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Rituals play a prominent role in Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religious traditions of mankind. In this book, scholars from a broad range of disciplines make the first ever collective effort to discuss Zoroastrian rituals in different historical contexts and geographical settings.
South Asian religious art became codified during the Ku a Period (ca. beginning of the 2nd to the mid 3rd century). Yet, to date, neither the chronology nor nature of Ku a Art, marked by great diversity, is well understood. The Ku a Empire was huge, stretching from Uzbekistan through northern India, and its multicultural artistic expressions became the fountainhead for much of South Asian Art. The premise of this book is that Ku a Art achieves greater clarity through analyses of the arts and cultures of the Pre- Ku a World, those lands becoming the Empire. Fourteen papers in this book by leading experts on regional topography and connective pathways; interregional, multicultural comparisons; art historical, archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic and textual studies represent the first coordinated effort having this focus.
This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions Reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries Presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion
An innovative exploration of the local histories of the Persianate world and its preoccupation with identity, authority, and legitimacy.
A cutting-edge analysis of 2,500 years of Persian visual, architectural, and material cultures of power and their role in connecting the world. With the rise of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE), Persian institutions of kingship became the model for legitimacy, authority, and prestige across three continents. Despite enormous upheavals, Iranian visual and political cultures connected an ever-wider swath of Afro-Eurasia over the next two millennia, exerting influence at key historical junctures. This book provides the first critical exploration of the role Persian cultures played in articulating the myriad ways power was expressed across Afro-Eurasia between the sixth century BCE and the ...
This volume offers an edition and translation of the Avestantext of the Yasna Haptanghaiti (YH), together with an introduction, commentary and dictionary. The commentary surveysand summarizes the scholarly debate about individualAvestan words and expressions, while the introduction offersan analysis of the composition of the YH.Table of contents: I. Introduction1. The position of the Yasna Haptanghaiti in the Yasna2. The poetic form of the Yasna Haptanghaiti3. The composition of the Yasna Haptanghaiti4. The Yasna Haptanghaiti as an example of Indo-Europeanliturgical poetry5. The manuscripts of the Yasna Haptanghaiti6. Arrangement of the present editionII. Text and Translation Yasna 35, Yasna 36, Yasna 37, Yasna 38, Yasna 39, Yasna 40, Yasna 41III. Edition and CommentaryIV. DictionaryV. ReferencesVI. AbbreviationsVII. IndicesIndex of WordsIndex of PassagesIndex of Names and Subje
Although by its title, this book seems to be about a specialized topic, the spread of Mithraic societies and its avatars, in time and geographical expanse, much enhances its relevancy. From Roman legionaries to chivalry orders, from dervish circles to guild organizations, and from Freemasons to French revolutionaries, the hierarchy of Mithraic societies, their initiation rites, and their oaths of secrecy, provided a model for brotherhood organization that was efficient, but also flexible; they could adapt their philosophy to the prevailing politico-religion conditions of the day, because they did not worship any particular god, but could also be comrades in arms with nascent religious movements, such as with Christianity. Mithra was the initial guarantor of their oath, and if need be it could be replaced by Jesus, Allah or any other divinity. Their "religion" was their brotherhood, and as such they usually provided a counter-balance to the power elite, and had the potential to become politically active.
A major aspect of Zoroastrianism is how they discredited existing Iranian deities, and reused them in an expanded pantheon of gods subordinated to Ahura Mazdā. Their most difficult task was to find ways to reintegrate Apam Napāt (Apam Naphāt?), a deity who was perceived as the main rival to Ahura Mazdā, and the one who was initially branded as daeva. The subtle ways by which they achieved this is a testimony to their mastery in the art of sophistry, at a level seldom seen in the history of religions.
Early Iranians believed evil had to have a source outside of God, which led to the concept of an entity as powerful and utterly evil as God is potent and good. These two forces, good and evil, which have always vied for superiority, needed helpers in this struggle. According to the Zoroastrians, every entity had to take sides, from the cosmic level to the microcosmic self. One of the results of this battle was that certain humans were thought to side with evil. Who were these allies of that great Evil Spirit? Women were inordinately singled out. Male healers were forbidden to deal with female health disorders because of the fear of the polluting power of feminine blood. Female healers, midwi...