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 ...

holy fire The Holy Fire (, "Holy Light") is a ceremony that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter. During the ceremony, a prayer is performed after which a fire is lit inside ...

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

Asha ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

Avestan language Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Iranians living in the eastern p ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

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 ...

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

atharvan Atharvan ( , nominative singular: अथर्वा ) is a legendary Vedic sage (rishi) of Hinduism, who along with Angiras, is supposed to have authored (" heard") the Atharvaveda. He is also said to have first instituted the fire-sacrific ...

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

vatër The (or ; sq-definite, vatra or ) is the domestic hearth in Albanian culture. The fire of the domestic hearth (') holds divine attributes in Albanian beliefs, being considered the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living an ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

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 ...

Gathas The Gathas () are 17 hymns in the Avestan language from the Zoroastrian oral tradition of the Avesta. The oldest surviving text fragment dates from 1323 CE, but they are believed by scholars to have been composed before 1000 BCE and passed dow ...

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...

Yasna Haptanghaiti The ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' () (YH), Avestan for "Worship in Seven Chapters," is a set of seven hymns within the greater '' Yasna'' collection, the primary liturgical texts of the Zoroastrian Avesta. It is generally believed that the YH spans ''Yas ...

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

'') of heat and light that ''atar'' was to become in the later texts. In the most ancient texts, ''atar'' is a medium, a faculty, through which judgement is passed and reflects the pre-Zoroastrian institution of ordeal by heat (Avestan: ''garmo-varah'', heat ordeal; ''cf.'' Boyce 1996:ch. 6). Justice is administered through ''atar'' (''Yasna'' 31.3, 34.4, 36.2, 47.2), the blazing ''atar'' (31.19, 51.9), through the heat of ''atar'' (43.4), through the blazing, shining, molten metal (''ayangha Khshushta'', 30.7, 32.7, 51.9). An individual who has passed the fiery test, has attained physical and spiritual strength, wisdom, truth and love with serenity (30.7). However, among all the references to ''atar'' in the oldest texts, it is only once addressed independently of

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

. In this exception, ''atar'' is spoken of in the third person masculine singular: "He detects sinners by hand-grasping" (''Yasna'' 34.4). Altogether, "there are said to have been some 30 kinds of fiery tests in all." (Boyce, 2002:1) Also in the early texts, tangential to its role in establishing guilt, ''atar'' is the light of revelation through which Zoroaster is selected by Ahura Mazda, the ''Zarathushtra Mainyu Athra'' (''Yasna'' 31.3), radiated by Ahura Mazda (43.9), bearing the conviction of "Good Purpose" (''

Vohu Manah Vohu Manah (Avestan: 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎⸱𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵 ''vohu manah'') is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose", "Good Mind", or "Good Thought", referring to the good state of mind th ...

'', 43.4; see also

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...

), and enlightening one's inner-self (46.7). Within this framework of the concept of divine illumination, ''atar'' radiates the "other lights" (31.7), the essence (of Ahura Mazda) from which insight and wisdom permeate the universe. So also Zoroaster's injunction to always pray in the presence of ''atar''—either towards the sun, or towards their own hearths—so as to better concentrate their devotions on ''

asha ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...

'', righteousness, and the virtue that should be striven for (''Yasna'' 43.9, see also Boyce, 1975:455).

In later texts

The Gathic role of ''atar'' as the medium for detecting guilt is not directly evident in the later texts of the Avesta, but reappears in modified form as an allegory of burning and annihilating the

Angra Mainyu Angra Mainyu (; ) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, th ...

through righteousness, "where Asha Vahishta is identified at times with the household fire on the hearth." There, "identification in the realms of matter and of spirit serves only to bring more into prominence the main tenets of Zoroaster's teachings in regard to Asha" (Dhalla, 1938:170). A vestige of the ancient institution of ordeal by heat is nonetheless present in ''

Vendidad The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/, also known as Videvdat, Videvdad or Juddēvdād, is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a ...

'' 4.54–55, where speaking against the truth and violating the sanctity of promise is punishable by flogging and is detected by the consumption of "water, blazing, of golden color, having the power to detect guilt." The ''

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 ...

