</td>
<td valign="Top">Without battle and conflict, he permitted him to
enter Babylon. He spared his city, Babylon, a calamity. Nabonidus, the
king, who did not fear him, he delivered into his hand.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e Babili ka-li-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú-nu nap-<u>h</u>ar <sup>mât</sup><span style="font-size: small;">Š</span>
ú-me-ri u Ak-ka-di<sup>ki</sup> ru-bi-e ù <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ak-ka-nak-ka <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>á-pal-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú ik-mi-sa ú-na-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> -<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
i-qu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-pu-u<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú i<u>h</u>-du-ú a-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> arru-ú-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú im-mi-ru pa-nu-u<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> -<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">18</td>
<td valign="Top">All the people of Babylon, Sumer, and Akkad, princes
and governors, fell down before him and kissed his feet. They rejoiced in
his sovereignty; their faces shone.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>be-lu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á i-na tu-kul-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á ú-bal-li-<u>t</u>u mi-tu-ta-an i-na bu-ta-qu ú
pa-ki-e ig-mi-lu kul-la-ta-an <u>t</u>a-bi-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> ik-ta-ar-ra-bu-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-tam-ma-ru zi-ki-ir-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú</i></td>
<td valign="Top">19</td>
<td valign="Top">The lord, who by his power brings the dead to life,
who amid destruction and injury had protected them, they joyously blessed
him, honoring his name.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>a-na-ku <sup>m</sup>Ku-ra-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ar ki<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> at <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>arru rabu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>arru dan-nu <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>
ar Babili <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar <sup>mât</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> Š</span>
ú-me-ri ú Ak-ka-di <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar kib-ra-a-ti ir-bit-tim</i></td>
<td valign="Top">20</td>
<td valign="Top">I am Cyrus, king of the world, the great king,
the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the
four quarters of the world,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>mar <sup>m</sup>Ka-am-bu-zi-ia <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>arru rabu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar alu An-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
á-an mar mari <sup>m</sup>Ku-ra-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>arru rabu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar alu An-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
á-an <span style="font-size: small;">Š</span>A.BAL.BAL <sup>m</sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> i-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-pi-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> arru rabu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar alu An-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
a-an</i></td>
<td valign="Top">21</td>
<td valign="Top">son of Cambyses, the great king, king of the city
of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, king of the city of Anshan;
great-grandson of Teispes, the great king, king of the city of Anshan;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ziru da-ru-ú <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>arru-ú-tu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a <sup>
ilu</sup>Bel u <sup>ilu</sup> Nabu ir-a-mu pa-la-a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú a-na <u>t</u>u-ub lib-bi-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>ú-nu i<u>
h</u>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-<u>h</u>a <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>arru-ut-su
e-nu-ma a-na ki-rib Babili e-ru-bu sa-li-mi-i<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span></i></td>
<td valign="Top">22</td>
<td valign="Top">eternal seed of royalty whose rule Bel and Nabu
love, in whose administration they rejoice in their heart. When I made my
triumphal entrance into Babylon,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>i-na ul-<u>s</u>i ù ri-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> á-a-tim i-na ekal ma-al-ki ar-ma-a <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-bat be-lu-tim <sup>ilu</sup>Marduk belu rabu lib-bi ri-it-pa-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> ú <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á mare Babili ú .
. . an-ni-ma û-mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>am a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
e-'-a pa-la-a<u>h</u>-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>ú </i></td>
<td valign="Top">23</td>
<td valign="Top">I took up my lordly residence in the royal palace
with joy and rejoicing; Marduk, the great lord, moved the noble heart of
the residents of Babylon to me, while I gave daily attention to his worship.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>um-ma-ni-ia rap-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a-tim
i-na ki-rib Babili i-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>á-ad-di-<u>h</u>a <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú-ul-ma-ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> nap-<u>h</u>ar mat [<span style="font-size: small;">
Š</span>u-me-ri] ù Akkadi<sup>ki</sup> mu-gal-[l]i-tim ul ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ar-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i</i></td>
<td valign="Top">24</td>
<td valign="Top">My numerous troops marched peacefully into Babylon.
In all Sumer and Akkad I permitted no enemy to enter.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>dannat Babili ù kul-lat ma-<u>h</u>a-zi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u i-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>à-li-im-tim a<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> -te-'-e mare Babi[li . . .] ki ma-la lib-[. . .]-ma ab-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> a-a-ni la si-ma-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u-nu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-bat-su-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">25</td>
<td valign="Top">The needs of Babylon and of all its cities I gladly
attended to. The people of Babylon [and . . . ], and the shameful yoke was
removed from them. Their dwellings,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>an-<u>h</u>u-ut-su-un ú-pa-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> -<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-<u>h</u>a ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
á-ap-ti-ir sa-ar-ba-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>u-nu a-na ip-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>e-e-ti-[ia] <sup>ilu</sup>Marduk belu rabu ú-i<u>h</u>-di-e-ma</i></td>
<td valign="Top">26</td>
<td valign="Top">which had fallen, I restored. I cleared out their
ruins. Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced in my pious deeds, and</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>a-na ia-a-ti <sup>m</sup>Ku-ra-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>arru pa-li-i<u>h</u>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
u ù <sup>m</sup>Ka-am-bu-zi-ia mari <u>s</u>i-it lib-bi-[ia ù
a]-na nap-<u> h</u>ar um-ma-ni-ia</i></td>
<td valign="Top">27</td>
<td valign="Top">graciously blessed me, Cyrus, the king who worships
him, and Cambyses, my own son, and all my troops,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>da-am-ki-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> ik-ru-ub-ma
i-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a-lim-tim ma-<u>h</u>ar-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
a <u>t</u>a-bi-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> ni-it-ta-['-id i-lu-ti-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u] <u>s</u>ir-ti nap-<u>h</u>ar <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>arri a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>i-ib parakke</i></td>
<td valign="Top">28</td>
<td valign="Top">while we, before him, joyously praised his exalted
godhead. All the kings dwelling in palaces,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a ka-li-i<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> kib-ra-a-ta i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-tu tam-tim e-li-tim a-di
tam-tim <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ap-li-tim a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-ib
kul-[. . . .] <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar-ra-ni mati A-mur-ri-i a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>i-ib ku<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-ta-ri ka-li-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
