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Barish Nask
The Barish nask is the eighth ''nask'' (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. The work itself is lost and no texts in the extant Avesta can be clearly identified as having belonged to it. Its content, however, can be reconstructed to some degree from references in Book 8 of the Denkard and the Rivayats. Sources The nask itself is no longer extant. Some information on its content are given in Book 8 of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism. In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, give a short overview on the content of the Barish nask. In the Sasanian Avesta The Sasanian Avesta was organized into 21 ''nasks'', i.e., volumes, which were grouped into 3 divisions; the Gāhānīg (Gathic nasks), Hada Mānsrīg ( manthras connected with the ritual), and Dādīg (legal nasks). Within this scheme, the Barish nask was part of the ritual nasks and its content has been described as concerning ethical and moral topics. According to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasanian Avesta
The Sasanian Avesta or Great Avesta refers to the anthology of Zoroastrian literature produced during the Sasanian period. Most of this work is now lost, but its content and structure can be reconstructed from references found in a number of texts from the 9th century onward. Compared to the extant Avesta, the Sasanian Avesta was much larger and organized into 21 distinct volumes called ''nasks'' (Avestan: ''naska''; Middle Persian: ''nask'', 'bundle'). Of those, only one is preserved in its entirety, while others are either lost or only preserved in fragments. Sources The most important source on the Sasanian Avesta is the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism. The 8th and 9th book of the Denkard give an overview of the Avesta as it was available at the time. Whereas the 8th book lists the content, the 9th book provides a lengthy summary on a number of its nasks In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, also list its con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Literature
A lost literary work (referred throughout this article just as a lost work) is a document, literary work, or piece of multimedia, produced of which no surviving copies are known to exist, meaning it can be known only through reference, or literary fragments. This term most commonly applies to works from the classical world, although it is increasingly used in relation to modern works. A work may be lost to history through the destruction of an original manuscript and all later copies. Works—or, commonly, small fragments of works—have survived by being found by archaeologists during investigations, or accidentally by laypersons such as, for example, the finding Nag Hammadi library scrolls. Works also survived when they were reused as bookbinding materials, quoted or included in other works, or as palimpsests, where an original document is imperfectly erased so the substrate on which it was written can be reused. The discovery, in 1822, of Cicero's ''De re publica'' was one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denkard
The ''Dēnkard'' or ''Dēnkart'' (Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 "Acts of Religion") is a 10th-century compendium of Zoroastrian beliefs and customs during the time. The ''Denkard'' has been called an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism" and is a valuable source of Zoroastrian literature especially during its Middle Persian iteration. The ''Denkard'' is not considered a sacred text by a majority of Zoroastrians, but is still considered worthy of study. Name The name traditionally given to the compendium reflects a phrase from the colophons, which speaks of the /, from Avestan meaning "acts" (also in the sense of "chapters"), and , from Avestan , literally "insight" or "revelation", but more commonly translated as "religion." Accordingly, means "religious acts" or "acts of religion." The ambiguity of or in the title reflects the orthography of Pahlavi writing, in which the letter may sometimes denote /d/. Date and authorship The individual chapters vary in age, style ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rivayats
The ''Rivayats'' (also spelled as ''Revayats'') are a series of exchanges between the Zoroastrian community in India and their co-religionists in early modern Iran. They have been ascribed the same importance of the Talmud to Judaism by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi. The word Rivayat has disputed etymology. Some claim the word to have origins from Arabic but this is contentious. Overview The content of each Rivayat varies but they are usually queries on matters of worship, customs, rituals and observance. The issues range form the mundane, such as queries about the preparation of ink for the writing of religious documents, to important issues including conversion. Over three centuries, twenty-two Rivayats were sent from India to Persia. The first Revayat was brought in 1478 AD by Nariman Hoshang of Broach. Hoshang was a layman, supported by Chang Asa a notable leader of the Navsari Parsi community. Hoshang spent a year in Yazd, learning Persian and supported himself by 'petty trade'. E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manthra (Zoroastrianism)
A or (, ) is a prayer, sacred formula or inspired utterance considered in Zoroastrianism to have spiritual power. Their use already goes back to Zarathustra who described himself in his Gathas as a knower of manthras. Zoroastrian manthras are etymologically and functionally related to the mantras known from the Indian tradition. However, they are not derived from Vedic mantras, but represent an independent, parallel development. Etymology Both Avestan 𐬨𐬄𐬚𐬭𐬀 () and Vedic मन्त्र () go back to a common, Proto-Indo-Iranian *mantram, which in turn is derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European verb *men (to think) and the instrumental suffix *-trom. By combining verb and suffix, the word *mantram, therefore, acquires the meaning ''instrument of thinking''. Within the context of Zoroastrianism, the Avestan term is commonly transliterated into Latin script as manthra or mantra, while some use the phonetic transliteration . Yet this is not uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting Wars of Alexander the Great, a lengthy military campaign throughout West Asia, Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from History of Greece, Greece to northwestern History of India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward William West
