A Magical Network
The spread of the Zoroastrian faith through the Achaemenid empire
Much is known about the great monotheistic religions of today. We know a lot about the spread of the Christian, Islamic and Judaic faiths. This is mostly because these religions withstood the test of time, and each of those religions still has numerous followers to this day. There are however those religions who were dominant or well known in the ancient world, but have become less significant over the years. One example is the Zoroastrian religion. The Zoroastrian faith is the ancient religion named after the prophet Zarathustra, known by the Greeks as Zoroaster. The origin of this religion is not easily dated. A claim has been made that the prophet Zoroaster was born in the year 628 B.C. (Robert Zaehner), while another claim is that he came into existence between 1400 and 1000 before Christ (Mary Boyce). What can be said with certainty is that the religion originated in the area that we now call Iran. It was there that the belief was formed that there was one true god of light whose name was Ahuramazda and who was supported by immortal spirits known as yazatas. On the opposite side was the evil existence of Ahriman who tried to corrupt the people and put evil in their hearts. The Zoroastrians had their own holy book, much like the Christians, Muslims and Jews, called the Avesta.
Because the origin of the religion is still a mystery it is unclear how the Zoroastrian religion was adopted into an empire which would soon conquer a large part of the know world. It were the Persians, who came to power in 549 B.C. led by Cyrus the Great, who adopted the Zoroastrian faith and founded the Achaemenid empire. This Achaemenid empire expanded quickly through many conquests made by the Achaemenid kings. At its height the empire covered a vast area, from Pakistan in the east, to Egypt in the west and from the Aral Sea in the north to the Indian ocean in the south. Through many Greek sources we have come to understand that the Achaemenid kings were described as followers of Ahuramazda and thus linked to the Zoroastrian faith. It is also in these Greek sources that we see the Zoroastrian faith being discussed and that the ideas of the prophet Zarathustra and the Avesta were circulated. How the Zoroastrian faith spread throughout the Achaemenid empire is the focus of this webpage.
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The problem of the Zoroastrian faith
During the period of the Achaemenid empire the Zoroastrian faith was one of the main religions. This means however that it was not the only religion in the Achaemenid empire. Other religion, which closely resembled Zoroastrianism, were Zurvanism and Mazda-worship. Zurvanism was named after Zurvan, the god of limitless time, who was thought to have given birth to Ahuramazda and Ahriman. Mazda-worship refers to the veneration of Ahuramazda, but not in association with the teaching of the prophet Zoroaster. Given the mystery that shrouds the genesis of the Zoroastrian religion it is unclear if the Achaemenid kings and their subordinates were truly Zoroastrians or followed a belief that seemed very similar to Zoroastrianism, but was fundamentally different. There is much disagreement amongst scholars about this subject. There are some, like Mary Boyce, who claim that the first Achaemenid king Cyrus adopted the Zoroastrian faith, but others like Richard Frye and Robert Zaehner think it more likely that Zoroastrianism was only one of many religions in the Achaemenid empire and that it did not hold an exclusive place amongst the Achaemenid kings.
One thing that can be done to discuss this problem is to look at the archeological evidence and written primary sources. What do these sources tell about Zoroastrianism in the Achaemenid period? The sources about the Zoroastrians in the Achaemenid period are few in number. Two kinds of temples were found or spoken about. The first kind of temple contained a statue to a yazata or divine being. These temples were erected in honor of the divinities. the second kind of temple had to do with the cult of fire. Fire was one of the four sacred elements to the Zoroastrians, the others being air, earth and water. In these types of temples an ever burning fire was maintained. This had its own special meaning to the Zoroastrians. The fire symbolized a medium through which one could speak to the one true god of light Ahuramazda. These two types of temples can be linked to the Zoroastrian faith. The problem is that not many remains are found. There are two fire temples found in Pasargadae attributed to both Cyrus and Darius, this hints at the Zoroastrianism of the Achaemenid kings but does not tell about the spread of the Zoroastrian faith throughout the empire. It is Mary Boyce who states that fire temples were evidently built in the later Achaemenid period and that records remain of fire temples having been erected in territories from Parthia to Asia Minor (Turkey). One of these records comes from Strabo. In one of the fullest literary descriptions of fire sanctuaries in the Mediterranean Strabo refers to buildings he calls pyraithoi, he describes them as a kind of enclosure of considerable extent. In the middle of each enclosure was an altar, upon which lay a large heap of ashes, and upon it the priests of the Zoroastrians kept up a fire that was never put out. Strabo also mentions a yazata temple that was founded in Zela in Asia Minor by king Cyrus. This was supposedly a great artificial mound encircled by a wall which people could walk up to an pray.