u-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">29</td>
<td valign="Top">of all the quarters of the earth, from the Upper
to the Lower sea dwelling [ . . . ] all the kings of the Westland dwelling
in tents</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>bi-lat-su-nu ka-bi-it-tim ú-bi-lu-nim-ma
ki-ir-ba Babili ú-na-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
i-qu <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>e-pu-ú-a i<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-tu
[. . . .] a-di alu A<span style="font-size: x-small;"> ŠŠ</span>ur<sup>ki</sup> ù <span style="font-size: small;">
Š</span>u-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> an<sup>ki</sup></i></td>
<td valign="Top">30</td>
<td valign="Top">brought me their heavy tribute, and in Babylon
kissed my feet. From [ . . . ] to Asshur and Susa,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>A-ga-de<sup>ki</sup> mâtu E<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span> -nu-nak <sup>alu</sup>Za-am-ba-an <sup>alu</sup>Me-túr-nu
Deri<sup>ki</sup> a-di pa-a<u>t</u> mât Qu-ti-i ma-<u>h</u>a-za [<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>á e-bir]-ti <sup>nâru</sup>Diqlat <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
á i<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>-tu ap-na-ma na-du-ú <span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>ú-bat-su-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">31</td>
<td valign="Top">Agade, Eshnunak, Zamban, Meturnu, Deri, with the
territory of the land of Qutu, the cities on the other side of the Tigris,
whose sites were of ancient foundation—</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ilâni a-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-ib lib-bi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u-nu a-na a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-ri-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ú-nu
ú-tir-ma ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>ar-ma-a <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-bat da-er-a-ta kul-lat ni<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u-nu ú-pa-a<u>h</u> -<u>h</u>i-ra-am-ma ú-te-ir da-ád-mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u-un</i></td>
<td valign="Top">32</td>
<td valign="Top">the gods, who resided in them, I brought back to
their places, and caused them to dwell in a residence for all time</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>ù ilâni mât <span style="font-size: small;">
Š</span>ú-me-ri ù Akkadi<sup>ki</sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
á <sup>m, ilu</sup>Nabu-na'id a-na ug-ga-tim bel ilâni ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>e-ri-bi a-na ki-rib Babili i-na ki-bi-ti <sup>ilu</sup>Marduk belu
rabû i-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> á-li-im-tim</i></td>
<td valign="Top">33</td>
<td valign="Top">And the gods of Sumer and Akkad—whom Nabonidus,
to the anger of the lord of the gods, had brought into Babylon—by the command
of Marduk, the great lord,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>i-na ma<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-ta-ki-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u-nu ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-ib
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>ú-ba-at <u>t</u>u-ub lib-bi kul-la-ta
ilâni <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span> a ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-ri-bi
a-na ki-ir-bi ma-<u>h</u>a-zi-<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Š</span>u-un </i></td>
<td valign="Top">34</td>
<td valign="Top">I caused them to take up their dwelling in residences
that gladdened the heart. May all the gods, whom I brought into their cities,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>û-mi-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a-am ma-<u>
h</u> ar <sup>ilu</sup>Bel ù <sup>ilu</sup>Nabu <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
a a-ra-ku ume-ia li-ta-mu-ú lit-ta<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>-ka-ru a-ma-a-ta
du-un-ki-ia ù a-na <sup>ilu</sup>Marduk beli-ia li-iq-bu-ú
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>a <sup> m</sup>Ku-ra-a<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>arri pa-li-<u> h</u>i-ka u <sup>m</sup>Ka-am-bu-zi-ia mari-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>u </i></td>
<td valign="Top">35</td>
<td valign="Top">pray daily before Bêl (another name for Marduk) and Nabû for
long life for me, and may they speak a gracious word for me and say to Marduk,
my lord, "May Cyrus, the king who worships you, and Cambyses, his son,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="Top"><i>da [ . . . ] ib-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>u-nu
lu-ú [ . . . ] ka-li-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>i-na <span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>
ú-ub-ti ni-i<u>h</u>-tim ú-<span style="font-size: x-small;">Š</span>e-<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Š</span>i-ib [ . . . ] paspase u TU.KIR.<u>H</u>U</i><br />
<i>
[ . . . ] </i></td>
<td valign="Top">36</td>
<td valign="Top">their [ . . . ] I permitted all to dwell in peace
[ . . . ]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-48146170415992435972013-03-09T19:53:00.000-08:002013-03-27T17:56:04.906-07:00Cyrus Cylinder - Translation of the Text (Finkel)<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
Translation by Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper, Department of the Middle East, British Museum (<a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/c/cyrus_cylinder_-_translation.aspx">click here for their page</a>), We provide this translation here for the purposes of comparison. For instance, on line 20, Finkel has "universe" whereas translator Rogers has "world". The use of "universe" appears to make the statement grandiose and is often quoted as an example of Cyrus' self-promotion. This kind of statement has been used by other Achaemenid kings where there is no suggestion of being 'king of the universe'. There the statements read 'king of countries diverse' (<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/naqsherustam/page2.htm#inscription">click here to see inscription of King Darius</a>). We feel the use of hyperbole by some authors is unfortunate.<br />
<ol>
<li>[When ... Mar]duk, king of the whole of heaven and earth, the ....... who, in his ..., lays waste his .......</li>
<li> [........................................................................]broad ? in intelligence, ...... who inspects} (?) the wor]ld quarters (regions)</li>
<li> [..............................................................…] his [first]born (=Belshazzar), a low person was put in charge of his country,</li>
<li>but [..................................................................................] he set [a (…) counter]feit over them. </li>
<li>He ma[de] a counterfeit of Esagil, [and .....….......]... for Ur and the rest of the cult-cities.</li>
<li>Rites inappropriate to them, [impure] fo[od- offerings ….......................................................] disrespectful […] were daily gabbled, and, as an insult,</li>
<li>he brought the daily offerings to a halt; he inter[fered with the rites and] instituted […....] within the sanctuaries. In his
mind, reverential fear of Marduk, king of the gods, came to an end.</li>
<li>He did yet more evil to his city every day; … his [people ................…], he brought ruin on them all by a yoke without relief.</li>
<li>Enlil-of-the-gods became extremely angry at their complaints, and […] their territory. The gods who lived within them left their shrines,</li>
<li>angry that he had made (them) enter into Shuanna (Babylon). Ex[alted Marduk, Enlil-of-the-Go]ds, relented. He changed his mind about all the settlements whose sanctuaries were in ruins,</li>
<li>and the population of the land of Sumer and Akkad who had become like corpses, and took pity on them. He inspected and checked all the countries,</li>
<li>seeking for the upright king of his choice. He took the hand of Cyrus, king of the city of Anshan, and called him by his name, proclaiming him aloud for the kingship over all of everything.</li>
<li>He made the land of Guti and all the Median troops prostrate themselves at his feet, while he shepherded in justice and righteousness the black-headed people</li>
<li>whom he had put under his care. Marduk, the great lord, who nurtures his people, saw with pleasure his fine deeds and true heart,</li>
<li>and ordered that he should go to Babylon He had him take the road to Tintir (Babylon), and, like a friend and companion, he walked at his side.</li>
<li>His vast troops whose number, like the water in a river, could not be counted, were marching fully-armed at his side.</li>
<li>He had him enter without fighting or battle right into Shuanna; he saved his city Babylon from hardship. He handed over to him Nabonidus, the king who did not fear him.</li>
<li>All the people of Tintir, of all Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down before him and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone.</li>
<li>The lord through whose help all were rescued from death and who saved them all from distress and hardship, they blessed him sweetly and praised his name.
