Search

The aim of the present paper is to illustrate as a case study, the linguistic and stylistic peculiarities characterizing the third book of the Dēnkard, one of the most authoritative texts in Zoroastrian Pahlavi literature (9th-10th CE). The analysis will consider these features as part of a coherent system, styled to serve the dialectic strategies pursued by the Zoroastrian high priests in response to the pressures their own community was facing in the early Islamic period. In order to provide a more comprehensive overview on DkIII language distinctiveness, the research will underline the outward/inward dynamics, addressing both the relation of this theological dialectic with the surrounding socio-cultural environment and the leadingrole claims of a group within a politically subordinated community

Thanks to a project network that goes beyond contemporary political and territorial divisions, the Department of Science of Antiquities – Sapienza University of Rome – has since long focused its interest on the area of the central-northern Zagros mountains between Iraq and Iran. In this framework, the investigation of the macro-area was conceived as a consistent, albeit multifaceted, case study aiming to enhance a cultural heritage at risk. The present paper outlines the main activities carried out by the research group in the area and the results achieved in the last years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similarities between the two celestial entities, the Zoroastrian Srōš (or Sraoša) and the Christian St. Sergius, have occasionally been mentioned in studies on late-antique and medieval Iran. Comparing the Zoroastrian and Syriac Christian traditions, the study will deal with evidence describing a phenomenological complex that includes the manifestation of celestial entities through a revelatory dream or vision and the consequent awakening of the individual consciousness. The parallelisms will be viewed in the perspective of historical and cultural dynamics that characterized the socio-political horizon of the late Sasanian Empire, especially during the reign of Khosrow II Parviz (Husraw II Parvēz). The heterogeneous society of the frontier zone between Rome and Iran determined the development of trans-cultural elements fostering dialogue among different components of the population. This phenomenon, along with the increasing integration of the Christian community in late Sasanian society, favored processes of assimilation and hybridization of narrative motifs connected to the representation of salvific and protective figures extremely popular at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of the first year of work of the national research project on Erănšahr in Parthian and Sasanian times, carried out by three research teams of Sapienza – University of Rome, University of Bologna and University of Turin (PRIN 2017PR34CS “Eranshahr: uomo, ambiente e società nell’Iran arsacide e sasanide. Testimonianze scritte, cultura materiale e società da Arsace a Yazdegard III. Tre casi studio: Pars, Pahlaw e Khuzestan”). The project was born to investigate the relations between man, po‑ litical power and territory in Iran during the Arsacid and Sasanian periods (III BC ‑ VII AD), a millennium of history set between two political transitions of considerable importance: the first between the dynasty of Seleucids and that of the Arsacids; the second between the Sasanian Empire and the Islamic Caliphate. In this framework, we intend to analyse the elements of continuity and discontinuity that have contributed to shaping the Iranian identity. The research considers two categories of documents, namely written sources and those more closely related to material culture, to study three nodal areas of ancient Iran, each one linked to the specific research interests of one of the three teams: the central‑northern plateau between the historical regions of Măd and Pahlaw (Sapienza), Părs (Bologna) and Khuzestan (Turin). The project embraces deep interdisciplinarity and provides for the involvement of three complementary units operating with different methodological approaches. We, indeed, believe sharing different disciplinary skills in a transversal perspec‑ tive to be essential to adequately address one of the most significant cultural contexts of the ancient world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commemorative monument of Paikuli was built by the Sasanian king Narseh (293-302 / 3 AD) next to the southern pass of the Qaradagh mountain range, about 100 km from the nowadays city of Sulaimaniyah. The bilingual inscription (Middle Persian and Parthian), originally engraved on two walls of the structure, specifies both the choice of the site and the historical context related to the monument construction. This epigraphic evidence represents indeed one of the most significant internal sources on the early Sassanian period. Since 2006 a joint team of Italian-Kurdish experts carried out research activities focused on the Paikuli monument and the surrounding area. Both of them are today the object of a new Sapienza scientific project, which aims to answering the many questions this outstanding site still raises among the scholarly public. It is in fact in order to enhance the understanding of this context that the current activities are focusing on the systematic documentation of the archaeological evidence and reconstruction of the Paikuli historical landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pāikūlī inscription celebrates the victory of the Sasanian Emperor Narseh (293 - 302\3 AD) over his nephew, Wahrām III, in the dynastic war which followed the death of Wahrām II. It was built on the spot where Narseh met the nobles and notables of the Sasanian Empire, who had come to the border of Asōrestān to pay him allegiance. The text is almost identical in its two versions and can be divided in two main parts, the first describing the events of the dynastic war, the second containing a long list of nobles and notables who sided with Narseh. The remains of the tower rise in a beautiful Zagros valley on top of a small hill overlooking the modem village of Barkal at the foot of the Pāikūli pass, not far from the town of Darband-i Khan. Narseh's inscription is one of the most important surviving primary sources for the history of the Sasanian dynasty, though its value as an historical document is considerably decreased because of its fragmentary state of preservation. From 2006 onwards an Italian team has been investigating the monument, leading extensive surveys in the valley and studying the materials now kept in the Sulaimaniya Museum, both activities continuing to the present day. This led to the identification of a total of 19 new inscribed blocks (11 MP and 8 Pth.), which are presented in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]