Adur Burzen-Mihr (

Middle Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

) or Azar Barzin ( fa, آذر برزین) was an '' Atash Bahram'' (a

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

fire temple of the highest grade) located in

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

. In the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

period it was one of the three Great Fires and was associated with the farmer class; the other two were

Adur Farnbag Adur may refer to: Places * Adur, Anekal, a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India * Adur, Azerbaijan, a village in the Quba Rayon * Adur, Bangalore South, a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India * Adur, Haveri, a villag ...

Persis Persis ( grc-gre, , ''Persís''), better known in English as Persia ( Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''; fa, پارس, ''Pârs''), or Persia proper, is the Fars region, located to the southwest of modern-day Iran, now a province. T ...

which was associated with the priest class, and

Adur Gushnasp Adur Gushnasp ( pal, 𐭠𐭲𐭥𐭫𐭩 𐭦𐭩 𐭢𐭱𐭭𐭮𐭯 ʾtwly ZY gšnsp ''Ādur ī Gušnasp''; New Persian: ''Āzargušasb'') was the name of a Zoroastrian sacred fire of the highest grade (''Atash Behram''), which served as ...

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, which was associated with the warrior class. Its establishment can be dated to the late 5th or early 4th century BC. ''Adur'' means "

Holy Fire In Orthodox Christian belief, the Holy Fire ( el, Ἃγιον Φῶς, "Holy Light") is a proposed miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter. However, the ...

", and ''Burzēn-Mihr'' is a Parthian given name which literally means "Exalted is Mihr" and is probably the name of the temple's founder. This Fire is described in ''

Bundahishn ''Bundahishn'' (Avestan: , "Primal Creation") is the name traditionally given to an encyclopedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known. Although the ''Bundahishn'' ...

''. Its location is given as Mount Rēvand (in Avestan: ''Raēvant''), probably a spur of the Nishapur mountains in the district formerly known as Rēvand in Khurasan. An element of the name is preserved in the name of the nearby village Borzinan may. Another identification is Mount Mehr, five miles from the village Mehr on the Shahrud–Sabzevar Highway. Some identify it with the Fire of

Asaak Asaak, Arsacia (Latin) or Arshak ( Parthian) was an ancient city which was a capital and royal necropolis of the Parthian Empire. Many of the Parthian kings such as Arsaces I were crowned in Asaak. Some has suggested it to be identified with the Ol ...

. The Fire is mentioned several times in ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...

'' as Mehr-Barzīn (), Mehr (), and Barzīn (), and is used also as a

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors c ...

for fiery fierceness. The Fire is thought to have been a major center of pilgrimage, even after the

Arsacids The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...

' fall. In the Sasanian period, although its name was always placed third in texts and the fire was associated with the lowliest class of the society, (farmers; the other two being warriors and priests), it still maintained its importance. Its history in the Islamic period is not known.

References

*M. Boyce, “ĀDUR BURZĒN-MIHR,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/5, pp. 472-473; an updated version is available online a
Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica
(accessed on 28 February 2014). {{Fire temples in Iran Fire temples in Iran Parthia Lost buildings and structures Religion in the Sasanian Empire Sasanian architecture

See also

References