Aredvi Sura Anahita is the Avestan language name of an (Indo-)Iranian cosmological figure, venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' (Aban) and hence associated with fertility and increase. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... Map of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the BMAC in the south. ... In Persian mythology, Aban is the name of an angel who presides over iron. ...

At some point prior to the 4th century BCE, this yazata was conflated with (an analogue of)^[α] Semitic Ishtar-Inanna,^[1] likewise a divinity of "maiden" fertility and from whom Aredvi Sura Anahita then inherited additional features of a divinity of war and of the planet Venus. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ...

An iconic shrine cult of Aredvi Sura Anahita (see the cult, below), was - together with other shrine cults – "introduced apparently in the 4th century BCE and lasted until suppressed [in the wake of] an iconoclastic movement under the Sassanids."^[2] The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire (Persian: Sasanian) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226 - 651). ...

The divinity

Nomenclature

Only Arədvī (a word otherwise unknown) is specific to the divinity,^[3] but - for etymological reasons - could originally have meant 'moist'.^[3] The words sūra and anāhīta are generic Avestan language adjectives,^[4] and respectively mean 'mighty' and 'pure' ^[5][1] (or 'immaculate'^[3]). Both adjectives also appear as epithets of other divinities or divine concepts such as Haoma^[6] and the Fravashis.^[7] Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... Haoma is the Avestan language name of a plant and its divinity, both of which play a role in Zoroastrian doctrine and in later Persian culture and mythology. ... Faravahar, believed to be a depiction of a Fravashi. ...

As a divinity of 'the waters' (see 'Abān'), the yazata is of Indo-Iranian origin, according to Lommel related to Sanskrit Saraswatī that, like its proto-Iranian equivalent *Harahvatī, derives from Indo-Iranian *Sarasvatī.^[8][9][3] In its old Iranian form *Harahvatī, "her name was given to the region, rich in rivers, whose modern capital is Kandahar (Avestan Haraxˇaitī, Old Persian Hara(h)uvati-, Greek Arachosia)." ^[3] "Like the Indian Saraswati, [Aredvi Sura Anahita] nurtures crops and herds; and is hailed both as a divinity and the mythical river that she personifies, 'as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth'." In Persian mythology, Aban is the name of an angel who presides over iron. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ... Indo-Iranian can refer to: The Indo-Iranian languages The prehistoric Indo-Iranian people, see Aryan This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Hindu Vedas mention a river named SarasvatÄ«. In Sanskrit saras means a pool or water body, and vatÄ« (from vnt-Ä«, the female form of the -vant suffix) means she having lots of pools. Sarasvati was the biggest and most important of the seven holy rivers of the Rig Veda. ... For the 2001 movie by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, see Kandahar (film). ...

In the (Middle-)Persian texts of the Sassanid and later eras language, Arədvī Sūra Anāhīta appears as Ardwisur Anāhīd.^[3] No part of the name is attested in old West Iranian languages (e.g. Old Persian, Elamite etc). ^{[4] [10]} Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ...

Characteristics

In Stone Age Indo-Iranian cosmogony (as has been inferred from the more archaic texts of the Avesta), 'Mighty Aredvi' is as the hypostasis of the mighty river *Harahvati, the source of all waters in the world that descends from the mythical Mount Hara into the great sea Vourukasha upon which the world rests. This legend of the river that descends from Mount Hara appears to have remained a part of living observance for many generations. A Greek inscription from Roman times found in Asia Minor reads 'the great goddess Anaïtis of high Hara'.^[11] On Greek coins of the imperial epoch, she is spoken of as 'Anaïtis of the sacred water.' ^[12] Stone Age fishing hook. ... Map of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the BMAC in the south. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ...