'' translation/commentary on this passage translates "blazing" as "having brimstone and sulphur", and notes that innocence or guilt was established by the consumption of this "guilt-detecting liquid". Similarly, in the ''

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 ...

'', Adharbad Maraspand—the

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

era high-priest to whom the collation of the

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

texts is attributed—is purported to have nine measures of "unburning molten zinc" applied to his chest as proof of accuracy of the sacred texts. Seen chronologically, the transition from ''atar'' as a vehicle of judgement to ''Atar

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

'' the divinity presiding over blazing fire is abrupt. While the older Gathic Avestan texts have heat (and thus fire) associated with harsh judgement, the

Younger Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Iranians living in the eastern por ...

texts have the divinity ''Atar'' completely representing and being represented by fire itself; and associated with warmth and light and essential for growth. ''Asha Vahishta'''s association with ''atar'' is however carried forward, and they are often mentioned together (''Yasna'' 62.3, ''Nyashes'' 5.9, etc.). So also in their roles as protectors, for "when the Evil Spirit assailed the creation of Good Truth, Good Thought and Fire intervened" (''

Yasht A Yasht (, ) is a hymn of praise composed in the Young Avestan language and dedicated to specific Zoroastrian divinities. The term commonly applies to the collection of 21 Yashts, although it may also refer to other texts within the wider Avest ...

'' 13.77) It is in the later texts that ''Atar'' is personified as "the son" of Ahura Mazda (standard appellation, ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

Atash-Behram'', the highest grade of

fire temple A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...

. # ''atar vohu-fryana'', "the ''atar'' of good affection", cognate with

bhaga Bhaga (), is the Vedic god of wealth, as well as a term for "lord, patron" and "wealth, prosperity". He is an Āditya, a group of societal deities who are the sons of Aditi. Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a shar ...

and

friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Although there are many forms of f ...

), later qualified as "the fire diffusing goodness", and "the fire that consumes both water and food". # ''atar urvazishta'', "the ''atar'' of greatest bliss", later qualified as "the fire of happy life", and "the fire that drinks water but eats no food". # ''atar vazishta'', "the ''atar'' most swift", later qualified as the fire in clouds, i.e. lightning, and as "the fire that neither drinks water nor eats food". # ''atar spenishta'', "the ''atar'' most holy",. cognate Balto-Slavic '' šventas'' "holy") ( described in "Zend" texts as "the fire of prosperity" and as the spiritual fire burning before Ohrmuzd. The description of the fires in the Sassanid era commentaries (the ''Zend'' texts) differs slightly from those described in the ''

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 ...

'' ("Original Creation", completed in the 11th or 12th century). In the latter, the description of the first and last kind of fire is reversed.

In culture and tradition

As a divinity

During the late

Achaemenid era The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larges ...

, ''adar''—as the quintessence of the

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

''Adar''—was incorporated in the Zoroastrian hierarchy of divinities. In that position, ''Adar'' aids ''Asha Vahishta'' (Avestan,

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 ...

: ''Ardvahisht''), the

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...

responsible for the luminaries. From among the flowers associated with the

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

s, ''Adar'''s is the marigold (''calendula'') (''Bundahishn'' 27.24). The importance of the divinity ''Adar'' is evident from a dedication to the entity in the

Zoroastrian calendar Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for Zoroastrian festivals, liturgical purposes. Those all derive from Middle Ages, medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately are based on the Babylonian calendar a ...

: ''Adar'' is one of the only five

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

s that have a month-name dedication. Additionally, ''Adar'' is the name of the ninth day of the month in the Zoroastrian religious calendar, and the ninth month of the year of the civil Iranian calendar of 1925 (

modern Persian New Persian (), also known as Modern Persian () is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian (8th/ ...

: ''

Azar Azar (, ) is the ninth month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. Azar has thirty days. It begins in November and ends in December by the Gregorian calendar. Azar corresponds to the Tropical Astrological mon ...

'') which has month-names derived from those used by the Zoroastrian calendar. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, ''Adar'' was the seventh of the seven creations of the material universe. It is only with ''Adar'''s assistance, who serves as the life-force, that the other six creations begin their work (''Bundahishn'' 3.7–8; more logically explained in ''Zatspram'' 3.77–83).