Edward William West (1824-1905), usually styled E. W. West, was a scholarly English engineer, orientalist, and translator of Zoroastrian texts. He was educated at King's College London. He prepared five volumes of Pahlavi texts (the ''Marvels of Zoroastrianism'') for Prof. Max Müller's monumental Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ... series, published from the years 1880 to 1897. References * 1824 births 1905 deaths Alumni of King's College London English Indologists Zoroastrian studies scholars {{UK-engineer-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Arya (Iran), Iranians living in the Avestan geography, eastern portion of Greater Iran. After Avestan Language death, became extinct, its religious texts were first transmitted Oral literature, orally until being collected and Sasanian Avesta, put into writing during the Sasanian empire, Sasanian period ( – 500 CE). The Avesta, extant material falls into two Variety (linguistics), groups: Old Avestan ( – 900 BCE) and Younger Avestan ( – 400 BCE). The immediate ancestor of Old Avestan was the Proto-Iranian language, a sister language to the Proto-Indo-Aryan language, with both having developed from the earlier Proto-Indo-Iranian language. As such, Old Avestan is quite close in both grammar and lexi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zend
Zend or Zand () is a Zoroastrian term for Middle Persian or Pahlavi versions and commentaries of Avestan texts. These translations were produced in the late Sasanian period. ''Zand'' glosses and commentaries exist in several languages, including in the Avestan language itself. These Avestan language exegeses sometimes accompany the original text being commented upon, but are more often elsewhere in the canon. An example of exegesis in the Avestan language itself includes '' Yasna'' 19–21, which is a set of three Younger Avestan commentaries on the three Gathic Avestan 'high prayers' of ''Yasna'' 27. ''Zand'' also appears to have once existed in a variety of Middle Iranian languages, but of these Middle Iranian commentaries, the Middle Persian ''zand'' is the only one to survive fully, and is for this reason regarded as 'the' ''zand''. With the notable exception of the '' Yashts'', almost all surviving Avestan texts have their Middle Persian ''zand'', which in some manuscripts a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pahlavi Scripts
Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty * Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire * Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 ** Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of Persia from 1925 to 1941 ** Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi (1903–1992), first child and daughter of Reza Shah ** Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996), elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ** Ashraf Pahlavi (1919–2016), twin sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi **Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979 ** Ali Reza Pahlavi I (1922–1954), brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, second son of Reza Shah ** Gholamreza Pahlavi (1923–2017), half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, last living child of Reza Shah ** Abdul Reza Pahlavi (1924–2004), half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ** Fatimeh Pahlavi (1928–1987), Reza Shah's tenth child and half-sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. ** Hamid Reza Pahlavi (1932–1992), Reza Shah's elevent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Darmesteter
James Darmesteter (28 March 184919 October 1894) was a French author, orientalist, and antiquarian. Biography He was born of Jewish parents at Château-Salins, in Lorraine. The family name had originated in their earlier home of Darmstadt. He was educated in Paris, where, under the guidance of Michel Bréal and Abel Bergaigne, he imbibed a love for Oriental studies, to which for a time he entirely devoted himself. In 1875, he published a thesis on the mythology of the ''Avesta'', in which he advocated that the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism had been influenced by Judaism (and not that Zoroastrianism influenced Judaism as many scholars said). In 1877 became teacher of Persian language at the École des Hautes Études. He continued his research with his ''Études iraniennes'' (1883), and ten years later published a complete translation of the ''Avesta'' and associated ''Zend'' (lit. "commentary"), with historical and philological commentary of his own (''Zend Avesta'', 3 vols. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Persian continued to function as a prestige language. It descended from Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire and is the linguistic ancestor of Modern Persian, the official language of Iran (also known as Persia), Afghanistan ( Dari) and Tajikistan ( Tajik). Name "Middle Iranian" is the name given to the middle stage of development of the numerous Iranian languages and dialects. The middle stage of the Iranian languages begins around 450 BCE and ends around 650 CE. One of those Middle Iranian languages is Middle Persian, i.e. the middle stage of the language of the Persians, an Iranian people of Persia proper, which lies in the south-western Iran highlands on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