In addition to her primary feature as representative of 'the waters' and thus of fertility, through the identification with Ishtar, Aredvi Sura Anahita also came to be considered a divinity of war and of the planet Venus. It was moreover the association with the planet Venus, it seems, "which led Herodotus to record that the [Persis]^[γ] learnt 'to sacrifice to "the heavenly goddess"' from the Assyrians and Arabians." ^[13][14][15] Ishtar apparently also gave Aredvi Sura Anahita the epithet Banu, 'the Lady', a typically Mesopotamian construct^[10] that is not attested as an epithet for a divinity in Iran before the common era. It is completely unknown in the texts of the Avesta,^[10] but evident in Sassanid-era middle Persian inscriptions (see the cult, below) and in a middle Persian Zend translation of Yasna 68.13.^[16] Also in Zoroastrian texts from the post-conquest epoch (651 CE onwards), the divinity is referred to as 'Anahid the Lady', 'Ardwisur the Lady' and 'Ardwisur the Lady of the waters'.^[17] (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos Halikarnasseus) was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - ca. ... External links Official website of Fars Governorship Categories: Iran geography stubs | Provinces of Iran ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ...

Because the divinity is unattested in any old Western Iranian language,^[4] establishing characteristics prior to the introduction of Zoroastrianism in Western Iran (c. 5th century BCE) is very much in the realm of speculation. According to Boyce, it is "probable" that there was once a Perso-Elamite divinity by the name of "*anahiti" (as reconstructed from the Greek Anaitis^[18]). It is then "likely" (so Boyce) that it was this divinity that was an analogue of Ishtar, and that it is this divinity with which Aredvi Sura Anahita was conflated.^[4] Boyce concludes that "the Achaemenids' devotion to this goddess evidently survived their conversion to Zoroastrianism, and they appear to have used royal influence to have her adopted into the Zoroastrian pantheon." ^[19][β] According to an alternate theory, Anahita was perhaps "a daeva of the early and pure Zoroastrian faith, incorporated into the Zoroastrian religion and its revised canon" during the reign of "Artaxerxes I, the Constantine of that faith."^[20][δ] task manager disable ---- please help ... Sketch of the first column of the Behistun Inscription Old Persian is the oldest attested Persid language. ... Elamite is an extinct language, which was spoken in the ancient Elamite Empire. ... The Daeva are a fictional clan of vampires in the role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem, published by White Wolf Game Studio . ... Artaxerxes I was king of Persia from 464 BC to 424 BC. He belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty and was the successor of Xerxes I. He is mentioned in two books of the Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah. ...

Irrespective of how the conflation came to pass, as a divinity, Aredvi Sura Anahita is of enormous significance to the Zoroastrian religion, for as a representative of Aban ('the waters'), she is in effect the divinity towards whom the Yasna service - the primary act of worship - is directed. (see Ab-Zohr). "To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians, and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream" ^{[21] [ε]} In Persian mythology, Aban is the name of an angel who presides over iron. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... Ab-Zohr (āb-zōhr) is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy. ...

In the Avesta

Aredvi Sura Anahita is principally addressed in Yasht 5 (Yasna 65), also known as the Aban Yasht, a hymn to the waters in Avestan and one of the longer and better preserved of the devotional hymns. Yasna 65 is the third of the hymns recited at the Ab-Zohr, the "offering to the waters" that accompanies the culminating rites of the Yasna service. Verses from Yasht 5 also form the greater part of the Aban Nyashes, the liturgy to the waters that are a part of the Khordeh Avesta. See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... In Persian mythology, Aban is the name of an angel who presides over iron. ... Ab-Zohr (āb-zōhr) is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy. ...

According to Nyberg^[22] and supported by Lommel^[23] and Widengren^[24], the older portions of the Aban Yasht were originally composed at a very early date, perhaps not long after the Gathas themselves. ^[ζ] Yasna 38, which is dedicated "to the earth and the sacred waters" and is part of seven-chapter Yasna Haptanghāiti, is linguistically as old as the Gathas. The Gathas (Gāθās) are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ...