The cult of fire

Although Zoroastrians revere fire in any form, the temple fire is not literally for the reverence of fire, but together with clean water (see

Aban Apas (, ) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. ''Āb'' (plural ''Ābān'') is the Middle Persian-language form. Introduction "To t ...

), is an agent of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual life", which "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple cult is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity" (Boyce, 1975:455). For, "the man who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand, with the '' Baresman'' in his hand, with milk in his hand, with the mortar for crushing the branches of the sacred

Haoma (; Avestan: ) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and Persian mythology, mythology. has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedas, Vedic . Etymology Both Avestan and Sanskrit derived from Pr ...

in his hand, is given happiness" (''Yasna'' 62.1; ''Nyashes'' 5.7) The Zoroastrian cult of fire is apparently much younger than Zoroastrianism itself and appears at approximately the same time as the shrine cult, first evident in the 4th century BCE (roughly contemporaneous with the introduction of ''Adar'' as a divinity). There is no allusion to a temple cult of fire in the Avesta proper, nor is there any

old Persian language Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its nativ ...

word for one. Moreover, Boyce suggests that the temple cult of fire was instituted in opposition to the image/shrine cult and "no actual ruins of a fire temple have been identified from before the Parthian period" (Boyce, 1975:454). That the cult of fire was a doctrinal modification and absent from early Zoroastrianism is still evident in the later ''Atash Nyash'': in the oldest passages of that liturgy, it is the hearth fire that speaks to "all those for whom it cooks the evening and morning meal", which Boyce observes is not consistent with sanctified fire. The temple cult is an even later development: From

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

it is known that in the mid-5th century BCE the Zoroastrians worshipped to the open sky, ascending mounds to light their fires ('' The Histories'', i.131).

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

confirms this, noting that in the 6th century, the sanctuary at Zela in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

was an artificial mound, walled in, but open to the sky (''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

'' XI.8.4.512). By the Parthian era (250 BCE–226 CE), Zoroastrianism had in fact two kinds of places of worship: One, apparently called ''bagin'' or ''ayazan'', sanctuaries dedicated to a specific divinity, constructed in honor of the patron Yazata of an individual or family and included an icon or effigy of the honored. The second were the ''atroshan'', the "places of burning fire", which as Boyce (1997:ch. 3) notes, became more and more prevalent as the iconoclastic movement gained support. Following the rise of the Sassanid dynasty, the shrines to the

Yazatas Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

continued to exist, with the statues—by law—either being abandoned as empty sanctuaries, or being replaced by fire altars (so also the popular shrines to Meher/

Mithra Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...

which retained the name ''Darb-e Mehr''—Mithra's Gate—that is today one of the Zoroastrian technical terms for a fire temple). Also, as Schippman observed (''loc. Cit.'' Boyce, 1975:462), even during the Sassanid era (226–650 CE) there is no evidence that the fires were categorized according to their sanctity. "It seems probable that there were virtually only two, namely the ''Atash-i Vahram''

Bahram Bahram may refer to: People * Bahram (name) Other uses * Bahram (''Shahnameh''), a heroic character in the Iranian epic poem * Bahram (horse) Bahram (1932–1956) was an Irish-bred, English-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated ...

, see Gnoli, 2002:512] and the lesser ''Atash-i Adaran'', or 'Fire of Fires', a parish fire, as it were, serving a village or town quarter" (Boyce, 1975:462; Boyce 1966:63). Apparently, it was only in the ''Atash-i Vahram'' that fire was kept continuously burning, with the ''Adaran'' fires being annually relit. While the fires themselves had special names, the structures did not, and it has been suggested that "the prosaic nature of the middle Persian names (''kadag'', ''man'', and ''xanag'' are all words for an ordinary house) perhaps reflect a desire on the part of those who fostered the temple-cult ..to keep it as close as possible in character to the age-old cult of the hearth-fire, and to discourage elaboration" (Boyce, 2002:9). The Indian

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

-Zoroastrian practice of rendering the term ''athornan'' (derived from the Avestan language "athravan") as "fire-priest" in the English language is based on the mistaken assumption that the ''athra*'' prefix derives from ''atar'' (Boyce, 2002:16–17). The term ''athravan'' does not appear in the Gathas, where a priest is a ''zaotar'', and in its oldest attested use (''Yasna'' 42.6) the term appears to be synonymous with "missionary". In the later ''Yasht'' 13.94, Zoroaster himself is said to have been an ''athravan'', which in this context could not be a reference to ''atar'' if a cult of fire and its associated priesthood did not yet exist in Zoroaster's time. Thus, in all probability, "the word athravan has a different derivation." (Boyce, 2002:17)

In mythology and folklore

In ''Vendidad'' 1, ''Adar'' battles Aži Dahāka, the great dragon of the sky. In

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) 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 single poet, and the gre ...