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Although not much real evidence is found of the Zoroastrian spread throughout the Achaemenid empire, a many Greek writer has commented on the religion and on the temples that were being built. These Greek writers also linked the Achaemenid kings to this Zoroastrian faith and so according to them it was Zoroastrianism that was being spread throughout the Achaemenid empire. Whether it was really Zoroastrianism that was being practiced is not an question that will be discussed here. What will be discussed is the method and network that was used to most effectively spread this religion.
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Network approach
To explain the spread of the Zoroastrian faith network theory will be used. The kind of network theory being used is so eloquently called by Anne Collar: "the Actor-Network theory". This theory of Anne Collar sees people as only one aspect of multi-agent networks with a strong focus on information transmission and the dynamics of interconnections that constitute a network and facilitate the spread of ideas and innovation.
To clarify these network interactions an example of Jason M. Silverman is given (figure 2). In this chart Silverman shows the different ways of religious and cultural interactions between people. There was either conscious or unconscious rejection or acceptance of the foreign ideas they came into contact with. It were the rituals, customs, ideas and concepts that could be integrated or rejected and which were being spread by network agents according to Anne Collar. For a foreign idea to influence a foreign party a network or a network agent was necessary to facilitate this phenomenon.
Three types of possible network agents
Continuing from the last paragraph, three possible network agents will be discussed and compared. Can a network agent be distinguished that spread the Zoroastrian religion throughout the Achaemenid empire?
Achaemenid kings
It has already been said that it is difficult to attest that the Achaemenid kings were indeed Zoroastrians. Little is known about the doctrine of the Avesta. Jean Kellens calls our knowledge of the origin of the Old Avestan texts so incomplete that the validity of the question about the Zoroastrianism of the Achaemenids is uncertain at best. It is not wise to go to deep into a discussion that can’t be solved here. The Achaemenid kings adopted a policy of religious tolerance throughout their domain. They not only allowed subjects to follow their own religious beliefs and perform their own ritual ceremonies freely, but they also provided financial aid for building or rebuilding temples dedicated to foreign gods and religions. The Achaemenid clearly believed in religious co-existence and did not push their own religion onto their subjects or even favored their own religion more than any other. Because the empire was so vast the king could not visit all his lands regularly and was therefore not much seen by his subjects. The king also only dealt with his officers and important diplomats and had no interest in the masses. The fact that the Achaemenids adopted a policy of religious co-existence and religious tolerance gives reason to think that the Achaemenid kings can’t be really seen as network agents or agents of change. The Achaemenid kings did not actively try to spread their own religion or to force their own beliefs onto others. The king also did not have a network that stretched through to the masses and the edges of the empire. It seems unlikely that the Zoroastrian faith was actively spread through the network of the Achaemenid kings. |
Local governors and satraps
When looking at local governors or satraps, the administration and rule of the empire becomes an important factor. These men were tasked to govern an area in name of the king and to enforce the law and rule of the Achaemenid dynasty whilst also collecting the taxes. These governors or satraps were often Persians themselves and brought with them an administration which consisted of other Persians. Because of the vastness of the Achaemenid empire the Achaemenid kings could not be everywhere at once and were often far away from their subjects. The tasks of the governors were mainly twofold. Governors had to deal with the financial and military aspects of their province. The financial aspect boiled down to raising taxes and paying tribute to the Achaemenid kings. The military aspect was to manage local garrisons and supply the army of the Achaemenids stationed at their province. The spread of the Zoroastrian religion or the integration of the religion was not one of the main concerns of the governors and satraps. While they were Zoroastrian themselves they did not enforce their religion onto others or tried to persuade others to convert.
There are primary sources that talk about the interactions that these governors had with the local authorities of a city or town. This interaction however never seemed to go about the Zoroastrian faith. Most of the interactions were of financial or military nature. An example is the correspondence that was found on the interaction between the governors of Judah and Samaria and the Yahwists of Elephanine in Egypt. The Yahwists wrote to the governors about the destruction of their temple asking for financial aid. The governors were thus seen as an important authority, but were not an important medium for spreading the Zoroastrian faith. The Yahwists clearly have their own religion and were not interested in adopting the ideas of the Zoroastrian faith and these ideas were not actively spread through the network of the governor.