-------------------------------------------------</li>
<li>I am Cyrus, king of the universe (world, see note above), the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world,</li>
<li>son of Cambyses, the great king, king of the city of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, ki[ng of the ci]ty of Anshan, descendant of Teispes, the great king, king of the city of Anshan,</li>
<li>the perpetual seed of kingship, whose reign Bel (Marduk)and Nabu love, and with whose kingship, to their joy, they concern themselves. When I went as harbinger of peace i[nt]o Babylon</li>
<li>I founded my sovereign residence within the palace amid celebration and rejoicing. Marduk, the great lord, bestowed on me as my destiny the great magnanimity of one who loves Babylon, and I every day sought him out in awe.</li>
<li>My vast troops were marching peaceably in Babylon, and the whole of [Sumer] and Akkad had nothing to fear.</li>
<li>I sought the safety of the city of Babylon and all its sanctuaries. As for the population of Babylon […, w]ho as if without div[ine intention] had endured a yoke not decreed for them,</li>
<li>I soothed their weariness; I freed them from their bonds(?). Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds,</li>
<li>and he pronounced a sweet blessing over me, Cyrus, the king who fears him, and over Cambyses, the son [my] issue, [and over] my all my troops,</li>
<li>that we might live happily in his presence, in well-being. At his exalted command, all kings who sit on thrones,</li>
<li>from every quarter, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, those who inhabit [remote distric]ts (and) the kings of the land of Amurru who live in tents, all of them,</li>
<li>brought their weighty tribute into Shuanna, and kissed my feet. From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa,</li>
<li>Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated,</li>
<li>the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements,</li>
<li>and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord,</li>
<li>I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries,</li>
<li>every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: “Cyrus, the king who fears you, and Cambyses his son,</li>
<li>may they be the provisioners of our shrines until distant (?) days, and the population of Babylon call blessings on my kingship. I have enabled all the lands to live in peace.</li>
<li>Every day I increased by [… ge]ese, two ducks and ten pigeons the [former offerings] of geese, ducks and pigeons.</li>
<li>I strove to strengthen the defences of the wall Imgur-Enlil, the great wall of Babylon,</li>
<li>and [I completed] the quay of baked brick on the bank of the moat which an earlier king had bu[ilt but not com]pleted its work.</li>
<li>[I …… which did not surround the city] outside, which no earlier king had built, his workforce, the levee [from his land, in/int]o Shuanna.</li>
<li>[….......................................................................with bitum]en and baked brick I built anew, and [completed] its [work].</li>
<li>[…...........................................................] great [doors of cedarwood] with bronze cladding,</li>
<li>[and I installed] all their doors, threshold slabs and door fittings with copper parts. [….......................] I saw within it an inscription of Ashurbanipal, a king who preceded me;</li>
<li> […..................................................................] his … Marduk, the great lord, creator (?) of [ ... ]</li>
<li>[….................................................] my [… I presented] as a gift.....................] your pleasure forever.</li>
</ol>
The British Museum also has a page (<a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=327188&partid=1">click here</a>) with an older version of the Finkel translation and two other translations:<br />
1. Piotr Michalowski in <i>Historical Sources in Translation: The Ancient Near East</i>, (Blackwell, 2006, pp. 428-29), ed. Mark Chavalasone by Michalowski presented by editor Chavalas (2006). <br />
2. A. L. Oppenheim in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (ANET, 1950 pp. 315-16, 1955, 1969), ed. James B. Pritchard.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-47053842847606265302013-03-09T04:06:00.002-08:002017-10-29T21:26:06.573-07:00The Cyrus Cylinder<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l0Di8yqPRA0ST3lZNFnTsmpms-mtOfEIzSGqI_usuvolsyeRGSi9qUk2Bz_iQun9eruhSxOXka2_9v2wCv94Wdi4X6lGo6Lwm9pNJ8xVTHcMADF99kl5QNEfxO7Aj8aAHuRlDVD2k3SP/s1600/Averain+COM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l0Di8yqPRA0ST3lZNFnTsmpms-mtOfEIzSGqI_usuvolsyeRGSi9qUk2Bz_iQun9eruhSxOXka2_9v2wCv94Wdi4X6lGo6Lwm9pNJ8xVTHcMADF99kl5QNEfxO7Aj8aAHuRlDVD2k3SP/s640/Averain+COM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/averain/6416138709/sizes/l/in/photostream/">Averain
at Flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Description</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7o04daf-5fR2qE4ZHyYnCm9ib1r9fJdUYLW7JcUsyqvCnvdf2pa2T-3eOpDoiQkbywIXjpY17JVahCwHpFo_jnl6prQBVKUjmzD5PHEkd-Igh3xKOQdogPG2QBM_nNEJ9IkfiM6loa00G/s1600/Cyrus-Cylinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7o04daf-5fR2qE4ZHyYnCm9ib1r9fJdUYLW7JcUsyqvCnvdf2pa2T-3eOpDoiQkbywIXjpY17JVahCwHpFo_jnl6prQBVKUjmzD5PHEkd-Igh3xKOQdogPG2QBM_nNEJ9IkfiM6loa00G/s320/Cyrus-Cylinder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Cyrus Cylinder is a badly damaged diminutive barrel-shaped cylinder of baked clay that is barely larger than the palms of both hands. It is covered with text written in a small script that is quite extensive when translated and written down. It is quite unbelievable how so much information has been packed onto an object so small - for its size and condition belie its contents. Some writers have called it the 'grande dame' of the British Museum and a star attraction. It is priceless not just for its antiquity but for the ideas it contains - ideas that were revolutionary for their time.<br />
<br />
The cylinder measures 21.9 cm length and 10 cm in diameter towards the centre. It tapers towards the ends: 7.8 cm at one end and 7.9 cm at the other end.<br />
<br />
The cylinder is inscribed in the Babylonian-Akkadian cuneiform script. It commemorates the peaceful taking of Babylon by Cyrus' forces on October 12, 539 BCE, and contains a copy of Cyrus' edict for the humane treatment of its citizens and the restoration of the city. Cyrus' taking of Babylon was more in the nature of a liberation than a conquest and that sentiment is reflected in the text of the cylinder. According to one theory derived from other Babylonian Chronicles, Cyrus formally entered the city on October 29, 539 BCE amid the jubilation of its citizens.<br />
<br />
Apparently, the cylinder itself was made to be placed in the foundation of a building being restored by Cyrus - presumed to be ancient Babylon's Marduk Temple otherwise called the Esagila complex - though the edict with local modifications was intended for distribution throughout Cyrus' realm.<br />
<br />
We estimate that the cylinder was produced between 539 and 534 BCE.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Construction</span><br />
The cylinder’s core is made of clay and contains large grey stone inclusions. Additional layers of clay were added to the core. The cylinder was coated with a final fine clay surface slip just prior to its inscription. When the inscription was complete, the cylinder was fired. While the inclusions of stones in the core clay may have contributed to the fragility of the cylinder, it was not intended to be handled after being placed in a building’s foundation.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Condition</span><br />
The damaged and partially restored main body of the Cyrus Cylinder (#BM 90920) has been in the possession of the British Museum since its recovery from the ruins of Babylon in 1879. According to the museum, their dig team supervised by <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">Hormuzd Rassam</a> found the main body of the Cyrus Cylinder in a broken condition. In a recent book, <i>The Cyrus Cylinder</i> (2013), written by Irving Finkel (p. 49), the shipping documents show that the cylinder was shipped in 1879 but was received in a broken condition. The Cylinder together with other finds were entrusted to a local merchant Baltazar for shipment to England via steamer. They were received by the British Museum in August of that year as documented by the Museum's cuneiform curator, Theophilus Pinches. When the museum assembled the cylinder, they found that pieces of it were missing. The restored Cylinder revealed thirty five lines of finely inscribed text.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Yale Cylinder Fragment</span><br />
Fortunately, one of the missing pieces of the cylinder (#NBC 2504) measuring 8.6 cm by 5.6 cm, was found amongst Mesopotamian archaeological fragments in the Nies’ collection at Yale University. Dr. J.B. Nies, a clergyman from Brooklyn, had acquired the fragment from an antiquities dealer. We can only speculate how the fragment came to be sold through the antique market. In 1920, he and C.E. Keiser published their finding in <i>Historical, Religious and Economic Texts and Antiquities</i> by James Buchanan Nies and Clarence E. Keiser (Yale, 1920). Upon Nies’ death in 1922, the fragment was bequeathed as part of his collection of tablets and antiquities to Yale University’s Babylonian Collection.<br />
<br />
