پژوهش نامه فرهنگ و زبان های باستانی
سال سوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 4، بهار و تابستان 1401)

Being more than a component of rituals and rites, sacrifice in ancient religions, represented the ideology and theology of one society. As a bridge between the world of gods and mundane macrocosm and its people, sacrifice has always played a fundamental role in the myths and religious beliefs of various cultures. Among numerous Avesta and Pahlavi texts which illustrate the circumstances of rites of sacrifice, there are a few hymns in condemnation of those who are called liars, daēwa-worshippers and jadu- dīns. These hymns unintentionally, represented the deeds of nonconformists, who were not approved by Zoroastrian tradition. However, due to years of political sovereignty of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran, the remaining ancient texts are reflecting only one ideology aspect which was approved by the clerics of reigning class. In this article we are trying to analyze the rituals which despite being accused of relating to Ahreman and demons, unfold the traces of prior religions or censored beliefs and creeds of Iran’s history. To do so, related parts of Avesta and Pahlavi text are selected, and are analyzed and interpreted in a linguistic approach, sometimes in the absence of any written evidence some kind of sacrifice is studied by the means of historian’s writings. However, essence and background of many of these rites still remains unknown.

The research on the culture and history of ancient Iran flourished even more in the first few decades of the 14th century and several contemporary professors and researchers of the country have dedicated all or an important part of their research to it. Mojtaba Minavi has always paid special attention to various historical, cultural, literary and linguistic fields of this period from his first researches to his last ones and has authored, corrected and translated various works in these fields. In the present research, the total works of Minawi in the field of ancient Iran are categorized and analyzed with descriptive and analytical methods. In Minavi's interest and propensity towards ancient Iran, factors such as the promotion of nationalism by the government, benefiting from the attendance of several prominent contemporary professors, communication with a group of orientalists interested in this historical period, and Membership in the Rabe group was effective. He emphasized on continuity of Iranian culture and history, and considered the language of Iranians in all historical periods, from ancient Persian to modern Persian and all dialects and languages related to it, as the main pillar of Iranian culture and civilization, and the modern Persian language as one of the foundations of the Iranian nation. With this approach, part of Minawi's research is in the description and analysis or correction of texts from the culture and history of ancient Iran, especially Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, and another part belongs to the realm of Persian language.

In the Avesta, two worlds can be distinguished, material and spiritual. The spiritual world includes sacred beings, Ahuramazda, Amshaspands and Yazatas. Ahuramazda is at the top and obviously more powerful than the others. Just after Ahuramazda, Spǝnta mainiiu appears very close to Ahuramazda. Angra mainiiu is also related but opposite to Spǝnta mainiiu. On the other hand, the material world also includes characters that Zoroaster is at the head. Zoroaster is the highest material personality. Jam and Aži Dahāka are the well-known Avestan figures among the material world. It seems that a heavenly pattern can be seen in Zoroaster's character which has made based on Ahuramazda's character And the same issue can be seen in the case of Spǝnta mainiiu and Angra mainiiu with Jam and Aži Dahāka. The purpose of this article is to study these characters and find their similarities to prove the existence of a spiritual pattern in their material characters. For this purpose, first, the characteristics of Ahuramazda, Zoroaster, Spǝnta mainiiu and Angra mainiiu, Jam and Aži Dahāka are examined , then their similarities are extracted. In the end, we will see that these material characters follow a heavenly and spiritual pattern in the Avesta. Descriptive-analytical method has been used for analysis and conclusion in this research. This research is based on Avestan evidence but help has also been taken from the Shahnameh in the case of Jam and Aji Dahāka.

The Persian language has undergone changes from the past to the present day, and the lack of complete knowledge of it and its old words can cause a misunderstanding of the prose and verse texts of the previous centuries. Two examples of words whose incomplete knowledge has prevented their correct understanding in old texts, It is examined in this article. We have examined these two words, "Gustāx" and "Naxust", which are used in both Middle Persian and Dari Persian, to show that these words have undergone semantic changes, and their meanings in modern Persian texts are more or less It is different from their meanings in Middle Persian texts. First, he examined these words from an etymological point of view, and then with evidence from Middle Persian texts, such as Menōg Khard, Dēnkard, and Ardēshir Babakan's Karname, and New Persian texts, such as Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, and mentioning the meanings and evidences found in new cultures, such as Dehkhoda's dictionary. It has been mentioned, we have stated their semantic evolution and we have shown that the word "Gustāx" has undergone semantic evolutions from the past until now, and the meaning that poets, writers and speakers have used in recent centuries is the result of an external reaction from the states of It is a person's inner spirit, as a result, knowing the different meanings and the course of its evolution is a way to better understand the texts. Also, the examination of the word "Naxust" has shown that although the meaning of "beginning" and "beginning" existed in this word, but in some cases the meaning of "then" prevails over the meaning of "beginning".*Maryam tayefeghashghaei, Ph.D. student of ancient languages, University of Tehran, Tehran,Iran.