In the Aban Yasht, the river yazata is described as "the great spring Ardvi Sura Anahita is the life-increasing, the herd-increasing, the fold-increasing who makes prosperity for all countries" (5.1). She is "wide flowing and healing", "efficacious against the daevas", "devoted to Ahura's lore" (5.1). She is associated with fertility, purifying the seed of men (5.1), purifying the wombs of women (5.1), encouraging the flow of milk for newborns (5.2). As a river divinity, she is responsible for the fertility of the soil and for the growth of crops that nurture both man and beast (5.3). She is a beautiful, strong maiden, wearing beaver skins (5.3,7,20,129). It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ... A div (earlier Persian dēv, Middle Persian dēw, Avestan daēva) is an evil spirit in Persian mythology that loves to cause harm and destruction. ...

The association between water and wisdom that is common to many ancient cultures is also evident in the Aban Yasht, for here Aredvi Sura is the divinity to whom priests and pupils should pray for insight and knowledge (5.86). In verse 5.120 she is seen to ride a chariot drawn by four horses named 'wind', 'rain', 'clouds' and 'sleet'. In newer passages she is described as standing in 'statuesque stillness', 'ever observed', royally attired with a golden embroidered robe, wearing a golden crown, necklace and earrings, golden breast-ornament, and gold-laced ankle-boots (5.123, 5.126-8). Aredvi Sura Anahita is bountiful to those who please her, stern to those who do not, and she resides in 'stately places' (5.101).

The concept of Aredvi Sura Anahita is to some degree blurred with that of Ashi, the Gathic figure of Good Fortune, and many of the verses of the Aban Yasht also appear in Yasht 17 (Ard Yasht), which is dedicated to Ashi. So also a description of the weapons bestowed upon worshippers (5.130), and the superiority in battle (5.34 et al). These functions appears out of place in a hymn to the waters,^[3] and may have originally been from Yasht 17. Ashi, known as Rav Ashi (Rabbi Ashi), (352–427) was a celebrated Jewish religious scholar, a Babylonian amora, who reestablished the academy at Sura and was first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. ... The Gathas (Gāθās) are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ...

Other verses in Yasht 5 have masculine instead of feminine pronouns, and thus again appear to be verses that were originally dedicated to other divinities.^[25] Boyce also suggests that the new compound divinity of waters with martial characteristics gradually usurped the position of Apam Napat, the great warlike water divinity of the Ahuric triad, finally causing the latter's place to be lost and his veneration to become limited to the obligatory verses recited at the Ab-Zohr. Burz is the middle Persian name for the Indo-Iranian divinity of waters. ... Ahura is the Avestan language designation for a class of divinity, adopted by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) from prehistoric proto-Indo-Iranian religion. ... Ab-Zohr (āb-zōhr) is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy. ...

In the Bundahishn

In the Bundahishn, a Zoroastrian account of creation finished in the 11th or 12th century CE, the two halves of the name "Ardwisur Anahid" are sometimes treated independently of one another, that is, with Ardwisur as the representative of waters, and Anahid identified with the planet Venus. According to that text, the water of the all lakes and seas, have their origin with Ardwisur (10.2, 10.5). In contrast, in a section dealing with the creation of the stars and planets (5.4), the Bundahishn speaks of Anahid i Abaxtari, that is, the planet Venus.^[12] In yet other chapters, the text equates the two, as in "Ardwisur who is Anahid, the father and mother of the Waters" (3.17). Category: ... In Persian mythology, Aban is the name of an angel who presides over iron. ...

The cult

Establishment

The earliest reference to an iconic cult of Anahita is from the Babylonian scholar-priest Berosus, who – although writing over 70 years^[η] after the reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon^[θ] - records that the emperor had been the first to make cult statues of 'Aphrodite Anaitis' and placed them in temples in many of the major cities of the empire, including Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Damascus and Sardis. ^[c1] Also according to Berosus, the Persians knew of no images of gods until Artaxerxes II erected those images^[c1][λ]. This is substantiated by Herodotus, for in his mid-5th century BCE general remarks on 'the usages of the Perses', Herodotus notes that "it is not their custom to make and set up statues and images and altars, and those that make such they deem foolish, as I suppose, because they never believed the gods, as do the Greeks, to be the likeness of men." ^{[c23][26][27]} Berossos (also Berossus or Berosus) Greek: Βεροσσος, was a Hellenistic Babylonian writer. ... Artaxerxes II (c. ... Babylon was a city in Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. ... Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ... Golden Rhyton from Irans Achaemenid period. ... Persepolis Aerial View - After 2500 years, the ruins of Persepolis still inspire visitors from far and near. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, (also Sardes, Greek: Σάρδεις), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and...