In 1970 Paul-Richard Berger of the University of Munster determined that the text constituted lines 36-45 of the main Cyrus Cylinder’s text. The lines continued the cylinder's proclamation or edict of Cyrus. Without them, some authors had surmised that the cylinder was just another foundation deposit. Berger's discovery changed that perception. His identification was confirmed by R.D. Barnett, the British Museum’s Keeper of the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities in a report to the Museum’s trustees on January 22, 1972. Together with the Yale fragment, the world now had access to lines 1 through 45 of the cylinder's text.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">British Museum Tablet Fragment</span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOoJHQ8dHUriYSCBtgXMtqcIfRtH9cHe-hYiq9649OcsHqVPsP01Xmgy8WnXs7127uACWDxGD3zXfB0b3bGr3BHKycUV7YrHi9IJsPO8CSwzBc8j5_oUcXYwSOOxfqwN0cUz-DoqK3mrm/s1600/tablet+fragment+539-8+BCE+with+same+text+as+cylinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOoJHQ8dHUriYSCBtgXMtqcIfRtH9cHe-hYiq9649OcsHqVPsP01Xmgy8WnXs7127uACWDxGD3zXfB0b3bGr3BHKycUV7YrHi9IJsPO8CSwzBc8j5_oUcXYwSOOxfqwN0cUz-DoqK3mrm/s400/tablet+fragment+539-8+BCE+with+same+text+as+cylinder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Museum tablet fragment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On December 31, 2009, while examining the British Museum’s 130,000 unpublished Mesopotamian fragments and tablets, Wilfred Lambert, a retired professor from Birmingham University, came across the fragment of a tablet that he recognized contained the same text as the Cyrus Cylinder.<br />
<br />
Soon afterwards, on January 5, the museum’s curator Irving Finkel, came upon another fragment that contained yet another part of the cylinder’s text.<br />
<br />
The two cuneiform fragments had been a part of the museum’s collection since 1881 when they were recovered from a small dig site supervised by Hormuzd Rassam at Dailem near Babylon. One of the fragments clarified a passage in the Cyrus Cylinder’s message, while the other provided a portion of a previously missing piece of text on the cylinder. The text provided by the fragments partially restored lines 1-2 and 44-5 of the cylinder’s text.<br />
<br />
The tablet fragments demonstrated that Cyrus proclamation had been reproduced and distributed to other centres in Cyrus' realm.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Changed Perceptions</span><br />
Prior to the addition of the discovery of the fragments, some author’s had expressed doubts about the significance of the cylinder’s text. Without providing evidence that the Cyrus Cylinder’s text matched text found elsewhere, these sceptics had relegated the cylinder and its text to a standard foundation deposit copied from other Mesopotamian foundation deposits.<br />
<br />
However, proponents of the importance of the cylinder’s text had always pointed out the Bible's statement that Cyrus had issued a qôl, proclamation (2 Chr 36:23; Ezr 1:1), or a ṭaϲam, a decree (Ezr 6:3), and that the cylinder was a manifestation of that decree modified to suit the Babylonian context. They had continually stressed that the cylinder was not just another standard foundation deposit. [Also see <a href="http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2010/08/18/The-Ongoing-Saga-of-the-Cyrus-Cylinder-The-Internationally-Famous-Grande-Dame-of-Ancient-Texts.aspx">Associates for Biblical Research</a>].<br />
<br />
It was now clear that the restoration of the temple of Marduk was but one example of Cyrus’ unique approach to other cultures. The restoration of the Temple of Jerusalem was yet another example. These restorations were not isolated but the manifestation of Cyrus’ unique governance policy. The norm for other conquerors up to that time had been to loot temples of conquered lands and then to destroy them. The temples' priests were either killed or enslaved – not to mention the raping, killing and enslavement of the rest of the population.<br />
<br />
The British Museum for its part also began to change its previous assessment. It now stated, "Remarkably, the new pieces assist with the reading of passages in the Cylinder that are either missing or are obscure, and therefore help improve our understanding of this iconic document. In addition, they show that the ‘declaration’ on the Cylinder is much more than a standard Babylonian building inscription. It was probably an imperial decree that was distributed around the Persian empire, and it may have been pronouncements of this sort that the author of the Biblical book of Ezra was able to draw upon when writing about Cyrus."<br />
<br />
We must continue to hope that additional copies await discovery for despite these fortunate finds, the text of Cyrus’ proclamation is still incomplete.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Restoration</span><br />
The British Museum states, “It was refired in 1961 as part of its museum conservation and a limited amount of plaster filling added in the 1970s before and after the addition of another fragment from the Yale Babylonian Collection and the moulding of the object for the purposes of making a type cast.” The museum adds that the Yale fragment “is joined to the back of the Cylinder.”<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Duplicate Castings</span><br />
According to the British Museum, “The object (Cyrus Cylinder) was first moulded in 1962 following a request for a cast from the Minister of the Imperial Court of the Shah of Iran in 1961 in preparation for the 2500 jubilee originally planned for this period. A second cast was made from the same mould in August/September 1971 following a separate request from the Reverend Norman Sharp who took this cast with him when he attended the 2,500 year celebrations in October 1971: he presented it to his friend Mr Ali Sami, then director of the Persepolis museum.” The museum adds, “Secondary casts re-moulded from one of these which had been sent to Tehran were distributed by the Shah of Iran, including one which is displayed in the fort museum of Umm al-Qaiwain (UAE). They have also been sold commercially by the British Museum, National Museum in Tehran and assorted companies since that period. Those sold by the BM were marketed as part of their "Biblical Archaeology" series (1992 Casts catalogue). On 14 October, Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, the sister of the Shah, presented a cast to the United Nations Secretary General, Sithu U Thant. The display was made by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the text translated into the six official languages of the UN. A modified cast was made after the join of the Yale fragment when the object was sent for moulding by Mr A.G. Prescott between 7 May and 13 August 1975.”<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Translations</span><br />
As acknowledged by <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">Hormuzd Rassam</a>, Sir Henry Rawlinson,
was the first person to translate the text of the Cyrus Cylinder [cf. a paper to the Royal Asiatic Society by Rawlinson titled <i>A Newly discovered Cylinder of Cyrus the Great</i>]. We also read of the involvement of Theophilus G. Pinches in the translation. Together they wrote <i>A Selection from the Miscellaneous Inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia, Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia 5</i> (London, 1884, 1909). Since then, the text has been translated by (the Rogers and Finkel translation listing are also links):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">- Robert W. Rogers in Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912)</a>;<br />
- A. L. Oppenheim in <i>Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament</i> (ANET, 1950 pp. 315-16, 1955, 1969), ed. James B. Pritchard;<br />
- P. R. Berger in <i>Der Kyros-Zylinder mit dem Susatzfragment in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 65</i> (1975, pp. 192–234);<br />
- R.M. Ghias Abadi in <i>Cylinder of Cyrus</i> (Tehran, 1998, 2001 pp. 35-36);<br />
- Maria Brosius in <i>The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I</i> (2000, London);<br />
- Mordechai Cogan in <i>The Context of Scripture. Vol. II: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World</i> (Leiden and Boston, 2003), ed. W.H. Hallo and K.L. Younger;<br />
- Piotr Michalowski in <i>Historical Sources in Translation: The Ancient Near East</i>, (Blackwell, 2006, pp. 428-29), ed. Mark Chavalas;<br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">- Irving Finkel, Curator of Cuneiform Collections at the British Museum/Assistant Keeper, Department of the Middle East (unknown date)</a>;<br />
<a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/cyrus_cylinder_translation_persian_v2.pdf">- Shahrokh Razmjou, curator, British Museum, Department of the Middle East (translation into Persian)</a>;<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
__________________________</div>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-14954076493237335992013-03-08T22:59:00.001-08:002013-05-07T11:31:45.866-07:00The Remarkable Discovery of the Cyrus Cylinder<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ALZOaYVFXnF5_lfMhM2uXUZC3a4fgg5waSUpylRDWAV1Qtk1PQwLPImwbHIp6A2VoMkugQ5zzEIKSrErauRorxJTazaaHAa-FwHXgAW_ws6rp6qt5EuYE5vZPapV_UPsMuKNWiLmOeVn/s1600/David+Holt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ALZOaYVFXnF5_lfMhM2uXUZC3a4fgg5waSUpylRDWAV1Qtk1PQwLPImwbHIp6A2VoMkugQ5zzEIKSrErauRorxJTazaaHAa-FwHXgAW_ws6rp6qt5EuYE5vZPapV_UPsMuKNWiLmOeVn/s640/David+Holt1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cyrus Cylinder. Image credit: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.flickr.com/photos/zongo/8071525756;">David Holt at Flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is a miracle that the fragile terracotta cylinder known to us as the Cyrus Cylinder has survived destruction.