When Darius the Great ascended to the throne in 522 BC, he undertook extensive political, economic, and military reforms. One of his important reforms is in the field of administrative system. Darius used the administrative system of the great civilizations before him, such as Mesopotamia, Media, Ilam, and Egypt, and with the help of his intelligence and the power of the Persians, created an advanced system that was better and more efficient than before. The research method in this research is descriptive and analytical and the use of reliable sources of ancient times, especially the tablets obtained from Persepolis. Did you use it? The research hypothesis is that according to the obtained documents, the names of the people who were responsible for the entry and exit of goods were recorded until it was clear who issued the order and who was the deliverer and the recipient. In addition, the authorities were required to enter their stamp instead of the signature as a confirmation of the document. Inspections were always sent to the states by the central office, which inspected and inspected the documents on a monthly and annual basis. The control system which was founed by Darius  was so precise that it greatly reduced and minimized the rate of error and abuse.

Angadrošnān is one of the long manichaean poems, which is about the journey of the soul after being freed from the prison of the body to the world of lights . In this article, we try to survey the meter, rhyme and subject of this poem, and also to criticize it based on Formalism to know is it possible to analyze the ancient hymns through the newest schools of literary criticism or no? The research method in this article is the library method. according to Formalism, devation, defamiliarization by using literary techniques, prominence of the word in literature, unconventional expression, non-native and unusual of experience and truth is the way to reach the literaryness of the text. By examining the surviving ancient texts of Iran, we simply realize that the beginning of literary and poetic creations in Iran dates back to ancient time and Iranians have long been familiar with literary techniques, devation, non-normative, imaginative and emotionall expression and they use them in their writings and poems. Angad Rošnān has 135 hemistichs and has unrhymed verses. In Angad Rošnān’s hymns, many literary techniques can be seen, including conglobation, Invention, simile, Personification and Exaggeration. Also syntactic and lexical devation have been used as one of the ways to make a literary text. Making new descriptive and metaphorical compounds are also ways of avoiding the norms of vocabulary that the poet was not unaware of. The poet has also used the induced harmony to induce his thoughts and descriptions in order to have greater impact on the readers.

Ethics and aesthetics form the basic parts of values in the realm of philosophy; As ethics examines spiritual values and moral character in a philosophical way and aesthetics explores values in the realm of beauty and art. One of the most important characteristics of religions has been to raise awareness about how to maintain and improve the quality of human life. Based on this, a large part of the teachings of religions has always been an order to moral virtues and living based on them has been emphasized as a supreme goal in human life. . What are the moral virtues- i.e. the dos and don'ts that a person should have a practical commitment to, in every religion (despite the commonalities between religions)- has its own characteristics. On the one hand, knowing these characteristics makes the criteria and components of moral action clear for us. On the other hand, it provides reasons for people to stick to moral virtues as much as possible. The present research investigated the value bases of Pahlavi texts in the field of ethics using the library and document analysis method. Then it classified and analyzed the obtained information in a descriptive manner. According to the findings of this research, the philosophy of ethics in Pahlavi texts is manifested in principles and values such as Asheh, religiousness, wisdom, agreement, Radi, cooperation and justice. Based on this, the philosophy of ethics in Pahlavi texts is one of the types of religious ethics, and in the divisions of the field of ethics, it is placed in the normative Jirga based on virtue, and the purpose of which is to cultivate a virtuous person in individual and social life.

With the collapse of the Sasanid kingdom, Zoroastrian religion, like other parts of the society, underwent profound changes. The religious population decreased and the Zoroastrian community became smaller. The institution of religion was weakened and religious organizations broke up. Corresponding to these changes, the organization of the clergy changed, and religious officials and ranks created a more agile organization by integrating their duties. Although the new religious organization preserved the organization structure of the Sasanid era and kept the old concepts and terms alive, it underwent significant changes. Until the 4th century of Yazdgerdi/11th AD, this period of transition was gradually passed. The short report given in the second question of Faranbaℽ Sorosh's Revayat shows the management of the religious organizations of the Zoroastrian society of Iran, and the upcoming article will explain and interpret that question.With the collapse of the Sasanid kingdom, Zoroastrian religion, like other parts of the society, underwent profound changes. The religious population decreased and the Zoroastrian community became smaller. The institution of religion was weakened and religious organizations broke up. Corresponding to these changes, the organization of the clergy changed, and religious officials and ranks created a more agile organization by integrating their duties. Although the new religious organization preserved the organization structure of the Sasanid era and kept the old concepts and terms alive, it underwent significant changes. Until the 4th century of Yazdgerdi/11th AD, this period of transition was gradually passed. The short report given in the second question of Faranbaℽ Sorosh's Revayat shows the management of the religious organizations of the Zoroastrian society of Iran, and the upcoming article will explain and interpret that question.

After more than a century of archeological excavations in Hamedan, the findings of Hellenic culture in this city are very low. But according to historical sources, Ecbatana was one of the most important Greek satrapies in western Iran during the Seleucid period. In the fall of 2017, as a result of digging in Jarrahan alley at Babataher street near the city center, a little Doric Capital was accidentally discovered. On one of the sides of the Abacus of this Capital, a Greek inscription is engraved. This inscription has three lines and three words can be identified on it. In the first line, we can have identified the name of Serapis/Sarapis, although his name may have been associated with the name of Isis. In the second line, the name Diodoros is mentioned, which may have been associated with his father's name. In the third line, we have only two letters, but the word εὐχήν/ex-voto that is used in Greek inscriptions as a word for thanksgiving can be certainly identified. In appearance, this piece of stone appears to be part of a head of a votive pillar of a small Doric Capital, inscribed by a man named Diodoros on the abacus section dedicated to the god Serapis, who placed it in his temple/altar.