When looking at local governors or satraps, the administration and rule of the empire becomes an important factor. These men were tasked to govern an area in name of the king and to enforce the law and rule of the Achaemenid dynasty whilst also collecting the taxes. These governors or satraps were often Persians themselves and brought with them an administration which consisted of other Persians. Because of the vastness of the Achaemenid empire the Achaemenid kings could not be everywhere at once and were often far away from their subjects. The tasks of the governors were mainly twofold. Governors had to deal with the financial and military aspects of their province. The financial aspect boiled down to raising taxes and paying tribute to the Achaemenid kings. The military aspect was to manage local garrisons and supply the army of the Achaemenids stationed at their province. The spread of the Zoroastrian religion or the integration of the religion was not one of the main concerns of the governors and satraps. While they were Zoroastrian themselves they did not enforce their religion onto others or tried to persuade others to convert.
There are primary sources that talk about the interactions that these governors had with the local authorities of a city or town. This interaction however never seemed to go about the Zoroastrian faith. Most of the interactions were of financial or military nature. An example is the correspondence that was found on the interaction between the governors of Judah and Samaria and the Yahwists of Elephanine in Egypt. The Yahwists wrote to the governors about the destruction of their temple asking for financial aid. The governors were thus seen as an important authority, but were not an important medium for spreading the Zoroastrian faith. The Yahwists clearly have their own religion and were not interested in adopting the ideas of the Zoroastrian faith and these ideas were not actively spread through the network of the governor.
The magi's
The magi’s can be seen as the priests of the Persians. They were the ones they kept themselves busy with the Zoroastrian rituals and the teachings of Zoroaster. But this was not the only aspect that was attributed to the magi’s. Although being a priest was an important aspect of the magi’s they had numerous secondary functions. Magi’s were not only religious specialist, but also court functionaries, advisers to the king, dream interpreters and diviners. They were also seen as magical men by the Greeks. The magi's held offices all throughout the empire. As royal advisers of the king they had to travel everywhere with the king and thus came to many places in the empire. The magi also held positions at the households of the Persian governors and/or satraps. And when there were Persians there were Zoroastrian priest (the magi’s) to minister to their needs and serve at their place of worship. Because of these positions the claim can be made that in the Achaemenid empire magi’s were well known and widespread throughout the empire. Did the magi’s play an active role in the spread of the Zoroastrian faith? Mary Boyce claims that presumably both the priests/magi’s and laity were prepared to discuss matters of religion with inquirers, and that through this way gradually many of Zoroaster’s fundamental doctrine became disseminated throughout the region. Boyce further states that especially the Jews stood open to Zoroastrian influences. Worship of the one supreme God, and belief in the coming of a Messiah or Savior, together with adherence to a way of life which combined moral and spiritual aspirations with a strict code of behavior were all matters in which Judaism and Zoroastrianism were in harmony, and it was this harmony, it seems, reinforced by the respect of a subject people for a great protective power, which allowed Zoroastrian doctrines to exert their influence. The network that Boyce sketches is one based on religious curiosity, discussion and similarities. Another idea is derived from the writing of Peter Kingsley. Kingsley writes about the region of Lydia which is now the area of land we call Turkey. Kingsley states that the country Lydia had lost much of its sense of national identity and historical continuity after the Persian conquest. It would therefore not be hard to image the people of Lydia to be fascinated by the claims put forward on behalf of the country’s new rulers by the priests who, in spite of their wanderings and unsettles past, prided themselves as representatives of an unbroken spiritual tradition. Priesthood in Zoroastrianism was hereditary and in the fifth century B.C. there were already magi’s who claimed that they were the successors of Zoroaster. According to Kingsley the appeal of the Zoroastrian religion must have been very great to the disgruntled populace of a country where the traditions and continuity were dismembered. The religion of the Zoroastrians and the traditions of the magi’s filled a gap which was created by the Persian conquest. There is evidence for repeated battles of religious and prophetic propaganda and counter propaganda fought out between the Greeks and the magi’s in Anatolia from at least the fourth century B.C. This propaganda that the magi’s used can be the medium through which the Zoroastrian belief spread. |
The last idea that will be discussed is about privately practicing magi's discussed by Jan Bremmer. Bremmer states that in religion, as of course in economics, it is not enough to prove a ‘supply’, but there also must be a ‘demand’ from religious ‘consumers’. He then proceeds to claim that this ‘demand’ is well attested in late fifth-century Athens, where we witness a growing dissatisfaction with traditional religion and an increasing interest in private cults. Bremmer ends with the statement that the presence of privately practicing magi perfectly fits this description. The interesting to note here is that just like the idea discussed previously the Zoroastrian faith could spread because of the dissatisfaction of the people with the traditional religion or the dismemberment of the national identity. In both cases the people are searching for something new and the magi’s are able to fill that gap. In the case of Bremmer the private cults never attained the majority of the populace, however they did exist and it was a medium through which the Zoroastrian faith could spread. It also attest that the Zoroastrian religion had penetrated the Mediterranean world. The difference between this network and the previous one is that this network is a personal one. Whereas the previous network was based around religious and prophetic propaganda this network was based on the teaching of the privately practicing magi. In all cases the magi's can be seen as network agents since they actively pursue the act of talking and promoting the Zoroastrian religion. The magi's also had many contacts amongst the people and were widespread throughout the Achaemenid empire.