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiI74FCyeEKenCz51RGG_xSrBRdMuzqJwL5BF36rsBx7LJNtcSw7YGP2W9107RycxrZEZyg6d8-uD4Vxp3himzXoYKy69Y4JmrvW9bUd-gRaWfA2iAUU-tzePbuYHkAVCs9hjiftlwqbLG/s1600/1Mesopotamia+excavations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiI74FCyeEKenCz51RGG_xSrBRdMuzqJwL5BF36rsBx7LJNtcSw7YGP2W9107RycxrZEZyg6d8-uD4Vxp3himzXoYKy69Y4JmrvW9bUd-gRaWfA2iAUU-tzePbuYHkAVCs9hjiftlwqbLG/s640/1Mesopotamia+excavations.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historical sites of Mesopotamia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The cylinder was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, which lies in the centre of today’s Iraq. The archaeologist credited with the discovery the cylinder is <a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">Hormuzd Rassam</a>. Rassam was a native of Mosul – from which the name Muslin is derived – a city that lies on the east bank of the upper Tigris River in Northern Iraq today.<br />
<br />
In February 1879, when Rassam visited the ruins of ancient Babylon, he found the site devastated, raised to the ground and looted. Local brick brokers had made a career out of digging up ancient Babylon’s bricks to sell as a cheap building material. Then when Rassam started his excavations, these “greedy” Arab brokers tried to bribe his workers to sell them not just the bricks they uncovered, but any antiquities they found as well. Since the Turkish authorities – the then rulers of Iraq – were inclined to favour the local brokers, there was no point in even trying to apprehend the thieves.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJhJTbP7J4TC1nj-nOClq4B5XQp0kCVlJtdpAAXnnjMJavi_nUVAljwvnq4tgyQqul0X-mWQUXkGBlgGMK8wxT02EK64OcaPzwM3IrETPvjcQ_XS-9Nb5KmgrIqY-elluhre12AkooQq5/s1600/1Babylon%252C_1932+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJhJTbP7J4TC1nj-nOClq4B5XQp0kCVlJtdpAAXnnjMJavi_nUVAljwvnq4tgyQqul0X-mWQUXkGBlgGMK8wxT02EK64OcaPzwM3IrETPvjcQ_XS-9Nb5KmgrIqY-elluhre12AkooQq5/s640/1Babylon%252C_1932+Wikipedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babylon ruins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On page 266-7 of his book <i>Asshur and the Land of Nimrod</i> (New York, 1897) Rassam states, “Indeed, the annihilation of that city was so effectual that one wonders whether the accounts given of its greatness and magnificence by different Gentile historians were true…. I found it would be only waste of money and labour to excavate at Imjaileeba (the site of the principal, or old, palace), where former diggers had left nothing unturned to find what they wanted.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexBseEVPJ0Ly7l980lnTUymJElVhWI8-t6BkSzAmZoGcxg3fBW3U7dXfwnooKzDk1PW4nvoP5tTqYCM62hDjK_j6uuwe8ShQKXceIVVwIGFIOLQ6HUQrmeM0vJogZxbMV7KbTI27aOdwM/s1600/1+Babylon_1829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexBseEVPJ0Ly7l980lnTUymJElVhWI8-t6BkSzAmZoGcxg3fBW3U7dXfwnooKzDk1PW4nvoP5tTqYCM62hDjK_j6uuwe8ShQKXceIVVwIGFIOLQ6HUQrmeM0vJogZxbMV7KbTI27aOdwM/s640/1+Babylon_1829.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old site map of Babylon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On page 260 of his book Rassam states, “The damage done by such mode of searching is incalculable, inasmuch as the Arab style of digging is too clumsy…. In nine cases out of ten, they break or lose a large part of their collections, and worse than all, they try to make a good bargain by breaking the inscribed objects, and dividing them amongst their customers.” He adds, “I myself bought, when I was at Baghdad, a most valuable Babylonian terra-cotta cylinder for the British Museum, which had met with the same fate. The discoverer had tried to saw it in two, and in doing so the upper part broke into fragments, some of which were lost altogether. The saw that was used for that purpose must have been very rough, as it gnawed off nearly half an inch of the inscription.”<br />
<br />
Rassam had to make a deal with the locals. First, he employed those whose profession it had been to steal the bricks and next, he allowed them to keep and sell the bricks provided they would not steal any artifacts they uncovered. At least in some part, the devil’s bargain worked, for we are fortunate to have the Cyrus Cylinder not just for its enormous antiquity, but for the priceless information it contains.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Location of the Discovery</span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKomhk7hyWEV8KCcCYNphTBjPvqI3gcLQJWe_fA4XsMWZwrZn1MVSTzMqmM2sgJIGvU-G9snutKXYtEHF0cpqqcEFRL8oFn_x-HyLj7H-b13gOISaj8dapkIpZTY-JwePmw3-2KpJRZId/s1600/1babylon_plan_1944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKomhk7hyWEV8KCcCYNphTBjPvqI3gcLQJWe_fA4XsMWZwrZn1MVSTzMqmM2sgJIGvU-G9snutKXYtEHF0cpqqcEFRL8oFn_x-HyLj7H-b13gOISaj8dapkIpZTY-JwePmw3-2KpJRZId/s640/1babylon_plan_1944.jpg" width="531" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1944 Site Map of Babylon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rassam has left us with conflicting versions about where the cylinder was discovered. On page 267 of his book we find him stating that the “most important discoveries have been made in these mounds (of Babylon) from time to time, amongst which we discovered in the ruins of Jimjima (also spelt Jumjuma) a broken terra-cotta cylinder, which has been deciphered in the first instance by Sir Henry Rawlinson, and found to contain the official record of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus….” Jimjima/Jumjuma (see 'An old site map of Babylon above') was an area that lay to the south of the site.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnmp0RzdeX9iu0ONMIbiMsKya-OMaAyH2AbeJIYqX-_IqMvp4q6iWiHhYFOecUzglYUCQTsrBLq7NXpzeAtaLHFsGYi8E6lrGpf2MFWuWT9aqCN9GjFJlY11CjpYuPcQ8srAn5q4DUjdi/s1600/1Maquettes+Andre+Caron+2000+TempleOfMarduk-Babylon-Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnmp0RzdeX9iu0ONMIbiMsKya-OMaAyH2AbeJIYqX-_IqMvp4q6iWiHhYFOecUzglYUCQTsrBLq7NXpzeAtaLHFsGYi8E6lrGpf2MFWuWT9aqCN9GjFJlY11CjpYuPcQ8srAn5q4DUjdi/s640/1Maquettes+Andre+Caron+2000+TempleOfMarduk-Babylon-Tower.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scale model reconstruction of the Esagila complex containing the Marduk Temple.<br />