The extraordinary innovation of the shrine cults can thus be dated to the late 5th century BCE (or very early 4th century BCE), even if this evidence is "not of the most satisfactory kind."^[1] Nonetheless, by 330 BCE and under Achaemenid royal patronage, these cults had been disseminated throughout Asia Minor and the Levant, and from there to Armenia.^[12] This was not a purely selfless act, for the temples also served as an important source of income. From the Babylonian kings, the Achaemenids had taken over the concept of a mandatory temple tax, a one-tenth tithe which all inhabitants paid to the temple nearest to their land or other source of income.^[28] A share of this income called the quppu ša šarri, "kings chest" - an ingenious institution originally introduced by Nabonidus - was then turned over to the ruler. Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... The Levant Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... Nabonidus (Akkadian Nabû-nāʾid) was the last King of Babylon, who reigned from 556 BC to 539 BC. His reign was characterized by his lack of interest in the politics and religion of his kingdom, preferring instead to study the older temples and antiquities in his region. ...

Nonetheless, Artaxerxes' close connection with the Anahita temples is "almost certainly the chief cause of this king's long-lasting fame among Zoroastrians, a fame which made it useful propaganda for the succeeding Arsacids to claim him (quite spuriously) for their ancestor."^[29][30] Iran Under the Arsacid Dynasty. ...

In Parsa, Elam, Medea

Artaxerxes II's devotion to Anahita is most apparent in his inscriptions, where her name appears directly after that of Ahura Mazda and before that of Mithra. Artaxerxes' inscription at Susa reads: "By the will of Ahura Mazda, Anahita and Mithra I built this palace. May Ahura Mazda, Anahita and Mithra protect me from all evil" (A²Hc 15-10). This is a remarkable break with tradition; no Achaemenid king before him had invoked any but Ahura Mazda alone. Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all. ... Mithra (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr, Meher) is an important deity or divine concept (so called Yazata) in Zoroastrianism and later Persian mythology and culture. ... Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ...

The temple(s) of Anahita at Ecbatana (Hamadan) in Medea must have once been the most glorious sanctuaries in the known world.^[π][c2] Althought the palace had been stripped by Alexander and the following Seleucid kings,^[c3] when Antiochus III raided Ecbatana in 209 BCE, the temple "had the columns round it still gilded and a number of silver tiles were piled up in it, while a few gold bricks and a considerable quantity of silver ones remained." ^[c4] Golden Rhyton from Irans Achaemenid period. ... Silver coin of Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great, (ruled 223 - 187 BC), younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, became ruler of the Seleucid kingdom as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. (His traditional designation, the Great, stems from a misconception of Megas Basileus (Great king), the traditional...

Shir-sangi, the stone lion of Hamadan.

Polybius' reference to Alexander is supported by Arrian, who in 324 BCE wrote of a temple in Ecbatana dedicated to 'Asclepius' (by inference presumed to be Anahita, likewise a divinity of healing), destroyed by Alexander because she had allowed his friend Hephaestion to die.^[c5] The massive stone lion on the hill there (perhaps a sepulcral monument to Hephaestion^[ψ]) is today a symbol that visitors touch in hope of fertility. Image File history File linksMetadata Shir-sangi. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Shir-sangi. ... Avicennas tomb in Hamedan Hamadan or Hamedan ( Persian: همدان ) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. ... Alexander the Great Lucius Flavius Arrianus Xenophon (c. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of, if not the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Stone Lion of Hamedan is said to have been erected by Alexander The Great, upon the death of Hephaestion. ...

