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The Faravahar ( fa, فروهر), also known as the Foruhar () or the Farre Kiyâni ( fa, فر کیانی, label=none), is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, an
Iranian religion Iranian religions also known as Persian religions are, in the context of comparative religion, a grouping of religious movements that originated in the Iranian (Persian) plateau (or Greater Iran). Background The beliefs, activities, and cultural ...
. There are various interpretations of what the Faravahar symbolizes, and there is no concrete universal consensus on its meaning. However, it is commonly believed that the Faravahar serves as a Zoroastrian depiction of the '' fravashi'', or personal spirit. The Faravahar is one of the best-known and most used pre-
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
symbols of Iran and is often worn as a pendant. Despite its traditionally religious nature, it has become a secular and cultural symbol for Iranians.


Etymology

The New Persian word is read as ''foruhar'' or ''faravahar'' (pronounced as ''furōhar'' or ''furūhar'' in Classical Persian). The Middle Persian forms were ''frawahr'' (
Book Pahlavi Pahlavi is a particular, exclusively written form of various Iranian languages, Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are: *the use of a specific Aramaic script, Aramaic-derived script; *the incidence of Aramaic lang ...
: plwʾhl,
Manichaean Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...
: prwhr), ''frōhar'' (recorded in Pazend as ; it is a later form of the previous form), and ''fraward'' (
Book Pahlavi Pahlavi is a particular, exclusively written form of various Iranian languages, Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are: *the use of a specific Aramaic script, Aramaic-derived script; *the incidence of Aramaic lang ...
: plwlt',
Manichaean Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...
: frwrd), which was directly from
Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
''*fravarti-''. The Avestan language form was ''fravaṣ̌i'' ().


History

The pre-Zoroastrian use of the symbol originates as the winged sun used by various powers of the Ancient Near East, primarily those of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Zoroastrian adoption of the symbol comes from its prevalence in Neo-Assyrian iconography. This Assyrian image often includes their Tree of Life, which includes the god
Ashur Ashur, Assur, or Asur may refer to: Places * Assur, an Assyrian city and first capital of ancient Assyria * Ashur, Iran, a village in Iran * Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India * Assu ...
on a winged disk.


In Zoroastrian culture

The faravahar was depicted on the tombs of Achaemenid kings, such as
Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
() and Artaxerxes III (). The symbol was also used on some of the coin mints of the '' frataraka'' of Persis in the late 3rd and early 2nd BC centuries. Even after the
Arab conquest of Iran The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...
, Zoroastrianism continued to be part of Iranian culture. Throughout the year, festivities are celebrated such as Nowruz, Mehregan, and Chaharshanbe Suri which relate to Zoroastrian festivals and
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
. These are remnants of Zoroastrian traditions. From the start of the 20th century, the faravahar icon found itself in public places and became a known icon among Iranians. The Shahnameh by
Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...
is Iran's national epic and contains stories (partly historical and partly mythical) from pre-Islamic Zoroastrian times. The tomb of Ferdowsi (built early 1930), which is visited by numerous Iranians every year, contains the faravahar icon as well. Whilst being used by both modern day Zoroastrians and Persians, it is important to note the symbol is neither Zoroastrian nor Persian in its origin. It originates as a Mesopotamian Assyrian depiction of the wing deity
Ashur Ashur, Assur, or Asur may refer to: Places * Assur, an Assyrian city and first capital of ancient Assyria * Ashur, Iran, a village in Iran * Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India * Assu ...
. After the Achaemenian dynasty, the image of the farohar was no longer present in Persian art or architecture. The
Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
,
Sassanians The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as ''Sasanian'' in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sa ...
and Islamic kings that followed did not use the image. It was not until the 20th century, over 2000 years later, that the symbol re-emerged thanks to the work of Parsi scholar, Jamshedji Maneckji Unvala, who published two articles in 1925 and 1930. Unvala's work was discredited by Irach Jehangir Sorabji Taraporewala, who refuted the idea that the winged figure represented
Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
. Taraporewala suggested that the figures used in Persian reliefs were meant to depict
khvarenah Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): ae, 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ') is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aidi ...
or royal glory to reflect the perceived divine empowerment of kings, and, therefore, has no true spiritual meaning. This view was later supported by
Alireza Shapour Shahbazi Alireza Shapour Shahbazi (4 September 1942 Shiraz - 15 July 2006 Walla Walla, Washington'') ('' fa, علیرضا شاپور شهبازی) was a prominent Persian archeologist, archaeologist, Iranology, Iranologist and a world expert on Achaemenid a ...
and Mary Boyce.


Modern age usage

The Sun Throne, the imperial seat of Iran, has visual implications of the ''Farahavar''. The sovereign would be seated in the middle of the throne, which is shaped like a platform or bed that is raised from the ground. This religious-cultural symbol was adapted by the
Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
to represent the Iranian nation. In modern Zoroastrianism, one of the interpretations of the faravahar is that it is a representation of the human soul and its development along with a visual guide of good conduct. Another popular interpretation is that it is a visual representation of a Fravashi, though Fravashis are described in Zoroastrian literature as being feminine. One of the most prevalent views in academia as to the meaning of the faravahar is that it represents
Khvarenah Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): ae, 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ') is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aidi ...
, the divine power and royal glory. Although there are a number of interpretations of the individual elements of the symbol, most are recent interpretations and there is still debate as to its meaning. After the
Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
of 1979, the Lion and Sun, which was part of Iran's original national flag, was banned by the government from public places. Nevertheless, faravahar icons were not removed and as a result, the faravahar icon became a national symbol for Iranians, and it became tolerated by the government as opposed to the Lion and Sun. The winged discs has a long history in the art, religion, and culture of the ancient Near and Middle East, being about 4000 years old in usage and noted as also symbolizing
Ashur Ashur, Assur, or Asur may refer to: Places * Assur, an Assyrian city and first capital of ancient Assyria * Ashur, Iran, a village in Iran * Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India * Assu ...
,
Shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
, and other deities.


Gallery


Citations


General sources

* * *


External links

* {{National symbols of Iran Kurdish mythology National symbols of Iran Persian words and phrases Zoroastrian symbols