Research on Isfahan |
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Ehrlichmann’s notes on Persia start, as ever, with a cryptic quote from the Black Stone itself (handout below). Following that are jottings on fire and fire temples (Handout 13 below), details on the history of Isfahan (handout and map), and brief musings on the nature of Zoroastrianism (handout below); there are also sketches of ancient ateshkadeh and the hill at Marabin. There appears to be a circular building of some sort slightly separated from the rest of the complex, at least according to Ehrlichmann’s rough plan; it is labelled as the Tower of Sacrifice.
The fifth chapter contains information regarding the Cup of Yima. As before, there is no actual physical description of the object, only a discussion of what its role within the Palladion was. From that, it appears as if the Cup formed the core of a sophisticated surveillance system, allowing its user to both see and hear what was happening at a chosen location. Details as to how exactly this worked are not recorded, but its usefulness in pre-empting potential civic disturbances is.
FIRE: life, growth, purity.
SACRED FIRES: Ancient and lost-- the farmer’s fire (Adur Burzen-Mihr, Mithra’s fire), the warrior’s fire (Adur Gushnasp), and the priest’s most sacred flame (Adur Farnbag). Present-- the lowliest (ATASH DADGAH, not always holy), the fire of fires, gathered from the four professions (ATASH ADARAN), and the fire of victory, born from the embers of sixteen lesser fires at the recitation of the Atash Nyayesh (ATASH BEHRAM).
Embers from the sacred ATASH BEHRAM carried into battle as the Persian Army’s own Palladion. Atlantean influence (Really? Do I believe that now?), or parallel development of shared protective themes?
TEMPLES: Zoroastrian, although younger than the faith to which they are attached. ATROSHAN--the place of burning fire--inner sanctum? Major developments--Sassanian era, ATESHKADEH (house of fire). Domed roof supported by four pillars at the corners of a square--characteristic four arches (CAHAR TAQ). DARB-E MEHR-- the Court/Gate of Mithra (modern usage). Godard’s work--Isfahan. Hill of Maras. Could that be a mistranslation of Jamshid’s legendary refuge? Possible. Is a magical artefact associated with him--a RHYTON that permitted him to see everything in his kingdom. Could that be it?
Safe within the desert hillside they will hide, like frightened rodents seeking shelter from an unseen or imagined enemy that never comes, for they are far too small to register in its consciousness now that their greatest toy is broken. Not a place of heroes although, with time, it will be named so; the warmth to drive off the hardest winter, the sanctuary home of the great king whose sin shall remain nameless, unspoken, his pride as great as those he is mistaken for, whose downfall he yet shares. Within the hill, beneath the golden fires of devotion, also forgot, awaiting the flame both burning and unburning, the eye that cannot see, it sits. And what will their oblation be that seek to find it? And what their lie, their sin, their salvation? Through the fallen sun god’s gate, by his unbroken oath, his leonine nemesis yet brother, his father’s reflection, shall hear the echo of their roar, in darkness all.
Isfahan is a beautiful city, the jewel of the Safavid Empire. No-one truly knows how old the city on the banks of the Zayandeh River actually is, but there can be little doubt that it is ancient. Records indicate that, as Ispandana, it was part of the Elamite Empire before falling into the hands of first the Medians and then the Achaemenids.
The city then fell out of favour with the ruling elite until the Seljuk Turks made it their capital in the 11th Century. It remained at the heart of this latest empire for almost two hundred years, before once again fading into relative obscurity with the coming of the Mongol Hordes.
Shah Abbas I, ruler of the Safavid Empire (which many consider to be the third of Persia’s great ages), moved his capital to Isfahan from Qazvin and set about rebuilding the city into the marvel that it is today. It was during this period that the phrase “Esfahan nesf-e jahan” (“Isfahan is half the world”) was coined; its citizens believed their city to be so wondrous that it took the rest of the world put together to equal the beauty of its tree-lined boulevards and perfect gardens.
The city is centred around the rather large Naqsh-e Jahan Square, whose name (rather poetically) means “pattern of the world”. Polo goalposts, not used for around four hundred years, can be found at either end of the square, which is surrounded by some of Isfahan’s most impressive buildings, including the Masjed-e Shah mosque, the Ali Qapu Palace, and the monumental Qesariyeh Portal, entrance to the vast and sprawling warren that is the Bazar-e Bozorg. At the far end of the Bazar is the Masjed-e Jameh mosque (the largest in Persia), thought to be built on the foundations of a much older Zoroastrian temple.
