The beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Iranian Plateau and its borderlands, as well as areas of Central Asia from the Black Sea to Khotan (modern Ho-t'ien, China), form Persian mythology. Golden Rhyton from Irans Achaemenid period. ... Elam (Persian: ایلام) is one of the first civilizations on record based in the far west and south-west of what is modern-day Iran (in the Ilam Province and the lowlands of Khuzestan). ... The Medes were an Iranian stock, who lived in the western and north-western portion of present-day Iran. ... Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent The Achaemenid Dynasty (Hakamanishiya in the Old Persian (Avestan ??) language - transliterated Hakamanshee in Modern Persian) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... The Seleucid Empire was one of several political states founded after the death of Alexander the Great, whose generals squabbled over the division of Alexanders empire. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BC. 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 Sassanid Empire at the reign of Shapur II Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) State Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of Iran The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian... Tomb of Ghaboos ebne Voshmgir, built in 1007AD, rises 160 ft from its base. ... The Sāmānid dynasty (819-999) was a Iranian dynasty in Central Asia, named after its founder Saman Khoda. ... The Buwayhids were a Shiite Muslim tribal confederation from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. ... The Ghaznavid Empire was a state in the region of todays Afghanistan that existed from 963 to 1187. ... The Seljuk Turks (also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; in Turkish Selçuklu; in Arabic سلجوق SaljÅ«q, or السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; in Persian سلجوقيان SaljÅ«qiyān) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks... The Khwarezmid Empire (also known as the Khwarezmian Empire) was a Muslim state formed by Oghuz Turks in the 11th century in Khwarezmia that lasted until the Mongol invasion in 1220. ... Khanates of Mongolian Empire: Il-Khanate, Chagatai Khanate, Empire of the Great Khan (Yuan Dynasty), Golden Horde The Ilkhanate (also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate) was one of the four divisions within the Mongol Empire. ... The Muzaffarids were a Sunni Arab family that came to power in Iran following the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 14th century. ... Timurids Map The Timurids were a mixed Turkic-Mongol and Persian (Turco-Persian) dynasty of Central Asia established by Timur (Tamerlane). ... The Safavid Empire at its 1512 borders. ... Tomb of Nader Shah Afshar, a popular tourist attraction in Mashad. ... Vakeel mosque, Shiraz. ... Mullahs in the court of a Safavid monarch, Iran. ... The Pahlavi dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Iran from 1925 to 1979, from which two Shahs were drawn. ... Protestors take to the street in support of Ayatollah Khomeini. ... Iran is filled with tombs of poets and musicians, such as this one belonging to Rahi Moayeri. ... House of Haj Ali Khan Zand, Qajar era, Qom. ... Kabab Koobideh, served with doogh (yoghurt drink) and pickles. ... Persian literature is literature written in Persian, or by Persians in other languages. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Figurines playing stringed instruments, excavated at Susa, 3rd millenia BC. Iran National Museum. ... Carpet is a general term given to any loom-woven or felted textile and to grass floor coverings. ... Art depicting two men in a Persian Garden Persian Gardens refers to a tradition and style of garden design which originated in Persia, modernday Iran. ... Persia (Iran) has an ancient tradition of its own design of motifs. ... Iran (Persia) possesses an extraordinary treasure of royal jewelry including the mothers-of-pearl caught in the Persian Gulf. ... The Iranian plateau is major geologic formation in the Middle East and the southern Eurasian Plate. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Khotan or Hotan (Uyghur: خوتەن/Hotǝn; Chinese: 和田; pinyin: , formerly: Simplified Chinese: 和阗; Traditional Chinese: 和闐; pinyin: ) is an oasis town and a prefecture in the Taklamakan desert that was part of the southern silk road. ...

The best collection of old Persian mythology appears in the Shahnama of Ferdowsi, written over a thousand years ago. Much of the information about Persian (old-Iranian) gods can be found in the religious texts from Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) such as the Avesta, and in later sources such as the Bundahishn and the Denkard. The original Avesta dates back to 1400 - 1200 BCE, and was kept in Istakhr until Alexander of Macedon destroyed it. The current version dates from the 13th or 14th century, and contains only a fragment of the original text. Communications in Iran Iranian Blogs Internet censorship in Iran Iranian Media Persian Transportation in Iran Iranian Newspapers Iranian News Agencies Minorities Ethnic minorities in Iran Religious Minorities Sports: Football in Iran Other topics: Irans nuclear program Iran and weapons of mass destruction Military of Iran Family Planning in Iran... Zartosht, as popularly depicted by Persian artists. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... The Denkard is the largest encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in 9th century. ... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ...

Unlike many other mythologies, Persian mythology has only 2 main gods: Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Ahura Mazda was the god of light, construction, and fertility. In contrast, Angra Mainyu was the god of darkness, destruction, sterility, and death. The pair was always in constant conflict. Evil people followed Angra Mainyu, while good people followed Ahura Mazda. Faravahar (or Ferohar), the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... Angra Mainyu or Ahriman was the evil spirit in the dualistic strain of Zoroastrianism. ...