Plutarch records that Artaxerxes II had his concubine Aspasia consecrated as priestess at the temple "to Diana of Ecbatana, whom they name Anaitis, that she might spend the remainder of her days in strict chastity."^[c6] This does not however necessarily imply that chastity was a requirement of Anaitis priestesses. ^[ν] Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ...

The remains of the temple of Anahita at Kangavar

Isidore of Charax, in addition to a reference to the temple at Ecbatana ("a temple, sacred to Anaitis, they sacrifice there always"^[c2] also notes a "temple of Artemis"^[μ] at Concobar (Lower Medea, today Kangavar). Remains of the Hellenic-style edifice built in c. 200 BCE^[31] are still visible today. Isidore also records another "royal place, a temple of Artemis, founded by Darius" at Basileia (Apadana), on the royal highway along the left bank of the Euphrates.^[c7][31] Image File history File links Ruins of the ancient Temple of Anahita, Iran. ... Image File history File links Ruins of the ancient Temple of Anahita, Iran. ... Isidore of Charax (fl. ... Darius III or Codomannus (c. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name, Arabic: الفرات Al-Furat, Armenian: ÔµÖƒÖ€Õ¡Õ¿ Yeá¹—rat, Hebrew: פְּרָת Perath, Kurdish: Ferat, Azeri: FÉ™rat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ or ܦܪܬ Frot or Prâth, Turkish: Fırat, Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other being the...

During the Hellenistic Parthian period, Susa had its 'Dianae templum augustissimum'^[c8] far from Elymais where another temple, known to Strabo as the "Ta Azara", was dedicated to Athena/Artemis^[c9] and where tame lions roamed the grounds. This may be a reference to the temple above the Tang-a Sarvak ravine in present-day Khuzestan Province. Other than this, no evidence of the cult in Western Iran from the Parthian period survives, but "it is reasonable to assume that the martial features of Anāhita (Ishtar) assured her popularity in the subsequent centuries among the warrior classes of Parthian feudalism."^[32] Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ... Elymais were a people who were subject to Parthian control from 200bce to 200ce. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and...

In the 2nd century CE, the center of the cult in Parsa (Persia proper) was at Staxr (Istakhr). There, Anahita continued to be venerated in her martial role and it was at Istakhr that Sassan, after whom the Sassanid dynasty is named, served as high priest. Sassan's son, Papak, likewise a priest of that temple, overthrew the King of Istakhr (a vassal of the Arsacids), and had himself crowned in his stead. "By this time (the beginning of the 3rd century), Anāhita's headgear (kolāh) was worn as a mark of nobility," which in turn "suggests that she was goddess of the feudal warrior estate."^[32] Ardashir (r. 226–241 CE) "would send the heads of the petty kings he defeated for display at her temple."^[33] // Introduction Fars is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ... Istakhr(Ǐ-stáxÇœr), also known as Stakhr, is a city located in southern Iran close to Persepolis and Zohak. ... Sasan or Sassan (in Persian ساسان) was the great priest of Temple of Anahita and father of Papag (Babak) and grandfather Ardashir I, the establisher of the second Persian Empire, the Sassanid empire. ... Iran Under the Arsacid Dynasty. ... Silver coin of Ardashir I with a fire altar on its verso (British Museum London). ...

During the reign of Bahram I (r. 272-273 CE), in the wake of an iconoclastic movement that had begun at about the same time as the shrine cult movement, the sanctuaries dedicated to a specific divinity were - by law - disassociated from that divinity by removal of the statuary and then either abandoned or converted into fire altars.^[34] So also the popular shrines to Mehr/Mithra which retained the name Darb-e Mehr – Mithra's Gate - that is today one of the Zoroastrian technical terms for a fire temple. The temple at Istakhr was likewise converted and, according to the Kartir inscription, henceforth known as the "Fire of Anahid the Lady."^[35] Sassanid iconoclasm, though administratively from the reign of Bahram I, may already have been supported by Bahram's father, Shapur I (r. 241-272 CE). In an inscription in Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek at Ka'ba of Zoroaster, the "Mazdean lord, ..., king of kings, ..., grandson of lord Papak" (ShKZ 1, Naqsh-e Rustam) records that he instituted fires for his daughter and three of his sons. His daughter's name: Anahid. The name of that fire: Adur-Anahid. Bahram I, was king of Persia (AD 274-277). ... Mithra (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr, Meher) is an important deity or divine concept (so called Yazata) in Zoroastrianism and later Persian mythology and culture. ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ... NæqÅ¡-e Rostæm, near Shiraz A rock relief at Naqsh-e Rostam, depicting the triumph of Shapur I over three Roman Emperors Valerian, Gordian III and Philip the Arab. ...