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Conclusion
The ancient religion of the Zoroastrians is shrouded in a lot of mystery. An attempt has been made to shed some light on the spread of the Zoroastrian faith during the period of the Achaemenid empire. The exact definition of the Zoroastrian faith is still uncertain and whether or not the Achaemenid kings were devout Zoroastrians themselves in unclear. What we can do is examine the ancient sources, few as they might be, and try to see a pattern of Zoroastrian aspects reflected in religious life and culture. By doing this we can establish that the Zoroastrian faith was well known throughout the Achaemenid empire. The main reason for this spread of Zoroastrianism I have argued is by the network that the magi's created. Magi's can be seen as the magical network agents who spread their faith throughout the Achaemenid empire as they travelled the land.
T.M.
T.M.
Bibliography
Amighi, J. K. The
Zoroastrians of Iran: Conversion, Assimilation, or Persistence. New York:
AMS Press, 1990.
Boyce, M. A history of Zoroastrianism: Under the Achaemenians. Leiden: Brill, 1982.
Boyce, M. “On the Zoroastrian temple cult of fire”. Journal of the American Oriental Society 95, no. 3 (1975): 454-465.
Boyce, M. Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and their practices. London: Routledge, 2001.
Bremmer, J.N. Greek religion and culture, the Bible, and the ancient near East. Leiden: Brill, 2008.
Collar, A. Religious networks in the Roman Empire: The spread of new ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Curtis, J.E and N. Tallis. Forgotten empire: The world of ancient Persia. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005.
de Jong, A.F. Traditions of the magi: Zoroastrianism in Greek and Latin literature. Leiden: Brill, 1997.
Kellens, J. Essays on Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2000.
Kingsley, P. “Meetings with Magi: Iranian themes among the Greeks, from Xanthus of Lydia to Plato’s Academy”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 5 no. 2 (1995): 173-209.
Menant, D. “Zoroastrianism and the Parsees”. North America review 172 no. 530 (1901): 132-147.
Silverman, J. Persepolis and Jerusalem: Iranian influence on the apocalyptic hermeneutic. New York: T&T Clark International, 2012.
Stepaniant, M. “The Encounter of Zoroastrianism with Islam”. Philosophy East and West 52 no. 2 (2002): 159-172.
Boyce, M. A history of Zoroastrianism: Under the Achaemenians. Leiden: Brill, 1982.
Boyce, M. “On the Zoroastrian temple cult of fire”. Journal of the American Oriental Society 95, no. 3 (1975): 454-465.
Boyce, M. Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and their practices. London: Routledge, 2001.
Bremmer, J.N. Greek religion and culture, the Bible, and the ancient near East. Leiden: Brill, 2008.
Collar, A. Religious networks in the Roman Empire: The spread of new ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Curtis, J.E and N. Tallis. Forgotten empire: The world of ancient Persia. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005.
de Jong, A.F. Traditions of the magi: Zoroastrianism in Greek and Latin literature. Leiden: Brill, 1997.
Kellens, J. Essays on Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2000.
Kingsley, P. “Meetings with Magi: Iranian themes among the Greeks, from Xanthus of Lydia to Plato’s Academy”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 5 no. 2 (1995): 173-209.
Menant, D. “Zoroastrianism and the Parsees”. North America review 172 no. 530 (1901): 132-147.
Silverman, J. Persepolis and Jerusalem: Iranian influence on the apocalyptic hermeneutic. New York: T&T Clark International, 2012.
Stepaniant, M. “The Encounter of Zoroastrianism with Islam”. Philosophy East and West 52 no. 2 (2002): 159-172.
Illustrations
Figure 1: http://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/map-gallery/p/persian-empire.aspx
Figure 2: http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/2550/Persepolis-nuff-said-401
Figure 3: http://www.academia.edu/221076/On_Religious_and_Cultural_Influence
Figure 4: http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/display/27945368
Figure 5: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_image.aspx?image=k134371.jpg&retpage=19030
Figure 2: http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/2550/Persepolis-nuff-said-401
Figure 3: http://www.academia.edu/221076/On_Religious_and_Cultural_Influence
Figure 4: http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/display/27945368
Figure 5: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_image.aspx?image=k134371.jpg&retpage=19030