Demons

There are many demons or daeva (Persian div) in the Persian mythology. The root is the Indo-European word deiva meaning "celestial, bright". As among the Aryan Indians, the pre-Zoroastrian Iranians considered the demons as holy and sacred beings; but Zarathustra rejected Daeva and called him evil. Even then the Persians living south of the Caspian Sea continued to worship the demon and resisted pressure to accept Zoroastrianism. The legend of White Demon (Div-e Sepid) of Mazandaran lingers on to this day. The Zoroastrian god of Evil, Ahriman or the Avestan Angra Mainyu (i.e. Evil Thought) has lost its original identity and is sometimes pictured as a Div. Post-Islamic religious paintings show the div as a giant of a man with spotted body and two horns. In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon or demoness is a supernatural being that has generally been described as a malevolent spirit but outside Christian circles was viewed as a sort of elemental spirit: compare Daemon and djinn. ... The Daeva are a fictional clan of vampires in the role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem, published by White Wolf Game Studio . ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ... Deva, a Hindu deity Deva is also a term for heavenly beings in traditional Buddhist cosmology. ... Aryan is an English word derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Old Persian (Iranian) ariya- is a cognate as well. ... Mazandaran (مازندران in Persian) is a province in northern Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea in the north. ... Angra Mainyu or Ahriman was the evil spirit in the dualistic strain of Zoroastrianism. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ...

Good and Evil

The most famous legendary character in the Persian epics and mythology is rostam. On the other side of the fence is Zahhak, a symbol of despotism who was finally defeated by Kaveh the Blacksmith who led a popular uprising against him. Zahhak was guarded by two vipers which grew out of his shoulders. No matter how many times they were beheaded, new heads grew on them to guard him. The snake like in many other Oriental mythologies was a symbol of evil. But many other animals and birds appear in Iranian mythology and especially the birds were signs of good omen. Most famous of these is Simorgh, a large beautiful and powerful bird, Homa, a royal bird of victory whose plume adorned the crowns and Samandar, the phoenix. Rostam (رستم Rostæm in Persian) is a mythical warrior of ancient Persia, son of Zal and Rudaba. ... Zahak, Zahhak, Zahak-e Tāzi or (Arab Zahak) also knwon as Bivar-Asp, which means [he who has] 10,000 horses in the Pahlavi (middle Persian) language, and Avestan Āži-Dahāk) is a mythical figure of ancient Persia (Iran). ... Statue of Kaveh in Isfahan Kaveh the Blacksmith (کاوه آهنگر in Persian) is a mythical figure of ancient Persia who leads a popular uprising of Persians (Iranians) against a ruthless Arab ruler, Zahak. ... In Iranian Mythology, Sênmurw Middle-Persian (Pahlavi), Sîna-Mrû (Pâzand), is a fabulous, mythical bird. ... An Iranair Boeing 747-100 lands over the houses at London (Heathrow) Airport IRAN AIR is the national and international airline of Iran. ... Samandar (also Semender) was a city in Khazaria on the western edge of the Caspian Sea, south of Atil and north of the Caucasus. ...

Pari (Avesta: Pairika), considered a beautiful though evil woman in early mythology, gradually became less evil and more beautiful until the Islamic period she became a symbol of beauty similar to the houris of Paradise. However another evil woman, Patiareh, now symbolizes whores and prostitutes. Doctor Who character, see Peri Brown. ... In Islam, the houri (حورية), Hour -ul-`Ein or hawra’ in Arabic, are described as fair women of Paradise awaiting devout Muslims. ... Look up Paradise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Paradise is also a title of a tv-series The word paradise is derived from the Avestan word of pairidaeza (a walled enclosure), which is a compound of pairi- (around), a cognate of the Greek peri-, and -diz (to create, make). ...

Key Texts

• Avesta
• Bundahishn
• Denkard
• Shahnama

See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... The Denkard is the largest encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in 9th century. ... Shahnameh Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ...

Related subjects

• Indo-Iranian mythology
• Hindu mythology
• Persian deities
• Zoroastrianism
• The Cup of Jamshid
• Arash
• Fulad-zereh
• Persian literature

The ancient Indo-Iranians were the founders of Persia and of Indian Vedic culture. ... The term Hindu mythology refers collectively to a large body of Indian literature (essentially, the mythology of Hinduism) that detail the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... The Persian Gods, Goddesses and demons: Aesma Daeva , One of the Daevas, Aesma Daeva (madness) is the demon of lust and anger, wrath and revenge. ... Faravahar (or Ferohar), the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... The Cup of Jamshid, (or the Cup of Djemscheed or Jaam-e Jam, in Persian: جام جم) is a cup of divination, which according to legend was long possessed by rulers of ancient Persia. ... At the end of war between Iran and Turan, Turan has advanced to near Damâvand (Damavand) mountain area. ... Fulad-zereh (Persian: فولادزره) meaning [possessing] steel armor, is the name of a huge horned demon in the Persian story of Amir Arsalan. ... Persian literature is literature written in Persian, or by Persians in other languages. ...

References

• Iran almanac and book of facts 1964-1965. Fourth edition, new print. Published by Echo of Iran, Tehran 1965.