Notwithstanding the dissolution of the temple cults, the triad Ahura Mazda, Anahita and Mithra (as Artaxerxes II had invoked them) would continue to be prominent throughout the Sassanid age, "and were indeed (with Tiri and Verethragna) to remain the most popular of all divine beings in Western Iran."^[36] Moreover, the iconoclasm of Bahram I and later kings apparently did not extend to images where they themselves are represented. At an investiture scene at Naqsh-e Rustam, Narseh (r. 293-302 CE) is seen receiving his crown from a female divinity identified as Anahita. Narseh, like Artaxerxes II, was apparently also very devoted to Anahita, for in the investure inscription at Paikuli (near Khaniqin, in present-day Iraq), Narseh invokes "Ormuzd and all the yazatas, and Anahid who is called the Lady."^[35] Tishtrya is the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. ... Vahrām or Bahrām (modern Persian, var: Behrām; middle Persian: Warahran) is the Zoroastrian concept of victory over resistance and, as the hypostasis of victory, is one of the principal figures in the Zoroastrian pantheon of yazatas. ... Næqš-e Rostæm, near Shiraz A rock relief at Naqsh-e Rostam, depicting the triumph of Shapur I over three Roman Emperors Valerian, Gordian III and Philip the Arab. ... Narseh (also known as Narses, Narseus) was king of Persia (292 - 303), and son of Shapur I. He rose as pretender to the throne against his grand-nephew Bahram III in AD 292, and soon became sole king. ... Iraq map with Khanaqin Khanaqin (Arabic خانقين Chanaqīn, Kurdish خانه قين Xaneqîn, also transliterated as Khanakin, Xanaqin) is a Kurdish city outside the Kurdish Autonomous Region in north-eastern Iraq. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ...

Anahita has also been identified as a figure in the investiture scene of Khusrow Parvez (r. 590-628 CE) at Taq-e Bostan, but in this case not quite as convincingly as for the one of Narseh.^[37] But, aside from the two rock carvings at Naqsh-e Rustam and Taq-e Bostan, "few figures unquestionably representing the goddess are known."^[37] The figure of a female on an Achaemenid cylinder seal has been identified as that of Anahita, as have a few reliefs from the Parthian era (250 BCE-226 CE), two of which are from ossuaries.^[38] Egyptian woven pattern woolen curtain or trousers, which was a copy of a Sassanid silk import, which was in turn based on a fresco of Persian King Khosrau II fighting Ethiopian forces in Yemen, 5-6th century. ... Kermanshah or Taq-i-Bustan , is located in western Iran , four miles north-East of Kermanshah. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In addition, Sassanid silverware depictions of nude or scantily dresses women seen holding a flower or fruit or bird or child are identified as images of Anahita.^[39] Additionally, "it has been suggested that the colonnaded or serrated crowns [depicted] on Sasanian coins belong to Anahid."^[37]

It is "very probable"^[17] that the shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu at royal Ray (Rhagae, central Medea) was once dedicated to Anahita.^[17][ρ] Similarly, one of the "most beloved mountain shrines of the Zoroastrians of Yazd, set beside a living spring and a great confluence of water-courses, is devoted to Banu-Pars, 'the Lady of Persia'."^[40][41] The shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu Shahrbanu (or Shahr Banu), is believed by Shia Muslims to have been the eldest daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Emperor of the Sassanid dynasty. ... Ray, is one of the oldest cities of Iran. ...

