جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « zoroastrian religion » در نشریات گروه « تاریخ »

Religion played a significant role in the political life of the Achaemenian Empire as the kings of this dynasty, with their special religious policies, could rule over this great empire, which consisted of different nations and religions, for over 200 years. Each king of this dynasty had a different view towards religion and tradition and so their treatment of this issue significantly varied; for instance, Cyrus and Darius exhibited more tolerance towards religion compared to other kings. However, in the middle period of this kingdom, some strictness was started, so that it is assumed that Xerxes intended to generalize and institutionalize the royal worldview in the Achaemenid kingdom. In the late period of this dynasty, a kind of deconstruction in the religion and revival of religious micro-currents is seen, starting from the time of Artaxerxes II. According to the traditional view towards the Achaemenid kings’ worldview, as a rule, the effect of Zoroastrian teachings on these kings should be observed and investigated, but contrary to the common method, the present paper attempts to study the influence of the Achaemenids on the Zoroastrian teachings in order to preserve and survive their Imperial, and track their innovations and heresies by comparing the Zoroastrian primary and secondary texts. Using a comparative study of the mentioned texts and a historical approach, the introduction of many pre-Zoroastrian religions by magus, as well as the influence of foreign cultures, were revealed to us, and the existence of secondary influences by the Achaemenid kings on Zoroastrianism became evident since during the Achaemenid era the Zoroastrian unwritten religion had easily provided a suitable context to accept the changes due to the domination of magus over this area. These deliberate influences of the government on the religion reached to the extent that the term "political religion" could be used instead of the term "religious policy" during this period.

Humans have always been influenced by and influenced by the environment since they set foot on the universe. In the past few centuries, the advancement of science and technology and the increase in population have made the increasing use of the environment necessary, so thinkers have been on it. They have to regulate this moderation by setting rules, because harm to the environment is harm to human beings. Today, the beginning of this effort is considered to be the Stockholm Conference in 1970, which led to the emergence of green policy. The previous civilizations each had a different approach to their ecosystem, which did not have a coherent structure at all.In the meantime, the approach of the ancient Iranians is very different. This interdisciplinary study aims to examine the method of the ancient Iranians in this regard and answer the question: When did man start to establish legal rules about the environment?

As a part of religious and mythical customs, sacrificing was common among ancient nations and civilizations, and it has undergone some changes over time. The changes created in this religion, due to the motive of the person who makes sacrifices based on his/her own identity, underwent less change, and most of the changes have occurred in the course of practice and the quality of performing the sacrifice. The ritual of sacrifice in Zoroastrian religion in the Sasanian period was held along with special ceremonies and different methods in religious festivities and customs, funeral ceremonies, wars, etc. with the participation of the royal family, people and clergies. Studying the ways of sacrificing animals from Zoroastrians’ view in the Sasanian period is one of the important purposes of this survey; studying these ways provides different concepts from Zoroaster’s attitude toward the victim. This survey is done based on the descriptive-analytical method and the results of the research have been compiled through library studies, the written primary resources and the works of the researchers on Zoroastrian studies. The way of sacrificing the animals in the Sasanian period was in the form of beating the animal’s neck, anesthetizing it and using a sharp knife. Zoroaster disagreed with the excessiveness in making sacrifices and violent behaviors against the animals during the ceremony. However, due to the holiness and oldness, the custom of sacrifice persisted in common beliefs in the Sasanian period, but the methods of performing it have changed over time; so it has been customary in the Zoroastrian society until now.

Fall of Sasanian Empire, in addition to political results, had also extensive social, economic and cultural results that influenced Zoroastrian society in the first Islamic centuries. Many reflections of these changes would be studied in post-Sasanian texts which instruct different teachings in order to maintain solidarity and inner unity from pathological viewpoint. Many of teachings were influenced by apocalyptic texts that were the focus of attention. Assuming that apocalyptic Zoroastrian contents, had different teachings in religious, political, social, cultural and economic fields in the first Islamic centuries, this paper aims to study the contents in post-Sasanian texts and apocalyptic attitudes of Zoroastrian religion in different fields with descriptive-analytical method.