Adurbad-i Mahraspand ("Ādurbād, son of Mahraspand") was an influential

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

high priest ('' mowbedan mowbed'') during the reign of the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

king (

shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

)

Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...

().

Biography

Both the

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 Sasania ...

Bundahishn The ''Bundahishn'' (Middle Persian: , "Primal Creation") is an encyclopedic collection of beliefs about Zoroastrian cosmology written in the Book Pahlavi script. The original name of the work is not known. It is one of the most important extant ...

'' and the ''

The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' by the medieval scholar

al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

consider Adurbad to have been descended from the figure Dursarw, a son of the legendary Pishdadian king

Manuchehr Manūchehr mænuː'tʃer">Help:IPA/English">mænuː'tʃer (, older Persian Manōčihr, Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬱𐬗𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀 Manuščiθra), is the eighth Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty of Persia according to ''Shahnameh''. He is ...

. According to the Middle Persian ''

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" an ...

'', Adurbad was from the "village Kuran", possibly a distortion of "a village of

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

", a province in southeastern Iran. The place may also refer to a place in

Pars Pars may refer to: * Fars province of Iran, also known as Pars Province * Pars (Sasanian province), a province roughly corresponding to the present-day Fars, 224–651 * ''Pars'', for ''Persia'' or ''Iran'', in the Persian language * Pars News Ag ...

. In order to demonstrate the legitimacy of his religious heritage, metal was reportedly poured on Adurbad's chest, which did not harm him. According to Iranica, "In keeping with his religious zeal, Ādurbād was a force in the enactment and implementing of decrees against non-Zoroastrians; the established church is described as having then fallen on evil days, plagued by doubt and infidelity.". Adurbad is credited with the authorship of several ''andazar'' (Zoroastrian advices) texts. The ''Denkard'' ascribes admonitions to Adurbad; and an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

version of these admonitions occur in the work of

Miskawayh Ibn Miskuyah ( Muskūyah, 932–1030), (Arabic: مِسْكَوَيْه، أبو علي محمد بن أحمد بن يعقوب مسكويه الرازي) full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb Miskawayh al-Rāzī was a Persian c ...

's . Two groups of his counsels occur in extant Middle Persian text. The first group of counsels contain his addresses to his and is in part translated by Miskawayh in Arabic. The second group comprises his supposed deathbed utterances. A collection of questions is addressed to him by a disciple and his responses are found in the Pahlavi

Rivayat The ''Rivayats'' (also spelled as ''Revayats'') are a series of exchanges between the Parsi, Zoroastrian community in India and their co-religionists in Early modern period, early modern Iran. They have been ascribed the same importance of the Tal ...

. A translation of some of the Middle Persian counsels exist in the book: R. C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, London, 1956.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

*The Counsels of Adhurbadh, Son of Mahraspan

( R. C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, London, 1956.) *Sayings of Adarbad Mahraspanda

(Translation from R. C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, London, 1956, p. 110 ff.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahrspandan, Adurbad-i 4th-century Iranian people 4th-century philosophers Iranian religious leaders Iranian philosophers Ancient Iranian philosophers Zoroastrian priests Iranian ethicists People from the Sasanian Empire Shapur II