However, and notwithstanding the widespread popularity of Anahita, "it is doubtful whether the current tendency is justified whereby almost every isolated figure in Sassanid art, whether sitting, standing, dancing, clothed, or semi-naked, is hailed as her representation."^[41]

In Asia Minor and the Levant

The cult flourished in Lydia even as late as end of the Hellenistic Parthian epoch.^[10] The Lydians had temples to the divinity at Sardis, Philadelphia, Hierocæsarea, Hypaipa, Maeonia and elsewhere;^[10] the temple at Hierocæsarea reportedly^[c10] having been founded by "Cyrus" (presumably^[42] Cyrus the Younger, brother of Artaxerxes II, who was satrap of Lydia between 407 and 401 BCE). In the second century CE, the geographer Pausanias reports having personally witnessed (apparently Mazdean) ceremonies at Hypaipa and Hierocaesarea.^[c11] According to Strabo, Anahita was revered together with Omanos at Zela in Pontus.^{[c12] [c13]} At Castabala, she is referred to as 'Artemis Perasia'.^[c14] Anahita and Omanos had common altars in Cappadocia.^[c15] Lydia (Greek ) is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkeys modern provinces of Ä°zmir and Manisa. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, (also Sardes, Greek: Σάρδεις), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and... Alasehir, Turkey, began as perhaps one of the first ancient cities with the name Philadelphia. ... See 110 Lydia for the asteroid. ... Cyrus the Younger, son of Darius II and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Zela is a titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Amasea in the Helenopontus. ... Traditional rural Pontic house A man in traditional clothes from Trabzon, illustration Pontus is the name which was applied, in ancient times, to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the main), by... Cappadocia in 188 BC In ancient geography, Cappadocia (Greek: Καππαδοκία; see also List of traditional Greek place names; Turkish Kapadokya) was an extensive inland district of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). ...

In Armenia and the Caucasus

"Hellenic influence [gave] a new impetus to the cult of images [and] positive evidence for this comes from Armenia, then a Zoroastrian land."^[12] According to Strabo, the "Armenians shared in the religion of the Perses and the Medes and particularly honored Anaitis".^[c16] The kings of Armenia were "steadfast supporters of the cult"^[31] and Tiridates III, before his conversion to Christianity, "prayed officially to the triad Aramazd-Anahit-Vahagn but is said to have shown a special devotion to 'the great lady Anahit, ... the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd'"^[43]. According to Agathangelos, tradition required the Kings of Armenia to travel once a year to the temple at Eriza (Erez) in Acilisene in order to celebrate the festival of the divinity; Tiridates made this journey in the first year of his reign where he offered sacrifice and wreaths and boughs.^[c27] The temple at Eriza appears to have been particularly famous, "the wealthiest and most venerable in Armenia"^[c29], staffed with priests and priestesses, the latter from eminent families who would serve at the temple before marrying.^[c16] This practice may again reveal Semitic syncretic influences,^[31] and is not otherwise attested in other areas. Pliny reports that Mark Antony's soldiers smashed an enormous statue of the divinity made of solid gold and then divided the pieces amongst themselves.^[c19] Also according to Pliny, supported by Dio Cassius, Acilisene eventually came to be known as Anaetica.^{[c20] [c21]} Dio Cassius also mentions that another region along the Cyrus River, on the borders of Albania and Iberia, was also called "the land of Anaitis."^[c22][σ] Tiridates III was a King of Armenia (286-344), also known as Tiridates the Great. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Region and family of the old Armenia c. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... For his relatives, see Marcus Antonius (disambiguation). ... Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ...