's

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

, Hoshang, the grandson of the first man ''

Gayomard Keyumars or Kiomars () was the name of the first king (shah) of the Pishdadian dynasty of Iran according to the ''Shahnameh''. The name appears in Avestan in the form of , or in medieval Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian texts as ''Gayōmard'' or ...

'', discovers fire in a rock. He recognizes it as the divine glory of Ahura Mazda, offers homage to it, and instructs his people to so as well. Also in the Shahnameh is the legend of Sevavash, who passes through "the unburning fire" as proof of his innocence.

As a royal symbol

During the Sassanid era (226–650 CE), the symbol of Fire plays much the same role that the winged sun

Faravahar The Farāvahār (; ), also called the Foruhār () or the Fārre Kiyâni (), is one of the most prominent symbols of Zoroastrianism. There is no universal consensus on what it means or stands for, as a variety of interpretations exist. The mos ...

did during the

Achaemenid period The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

(648–330 BCE). Beginning with

Ardashir I Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Par ...

, the founder of the

Sassanid Empire 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 ...

, many of the kings of the dynasty issued one or more coins with a symbol of Fire on the verso, and seals and bullae with the fire symbol were common. The first silver coins of the empire have helmeted busts of

Ardashir I Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Par ...

(''r.'' 226–241) or his father

Papak Pabag (, ''Pāpak/Pābag''; New Persian: ''Bābak'') was an Iranian prince who ruled Istakhr, the capital of Pars, from 205 or 206 until his death sometime between 207 and 210. He was the father, stepfather, grandfather, or father-in-law of Ar ...

on the obverse (a figure of the ruling monarch on the obverse is consistent throughout the dynasty), with a representation of a fire altar, accompanied by the legend ''atash i artakhshir'', "Fire of Ardeshir", on the reverse. Ardashir's son,

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; ) was the second Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent u ...

(''r.'' 241–272), has much the same image but adds two attendants at the fire altar. On the coins of

Hormizd I Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I (also spelled Hormozd I or Ohrmazd I; ), was the third Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') of Iran, who ruled from May 270 to June 271. He was the third-born son of Shapur I (), ...

(also known as Ardashir II, ''r.'' 272–273), the emperor himself tends the fire with the help of an attendant.

Bahram II Bahram II (also spelled Wahram II or Warahran II; ) was the fifth Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') of Iran, from 274 to 293. He was the son and successor of Bahram I (). Bahram II, while still in his teens, ascended the throne with the ai ...

(276–293) also appears himself, accompanied by what may be his queen and son.

Narseh Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; ) was the seventh King of Kings of Sasanian Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I (), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind and Turan under his father. Shapur I was eventually s ...

(''r.'' 293–303) also attends the fire himself, this time alone. On the coins of

Shapur III Shahpur, Shapur, Shahpoor, or Shahapur () may refer to: People * Shapur (name), Persian given name and a list of people with the name Places India Bihar * Shahpur, Bihar, a city in Bhojpur district ** Shahpur, Bihar Assembly constit ...

(''r.'' 383–388), a divinity appears to be emerging from the fire. The shape of the fire altar in the coins of

Yazdegerd II Yazdegerd II (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; ), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V (). His reign was marked by wars against the Eastern Roman Empire in the west and the Kidari ...

(''r.'' 438–457) are similar to those in present-day fire temples. The legend introduced under Ardeshir yields to a mint mark and year of issue under Peroz (''r.'' 457–484), a feature evident in all the coins of the remaining dynasty.

In technology

Atar is the name of a French jet engine, developed and produced by the SNECMA company.

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * In * * * *

In scripture

In the Gathic texts

In later texts

In culture and tradition

As a divinity

The cult of fire

In mythology and folklore

As a royal symbol

In technology

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading