The Implications of Zoroastrian Thought on Sassanid Metal Dish and Seljuk Potteries*

According to the studies, without identifying the ideasand beliefs that form the epistemological structure andworldview of civilizations, understanding the culture andartifacts will be hard. Zoroastrianism or Mazdayasna isone of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions,based on the teachings of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster.Zoroastrianism has a dualistic cosmology of good and eviland an eschatology which predicts the ultimate conquestof evil by good. Zoroastrianism exalts an uncreated andbenevolent deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord),as its supreme being. In Zoroastrian tradition, there are thefirst seven emanations called Amesha Spentas, throughwhom all subsequent creation was accomplished. Haurvatat(Wholeness- Water guardian- Guardian of humanconscience), Ameretat (Guardian of plants and humanImmortality) are known as two examples of them. Thedoctrine of the Amesha Spenta, through their connection withcreation, unites ethereal and spiritual concepts with materialand manifest objects in a “uniquely Zoroastrian” way: notonly as abstract “aspects” of Ahura Mazda but also worthyof reverence themselves and personified or representedin all material things. In the Gathas, each Amesha Spentarepresents a good moral quality that mortals should strive toobtain. Thus, the doctrine of the great seven is that throughgood thoughts, words, and deeds, each individual shouldendeavor to assimilate the qualities of an Amesha Spentainto oneself. Throughout history of Iran, Iranian people haveused some different motifs in their art crafts based on theirthoughts and interpret about universe. Handicrafts in Iranhave a history of several thousand years and are the mostsignificant and original manifestations of ancient historywhich are related to Iranian thoughts and belief. This articleis a comparative study between the motif of an excellent oldSassanid metal dish and the pictures of two Seljuk potteries- a similar scene is represented in all of them (two figuressitting next to a tree and a pond with fish). The purpose ofthis article is to analyze the similar visual and conceptualpatterns in the two different historical periods of Iran (preIslamic and post-Islamic). The present article tries to answerthis question: what is the most important Iranian thoughtthat caused to create the similar visual patterns in Sassanidmetal dish and Seljuk potteries? The research method isdescriptive-analytical, applied to desk-based data. It seemsthat the visual and conceptual patterns of Sassanid metaldish and Seljuk potteries are related to the Amesha Spenta(Haurvatat and Ameretat) in Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrianritual, Amesha Spenta Haurvatat, who protects water,is considered as the guide of human conscience to avoidevils. Amesha Spenta Ameretat is responsible for plantsand the immortality of Iranian wise humans. The resultsof this research show Sassanid artist and Seljuk potter bycreating a unique scene of human, water, tree and natureemphasize on the spirit of Spenta hidden in Iranian wisehuman. According to Zoroastrian humanism, Iranian wisehuman with good thoughts and good deeds protects waterand trees and causes the permanence of Iranian culture in asustainable nature.Keyword