The model is made by <a href="http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/">Andre Caron of Quebec</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, in a letter dated November 20, 1879 to Samuel Birch, the Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, Rassam wrote, “The Cylinder of Cyrus was found at Omran (Tell Amran) (together) with about six hundred pieces of inscribed terracottas before I left Baghdad (on April 2, 1879).” The Omran/Amran mound lies to the north of Jimjima about halfway up the length of the site. Excavation of the Omran mound has revealed a complex that is now known as the Esagila Marduk Temple complex. If the latter assertions are correct, we can say the Cyrus Cylinder was discovered in March 1879. The British Museum quoting C.B. Walker (1972) states on its website that the cylinder was “buried in the foundations of the city wall of Babylon” though the page also states Amran was the ‘findspot’.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQ0Lou2fIpriCvmDerbLq2T5xM77J76-ylEtTUifPMgUP0CSlreqyN1_570WBgfhXrLb0FgBYlhdczsAK9z1EuhcT5ZmUGKvTjKKZVQ9JkMEYBPJ2k_SNm8zRHmLYLgArUofjodH_5Bi0/s1600/1Maquettes+Andre+Caron+2000+overview+COM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQ0Lou2fIpriCvmDerbLq2T5xM77J76-ylEtTUifPMgUP0CSlreqyN1_570WBgfhXrLb0FgBYlhdczsAK9z1EuhcT5ZmUGKvTjKKZVQ9JkMEYBPJ2k_SNm8zRHmLYLgArUofjodH_5Bi0/s640/1Maquettes+Andre+Caron+2000+overview+COM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An overview model of Babylon made by <a href="http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/">Andre Caron of Quebec</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is all very confusing since the city wall is quite separate from the temple walls. A British Museum press release written by an author of a completely different temperament merely states it was found “in a wall”. Some authors call the cylinder a “foundation deposit” implying that the cylinder was placed during the construction of the foundation perhaps with no further access. If so, and if the cylinder was found in a temple foundation, then it would appear that Cyrus commissioned the building, re-building or expansion of the temple in Babylon (as he did with the temple of Jerusalem and elsewhere). This possibility is supported by a line (4) in the text.<br />
<br />
During our research on the subject, we found one reference stating that the cylinder was found in Nineveh (Nineveh is some 500 km to the north of Babylon near Mosul. See map above). The reference did not provide information substantiating the claim.<br />
<br />
On November 17, 1879, another noted archaeologist and historian, Sir Henry Rawlinson, presented a paper to the Royal Asiatic Society titled <i>A Newly discovered Cylinder of Cyrus the Great</i>. In it, he stated that the Cyrus Cylinder was discovered at the Birs Nimrud site – ancient Borsippa – about 18 km to the south-west of the Babylon site. It is widely held that Rawlinson made an error in his pronouncement.<br />
<br />
Rassam had stated in his book the cylinder was discovered at the Babylon site before he left Baghdad. However, in a news report dated November 21, 1879 and published in the Building News, Rawlinson states, “It (the Cyrus Cylinder) was not among the monuments lately brought home by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam himself, but must be credited to his last archaeological explorations in the East, under the auspices of the British Museum, having been sent to this country by one of the agents left behind by him to continue his excavations in the Mesopotamian mounds.” According to David Damrosch in his <i>What Is World Literature?</i> (Princeton, 2003, p. 48), “Rassam’s decisive role was often minimised or denied outright – most likely, as (Rassam’s previous employer and mentor) Layard later wrote to a friend, ‘because he is a ‘nigger’ and because Rawlinson as is his habit, appropriated to himself the credit of Rassam’s discoveries.’”<br />
<br />
According to a recent book, The Cyrus Cylinder (2013), written by Irving Finkel (p. 49), Hormuzd Rassam had left the site in the charge his assistant and overseer of excavations, Daud Toma when the Cylinder was discovered between March 17 and 23, 1879. Finkel further notes that the shipping documents show that the cylinder was shipped 1879 and received in a broken condition. The Cylinder together with other finds from at Tell Amran (Omran) and Jumjamah were entrusted to a local merchant Baltazar for shipment to England via steamer. The Cylinder and other artifacts were received by the British Museum in August of that year as documented by the Museum's cuneiform curator, Theophilus Pinches.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceEe6w3EUviaJpTibPbW0oKnEQRYTcAFnBWmmal-bejoulzIfnrco326e78y6eC4Td8CQnyCAZXQEJt1kJ_wX_ezfxKAwJg07jG6IuMPUfYLAsur8JveQSN2Eh_EeVJnqsAx39N9ZY3Wl/s1600/1Layard_reconstruction-of-ancient-Babylon+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceEe6w3EUviaJpTibPbW0oKnEQRYTcAFnBWmmal-bejoulzIfnrco326e78y6eC4Td8CQnyCAZXQEJt1kJ_wX_ezfxKAwJg07jG6IuMPUfYLAsur8JveQSN2Eh_EeVJnqsAx39N9ZY3Wl/s640/1Layard_reconstruction-of-ancient-Babylon+-+Copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layard reconstruction of Babylon's inner city as seen from the west bank of the River Euphrates<br />