Anahit was also venerated at Artashat (Artaxata), the capital of the Armenian Kingdom, where her temple was close to that of Tiur^[φ], the divinity of oracles. At Astishat, center of the cult of Vahagn, she was revered as oskimyr, the 'golden mother'.^[c24] In 69 BCE, the soldiers of Lucullus saw cows consecrated to 'Persian Artemis' roaming freely at Tomisa in Sophene (on the Euphrates in South-West Armenia), where the animals bore the brand of a torch on their heads.^[c25] Following Tiridates' conversion to Christianity, the cult of Anahit was condemned and iconic representations of the divinity were destroyed.^[31] City plan of Artaxatas hill I and its fortifications. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. ... Roman province of Sophene, 120 CE Armenia Sophene was a short-lived (c. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name, Arabic: الفرات Al-Furat, Armenian: ÔµÖƒÖ€Õ¡Õ¿ Yeá¹—rat, Hebrew: פְּרָת Perath, Kurdish: Ferat, Azeri: FÉ™rat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ or ܦܪܬ Frot or Prâth, Turkish: Fırat, Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other being the...

Attempts have been made to identify Anahita as one of the prime three divinities in Albania, but these are questionable. However, in the territories of the Moschi in Colchis, Strabo mentions^[c26] a cult of Leucothea, which Wesendonck and others have identified as an analogue of Anahita.^[31] Meshechs (Meshekhs/Mosokhs/Mushki, Mushku in Akkadian, Moschoi in Greek) were an ancient, non-Indo-European and non-Semitic, indigenous tribe of Asia Minor of the 3rd-1st millennias BC, said to be the offspring of Meshech, son of Japheth. ... In ancient geography, Colchis (sometimes spelled also as Kolchis) (Greek: Κολχίς, kŏl´kĬs; Georgian: კოლხეთი, Kolkheti) was a nearly triangular district in Caucasus. ... In Greek mythology, Leucothea (Greek Leukothea, the White Goddess) was one of the aspects under which an ancient sea goddess was recognized. ...

References

Notes

The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic successor state of Alexander the Greats dominion. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and... The Pythia was the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros, was the archer-god of medicine and healing and also a bringer of death-dealing plague; as... The amphitheatre, seen from above. ... Avicennas tomb in Hamedan Hamadan or Hamedan ( Persian: همدان ) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of, if not the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Stone Lion of Hamedan is said to have been erected by Alexander The Great, upon the death of Hephaestion. ... Ctesias of Cnidus (in Caria) (Greek ), was a Greek physician and historian, who flourished in the 5th century BC. In early life he was physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger. ...

References

Berossos (also Berossus or Berosus) Greek: Βεροσσος, was a Hellenistic Babylonian writer. ... Isidore of Charax (fl. ... Polybius (c. ... Polybius (c. ... Alexander the Great Lucius Flavius Arrianus Xenophon (c. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... Isidore of Charax (fl. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... Agathangelos was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. ... Balamis 14th century Persian version of Universal History by al-Tabari Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari 838–923 (father of Jafar, named Muhammad, son of Jarir from the province of Tabaristan, Arabic الطبري), was an author from Persia, one of the earliest, most prominent and famous Persian... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ... Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ... Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos Halikarnasseus) was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - ca. ... The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. ... Agathangelos was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Geographika is an extensive work by Strabo, spanning 17 volumes, and can be regarded as an encyclopedia of the geographical knowledge of his time; except for parts of Book 7, it has come down to us complete. ... Agathangelos was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bibliography

Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Professor Nora Elizabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 - 4 April 2006) was the worlds leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies. ... Franz-Valéry-Marie Cumont (Aalst, Belgium, January 3, 1868 - Brussels, August 25, 1947) was a Belgian archaeologist and historian, a philologist and student of epigraphy, who brought these often isolated specialties to bear on the syncretic mystery religions of Late Antiquity, notably Mithraism. ...

See also

• Aban, "the Waters", representing and represented by Aredvi Sura Anahita
• Ab-Zohr, the Zoroastrian "purification of the waters" ceremony and the most important act of worship in Zoroastrianism.
• Arachosia, the name of which derives from Old Iranian *Harahvatī (Avestan Haraxˇaitī, Old Persian Hara(h)uvati-)
• The Sarasvati River, a manifestation of the goddess Saraswati
• Mythological Airyanem Vaejah, the first of the lands created by Ahura Mazda and the middle of the world that rests on Mount Hara.
• The river Oxus, identified as the world river that descends from the mythological Mount Hara.