Although only practiced by a minority now, Zoroastrianism was once Persia’s state religion. One of the first faiths to worship a single, invisible, omnipotent god, it has a profound effect on the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is a dualistic religion that believes in good and evil; one that is based on personal responsibility for one’s actions. The choice to practice humata (good thoughts), harkta (good words), and huvarshta (good deeds) means that, eventually, good will prevail over evil.
No-one is entirely certain when the religion’s founder, Zarathustra, was born. There are those who put his birth date as somewhere in the 14th Century BC; others bring it as far forward as the 6th Century BC. Regardless, he is believed to have been a priest of an older, Aryan religion before becoming a prophet of his own.
The religion’s chief god is Ahura Mazda, wise lord and source of constructive energy (Spenta Mainyu). Although he has no symbol or icon, he is worshipped through flame; while they are not fire worshippers per se, the flame provides the source of light towards which Zoroastrians are always supposed to pray. It is also possible that the fire god, Atar (later the embodiment of the sacred element of fire), became mixed with Ahura Mazda, bringing his fiery symbolism with him.
Standing against Ahura Mazda is Ahriman, the lie (Druj) and source of destructive energy (Angra Mainyu); a force for evil who often acts through witting or unwitting avatars and accomplices, such as his son, Zahha¯k, and other daevas (demons). Other lesser divinities, known as yazatas, also exist. They include Atar (fire), Zam (earth), Aban (water), and Anahita (fertility, healing, and wisdom).
Mithra, the yazata of covenant and oath, is an old Aryan sun god, who was incorporated into the faith by the Sassanians (p.186). Ahura Mazda’s son, he is described as having one thousand ears and one thousand eyes. Associated with Apollo by the Greeks in his aspect of an all-seeing divinity of the truth, to the Romans he became Mithras, the bull-slaying god of war.
Zoroastrianism’s holy book, the Avesta, is believed to have been written (at least in part) by Zarathustra; in particular the oldest part, the five Gathas, a collection of seventeen hymns to Ahura Mazda. Other stories credit the god himself with writing the book and giving it to Zarathustra as a gift for his patron, King Vishtaspa.
Only a fraction (approximately one quarter) of the Avesta is still in existence; the rest was allegedly destroyed either by Alexander the Great when he sacked the Persian Empire, or by the Arabs during their invasion (p.186). The five books which did survive (the Yasna, containing the Gathas; the Visperad; the Vendidad or Videvdat; and the Yashts) are reconstructions, created either by the Sassanians or by the Parsis when they fled to India in the 7th Century AD (p.140). A lesser book, the Khurda Avesta (Younger or Little Avesta) contains supplementary texts, including the Nyayesh, a collection of five prayers to the sun and Mithra, the moon, fire, and the divine waters. The Khurda Avesta comes to serve as the Zoroastrian book of common prayer after it is published in the 19th Century. The Zoroastrian faith is also referred to as Magism.
According to one legend, after the Achaemenids conquered the Medes, Zarathustra brought the Magi (Median philosophers who resisted Persian rule), into the fold, where they became the priests of his religion.
There are many and varied legends regarding the great King Yima, also known as Jamshid. Mentioned in the Vendidad (part of the Avesta), Yima was the high lord of a Golden Age, having been given the responsibility to nurture and protect mankind by Ahura Mazda himself. Described as being like the sun to look at, Yima had a burning radiance around him, known as “farr”, that marked his purity and kingship. Some stories have him as the first man instead of Gayomartan, but others have him as the fourth and best ruler of the Pishdadian Empire (the first Ar yan Dynasty in Persia).
Ahura Mazda’s three great fires helped Yima to rule over an earth he had to expand three times to enable mankind to fully grow and prosper. In one tale, Ahura Mazda warned Yima that a terrible winter was coming and that he must build an underground sanctuary (Vara) if life was to survive. After the winter passed, Yima became proud and arrogant and committed a terrible sin, although the sources are unsure as to the exact nature of his offence.
Yima’s transgression may have involved cannibalism or a great lie; regardless, his farr left him and he became mor tal. Humanity was plunged into a dark age as a result, and Yima was torn to shreds by Zahh¯ak, the serpent-shouldered, three-headed son of Ahriman.
Before his fall, the great king was said to possess a magnificent and magical seven-ringed cup known as the Jam-e Jam. Not only was the cup filled with the elixir of life, but it also permitted him to observe the whole universe...
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