Image credit: <a href="http://www.alexmitchellauthor.com/noah-and-the-gilgamesh-epic/">Alex Mitchell</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT7cBKVRqaF0Ag05IatDbqHNSfH-WKOUMB3hv3yu_aXGFp59EWM2BaPw_xAwNw7fzi-kLjxWHd-uqcaTC1Ok7mmCT2angapaBmk-BSXxsTH_YQB8ceVD7dzcLEqcqj3TRO-bO8n1ZjNW2/s1600/1767417214_23775fe899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT7cBKVRqaF0Ag05IatDbqHNSfH-WKOUMB3hv3yu_aXGFp59EWM2BaPw_xAwNw7fzi-kLjxWHd-uqcaTC1Ok7mmCT2angapaBmk-BSXxsTH_YQB8ceVD7dzcLEqcqj3TRO-bO8n1ZjNW2/s640/1767417214_23775fe899.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist's reconstruction of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate as viewed from the north. Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/15791740@N08/tags/thehanginggardensofbabylon/">Flickriver </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66kYcKC9Rr_zuxBWBpfrOHTc-SW7gkNwx3ql09g_zS92sAQZmrasOACzZ-jlOha-ShT68icOdGr6Ih_VpnBvVHYgNO9Nc9L-tw4yCXHXsaGeaD3Edj10NiwpHMdu3txLlFa0mdnfqW1H8/s1600/1babylon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66kYcKC9Rr_zuxBWBpfrOHTc-SW7gkNwx3ql09g_zS92sAQZmrasOACzZ-jlOha-ShT68icOdGr6Ih_VpnBvVHYgNO9Nc9L-tw4yCXHXsaGeaD3Edj10NiwpHMdu3txLlFa0mdnfqW1H8/s640/1babylon.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCrPZhOLNrBiQe5n-LI9jL9DTNDSnqfS9W7rX_iasL2JiahrqSlYDOCC-3h6DkMB8LqnKbDW5pV_0kpKvBiMgYDwTumh79fdrRMdKpC2l8RCNMraP-tj66X4i7FkdOiSOeQnjUVjqRHZ5/s1600/1James+Gordon+Flickr+CC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCrPZhOLNrBiQe5n-LI9jL9DTNDSnqfS9W7rX_iasL2JiahrqSlYDOCC-3h6DkMB8LqnKbDW5pV_0kpKvBiMgYDwTumh79fdrRMdKpC2l8RCNMraP-tj66X4i7FkdOiSOeQnjUVjqRHZ5/s640/1James+Gordon+Flickr+CC.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Present restored Babylon site (north end). Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/james_gordon_losangeles/7436667154/in/photostream/">James Gordon at Flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1rjUeIp_CrMptkeQ2em-D9hUY7i-BrcXrG7I-4TUiBJZNB9Ncpq9rh09hRm6pi6VeU193J3CD8hCOwhGBIoY77YgqdUge8ndAd_NWcb2ncZIab8WP7EtWV4qjfxFzCU8-vnFMQXWl6N4/s1600/1James+Gordon+Flickr+CC+COM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1rjUeIp_CrMptkeQ2em-D9hUY7i-BrcXrG7I-4TUiBJZNB9Ncpq9rh09hRm6pi6VeU193J3CD8hCOwhGBIoY77YgqdUge8ndAd_NWcb2ncZIab8WP7EtWV4qjfxFzCU8-vnFMQXWl6N4/s640/1James+Gordon+Flickr+CC+COM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portion of the Babylon site still in ruins. Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/james_gordon_losangeles/7436667154/in/photostream/">James Gordon at Flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368108081422019455.post-70432019619325108692013-03-08T22:34:00.003-08:002015-06-30T19:38:13.956-07:00Cyrus the Great - Information Sources<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Available Information on King Cyrus II</span><br />
The information available to develop an understanding of the historical Cyrus (559-530 BCE) can be divided into four groups:<br />
<ol>
<li>The oldest extant texts in their original languages;</li>
<li>Translations of the extant texts;</li>
<li>Nineteenth and twentieth centuries compilations of the translated sources that attempt to construct a holistic history, and</li>
<li>Recent writings of authors including highly opinionated constructs. There are very few modern attempts at a comprehensive compilation of all sources, accompanied, where needed, by an objective critical analysis (rather than opinions).</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Extant Source Texts</span><br />
We can group the source texts in the following manner:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSjlAasxZyeDsQwXdWyOFHXg5Wh5GYuDh_ElKTCF8tSJSrWFn8qfC93nxurVTa3nRXhyRwD2cbXAt3H7PqkPgoMuNqnFKLTCLYqpP9mGfaCwAGdut-MIcLmgOoVm1nbN1Sje1bPEDzeyN/s1600/Nabonidus_cylinder_sippar_wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSjlAasxZyeDsQwXdWyOFHXg5Wh5GYuDh_ElKTCF8tSJSrWFn8qfC93nxurVTa3nRXhyRwD2cbXAt3H7PqkPgoMuNqnFKLTCLYqpP9mGfaCwAGdut-MIcLmgOoVm1nbN1Sje1bPEDzeyN/s640/Nabonidus_cylinder_sippar_wikipedia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nabonidus cylinder.<br />
Image credit: Wikipedia
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>Babylonian, Persian and other inscriptions and artifacts such as:</li>
<ol>
<li>Cyrus Cylinder (after conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE),</li>
<li>Nabonidus (556-539 BCE; Babylonian king deposed by Cyrus) and Babylonian Chronicles, and</li>
<li>Achaemenid inscriptions (6th-5th cent. BCE);</li>
</ol>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6VECgUvf2d-k5C_ajk_3bbzr7H6qPHVUpjdYnREz2D_NI0W1xfBYXkuJibb_hXxBdFwKc7kSHeuuJsSb_eQsLXkoc1veiguaBJi7Hl_xdEklU_Q5F2ZJiQjo1UoYhd_lJYhL9WqqoCVR/s1600/11th+cent.+parchment+Hebrew+Bible+Cambridge+Uni+found+Fostat+Egypt+COM+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6VECgUvf2d-k5C_ajk_3bbzr7H6qPHVUpjdYnREz2D_NI0W1xfBYXkuJibb_hXxBdFwKc7kSHeuuJsSb_eQsLXkoc1veiguaBJi7Hl_xdEklU_Q5F2ZJiQjo1UoYhd_lJYhL9WqqoCVR/s640/11th+cent.+parchment+Hebrew+Bible+Cambridge+Uni+found+Fostat+Egypt+COM+-+Copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hebrew Bible 11th century parchment fragment at Cambridge University found at Fostat, Egypt<br />
Image credit: Byzantine Judaism Project.
