This paper introduces a newly-found Sasanian bulla that has two seal impressions, the major of wh... more This paper introduces a newly-found Sasanian bulla that has two seal impressions, the major of which belongs to Wēh-šāpur, military chief or Ērān-spāhbed of kust-ī-nēmrōz or the south-southeast side of the Sasanian Empire during the reign of Ḵosrow I (539-579 AD). Since 2001 a number of spāhbed bullae have been identified and published. These significant objects confirmed the validity of historical narrations regarding quadripartition of military organization of the Sasanian Empire recorded in late and post-Sasanian literary sources. This sealing is part of a bullae collection kept in the treasury of Mostazafan Foundation's Cultural Institution of Museums in Tehran and offers the fifth example of spāhbed Wēh-šābuhr seal impression so far known and published.
Fars, homeland and religious stronghold of Sasanians was conquered by the Arab Muslims in the mid... more Fars, homeland and religious stronghold of Sasanians was conquered by the Arab Muslims in the mid ـ7 th century AD. This episode marked the beginning of a new era in the religious and social history of this region. Historical and geographical sources of the 4 th /10 th century however, provide rich evidence about the survival of Zoroastrianism and PreـIslamic traditions in Fars more than 300 years after dominance of Islam. Since 5 th /11 th century however, Fars lost its status as the stronghold of Zoroastrianism and no mention of its previous situation is found in |Later historical resources. Concurrently, Yazd and Kerman replaced Fars as the main bases for collecting and copying Zoroastrian religious texts. The present paper first provides a comprehensive review about the presence of Zoroastrianism and Preـ Islamic traditions in the 4 th /10 th century Fars based on the aforementioned sources and then turn to the main question of why this condition declined almost suddenly since the 5 th /11 th century. Investigating accounts recorded in a Persian historical text known as Ferdaws alـMorshediyah fi Asrar alـSamadiah, it seems that a significant change in the social and religious history of Fars had occurred at this time. It is concluded that most likely this transformation took place as the result of rising antiـZoroastrian movements and the growth of Sufi orders such Kazaruniyeh or Morshediyeh in this period. This finally caused a great number of Zoroastrians to convert or immigrate from Fars to the neighboring provinces of Yazd or Kerman and finally to India, probably during and after the 5 th /11 th century.
Archaeology of children and childhood is rather a new field of study within archaeology and anthr... more Archaeology of children and childhood is rather a new field of study within archaeology and anthropology. However, it is very difficult to trace the presence of children in archaeological material. Their manifestation is mainly limited to mortuary, artefacts or objects considered to be toys or built environment that too may have been either in connection with specific items used by or were in relation to children or iconographic evidence from past. The present study tries to examine depictions of children in Sasanian rock reliefs which have long been the subject of extensive research, nevertheless it seems such depiction on art objects was not a matter of attraction by itself. On the other hand, lack of coherent literary evidence about social status, roles and realm of children and childhood in the Sasanian society leave many questions unanswered. Hence, despite a large number of researches in the field of Sasanian history and archaeology, one cannot postulate a coherent research background specific to the aforementioned subject. Children are displayed in a number of Sasanian rock reliefs which are introduced and presented in chronological order. Identity of these children and purpose of their depiction is discussed based on available works. Although, the historical identity of these children may never be certainly established, but those shown in investiture and parade reliefs of Ardashir I, Shapur I and Narseh at Firuzabad, Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rustam are certainly the children of high status or having royal lineage. In two of Shapur I reliefs, a putto is depicted and a probably captive child –enemy's son-are seen in Bahram II/Shapur II relief in Tang-e Chowgan.
Children clearly form an integrated part of human societies throughout history, however it is not... more Children clearly form an integrated part of human societies throughout history, however it is not always an easy task to re-identify their presence and roles through limited, vague and scattered survived historical textural and material evidence. Textual and iconographic documents that include references to children are one of the most important and maybe most frequent sources of information in this regard. As we come forward throughout history, such sources become richer and more diverse. A considerable body of material evidence has remained from the Sasanian period and a corpus of textual sources in the form of Pahlavi literature is attributed to this period. This paper aims to shed light on the subject of children and childhood in Sasanian Iran on the basis of information available in these two groups of sources. Accordingly, three groups of children were identified and examined as royal and aristocrat children, citizen children and mythological children. Relevant data from textural and material evidence were analyzed and compared, leading to certain deductions. Education was an important part of social growth and it was practiced with more depth and scope among royal children while the process of education for citizen children was limited mainly to religious teachings and vocational trainings. Some royal and aristocratic children are depicted in Sasanian rock reliefs in formal gestures while children on other mediums such as seals may refer to citizen children in different setting of playing or nurturing. Artistic representations also show children in symbolic and mythical roles in relation to Dionysus and Anahita myths as symbols of fertility and bliss.
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Papers by Negin Miri