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>Hebrew scriptures otherwise called the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament such as the records attributed to:</li>
<ol>
<li>Isaiah (8th – 6th cent. BCE?) at 44.28; 45.1,</li>
<li>Ezra (5th – 4th cent. BCE?) at 1.1-11; 4.3; 5.13; 6.3,14,</li>
<li>Chronicles (4th – 3rd cent. BCE?) at (2) 36.22,23 and</li>
<li>Daniel (contemporary of Cyrus – 6th century BCE though the date of writing could be the 2nd cent. BCE?) at 5.28; 6.9-29; 10.1;</li>
</ol>
<li>Classical Greek and Roman texts such as:</li>
<ol>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmwZ5Y-U-S0kcD2XrAoPFab_9CjwnjaOUH4DAxlbc5h9uEs-H1MY-X1yl9tBz_N9P01Oow937oT_iKsORWpS5KMBntpZjmoVV035Zk_gfKh51B0AG1VzlQDPIAKE6gTaz_auDWtiTriPJ/s1600/Greek%252Bmanuscript%252Bon%252Bpapyrus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmwZ5Y-U-S0kcD2XrAoPFab_9CjwnjaOUH4DAxlbc5h9uEs-H1MY-X1yl9tBz_N9P01Oow937oT_iKsORWpS5KMBntpZjmoVV035Zk_gfKh51B0AG1VzlQDPIAKE6gTaz_auDWtiTriPJ/s400/Greek%252Bmanuscript%252Bon%252Bpapyrus.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greek codex parchment. Details unknown.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>Herodotus’ (c. 485-420 BCE; born in Halicarnassus, Caria, modern Bodrum, Turkey) <i>Histories </i>at 1.46-95; 1.108-1.130; 1.141-1.214,</li>
<li>Xenophon’s (c. 430-354 BCE; born in Athens) <i>Cyropaedia</i>,</li>
<li>Strabo’s (c. 64 BCE-24 CE; born in Amaseia, Pontus, modern Amasya Turkey) <i>Geography </i>at 15.3.2,7,8,24</li>
<li>Ctesias’ (5th cent. BCE; contemporary of Xenophon) <i>Persica </i>at 7-11, and</li>
</ol>
<li>Miscellaneous or related information.</li>
</ol>
English Translations:<br />
<ul>
<li>Herodotus, <i>Histories</i>, translated by George Rawlinson (New York, 1875); George Macaulay, (London, New York, 1890) & Alfred Godley (Cambridge, 1920).</li>
<li>Xenophon, <i>Cyropaedia</i>, translated by J. S. Watson & Henry Dale (London, 1855); Henry Dakyns (London, 1897) & Walter Miller (London, 1914).</li>
<li>Strabo, <i>Geography</i>, translated by H. C. Hamilton & W. Falconer (London, 1854)</li>
<li>Ctesias, <i>Fragments</i>, translated by Andrew Nichols (Florida, 2008).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Credibility & Bias</span><br />
Sources are only useful if they provide factual or credible information. Further, if the information is objective and not opinionated based by an author’s bias, the reader can make an informed and considered decision. This holds true for the information on Cyrus. Our questions relate to the life, character, accomplishments of King Cyrus. Who was he? Was he a historical figure? What were his accomplishments? What was his style of governance? Does he deserve the title ‘great’? Was he a Zoroastrian?<br />
<br />
While a study of the sources listed above is essential to answering these questions – such a study is not by itself sufficient. It is also necessary to have a complete familiarity with ancient Iranian (Persian) history and Zoroastrianism in order to be able to give the information depth and context. Authors such as Mary Boyce and A. W. Jackson have demonstrated this depth of understanding. It is only then that an analysis can have credibility. Almost every author has a bias that skews the information she or he presents in order to confirm that bias. The issue is a matter of degree. With some authors, the bias is extreme and obliterates whatever substantive information their writings may contain. True scholarship requires tremendous discipline to remain objective and balanced, and, when dealing with someone else’s culture, to accord due respect for that culture’s heritage – unless the objective is to disparage that culture. While we may disagree with some of her conclusions, Professor Mary Boyce’s work is one such example. Her book, <i>A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume II: Under the Achaemenians</i> (Brill, 1982) contains chapters (pp. 40-69) on the life and religion of Cyrus.<br />
<br />
In discussing how bias shapes the presentation of information – in this case on Cyrus – we note that there is amongst classical Greek authors a clear divide between those such as Xenophon and Herodotus. Greeks like Xenophon held the Persian system of governance in high regard and even served the Persians. For this, they were labelled derogatorily as medized Greeks. Nationalists like Herodotus held the Greeks to be the most cultured of people – Persians were barbarians – and the nationalists were stingy in giving the Persians any credit. Xenophon’s book highlights Cyrus’ noble qualities and wisdom while Herodotus makes little mention of these qualities. Today, those who are Euro-centric or biased against Iranians gravitate towards the less flattering sources and are quick to quote them as proof. They will diminish Cyrus’ nobility, superior leadership and humanity; impinge on Xenophon’s credibility and, arbitrarily dismiss his account of Cyrus as fiction.<br />
<br />
Since Xenophon and Herodotus are our principle sources on Cyrus, Jacob Abbott in his <i>Histories of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great</i> (New York, 1880, pp. 13-36) undertook a keen examination of their personal histories in order to get a sense of the credibility of their work. While Abbott does not venture a judgment, he clearly "doubts very seriously whether his (Herodotus’) journeys were really as extended as he pretends. As his (Herodotus’) object was to read what he was intending to write at great public assemblies in Greece, he was, of course, under every possible inducement to make his narrative as interesting as possible." Xenophon on the other hand was a military commander who in Abbott’s opinion presented a more authentic (and therefore more reliable) account. In classical antiquity, Polybius, Cicero, Tacitus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius and Longinus ranked Xenophon among philosophers and historians of the highest calibre, considering his <i>Cyropaedia</i> as the masterpiece of a very widely respected and studied author. Other classical Greek writers also criticize Herodotus quite severely. Photius in his <i>Bibliotheca </i>(at 72) cites Ctesias’ <i>Persica</i> as stating, "In nearly every instance he (Ctesias) gives an opposing account to Herodotus, going so far as to expose him as a liar and label him an inventor of fables (other translators have ‘spinner of yarns’)." Those opposed to Ctesias make a similar charge against him.<br />
<br />
In our opinion, the writings of both Herodotus and Xenophon (and others) are remarkable achievements and stores of invaluable information.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDtMIsc1kfGCQXqsVZVGhaxJ8xYMv_wibEiVPJBedOXPFeRiAnQcEuP5YgcZ_fEGM9OSy2naAuwWB4vQj4o8lbSmsepkn2-KOz1hjlc5MynXSRIgdoyB92l5LBAVjKslUwA-6ZuGJ3wSk/s1600/Jacob+Van+Loo+1614-70+Zerubbabel+shows+Cyrus+plan+of+Jerusalem+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDtMIsc1kfGCQXqsVZVGhaxJ8xYMv_wibEiVPJBedOXPFeRiAnQcEuP5YgcZ_fEGM9OSy2naAuwWB4vQj4o8lbSmsepkn2-KOz1hjlc5MynXSRIgdoyB92l5LBAVjKslUwA-6ZuGJ3wSk/s640/Jacob+Van+Loo+1614-70+Zerubbabel+shows+Cyrus+plan+of+Jerusalem+-+Copy.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist Jacob Van Loo (1614-70) concept of Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, presenting<br />
King Cyrus the Great with the plans for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.</td></tr>
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The references to Cyrus in the Hebrew Bible are unambiguous, repeated and consistent. In those references, Cyrus was a just, magnanimous king and was given the Bible’s highest titular honour – the anointed, the Messiah, of the Lord. The Bible’s Septuagint Greek version has God saying, “Τῷ χριστῷ μου Κύρῳ (To Cyrus my Christ)”. The title is no small honour. The Hebrew Bible rarely ascribes such a pronouncement of anointment directly to God. It is the Bible’s way of saying Cyrus was doing God’s work.<br />
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What is remarkable and unique about the writings of Xenophon and the Bible, is that they are respectively, the words of the citizen of a nation that considered the Persians as enemies, and those of a people about a foreign king whose rule they welcomed. Both texts are entirely consistent with the message of the Cyrus Cylinder.<br />
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To determine objectively Cyrus’ place in history we need ask and answer the following question: Is there is another monarch in antiquity who can claim there is anything similar written about her or him, and if so, what are the reference sources to any such claim and how do they compare quoted side-by-side to the sources we have listed above?<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Cyrus the Great & Cyrus Cylinder Series:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/cyrus.htm">» Cyrus the Great</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-his-religion-inspiration.html">» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/achaemenian/pasargadae.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-information-sources.html">» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources</a><br />
<a href="http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/reference/xenophon/cyropaedia/cyropaedia1.htm">» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia</a> <span style="color: #cc0000;">(at Zoroastrian Heritage)</span><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-hebrew-bible-quotes.html">» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-cyrus-cylinder.html">» Cyrus Cylinder</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-its-discoverer-hormuzd.html">» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-remarkable-discovery-of-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-contents-eduljee.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-great-cyrus-cylinder-series-cyrus.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-translation-of-text.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-edict-chinese-cuneiform-bones.html">» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones</a><br />
<a href="http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cyrus-cylinder-talk-by-neil-macgregor.html">» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor</a>K. E. Eduljeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174607090502150406noreply@blogger.com0