This study examines the sacredness of fire, temple structures, cult, and the relationship between fire temples and the cult of Anāhitā during the Achaemenid Kingdom period. While fire is considered sacred in Zoroastrianism, debates continue today about whether the Achaemenids were Zoroastrian, and it is argued that defining the concept of Achaemenid religion is difficult. This study, which does not ignore these debates, attempts to examine classical sources and modern research together while also taking into account royal inscriptions. In sources, it is noted that the Persians performed their rituals in the open-air areas and did not have temples, while the concept of sacred place emerging in Pasargadae and the controversial term “āyadanā” are noteworthy. In modern research, two different views emerge: one suggesting that the Persians did not have temples before the Achaemenid period and those who oppose this in light of the excavation findings. Structures uncovered both in the East and the West, such as Ka’ba-yı Zerdust, Naqsh-e Rustam, Tepe Nush-e Jan, and Dahan-e Ghulaman, have been included. The depiction of fire altars in Achaemenid seals and royal tombs has been examined. Additionally, the research addresses the impossibility of a singular cult and culture in the Iranian geography.
PDF Görünüm
Referanslar
- Askarov, A. & Shirinov T. (1994), The Palace, Temple and Necropolis of Jarkutan, Bulletin of Asia Institute 8, 13 – 26. google scholar
- Boucharlat, R. (2003). The Persepolis area in the Achaemenid period. In N. F. Miller & K. Abdi google scholar
- (Eds.), Yeki bud, yeki nabud: Essays on the archaeology of Iran in honor of William M. google scholar
- Sumner (Monograph Series 48, pp. 261-265). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. google scholar
- Boucharlat, R. (2014). Fire altars and fire temples in the first millennia BC/AD in the Iranian world: google scholar
- Some remarks. In P. Bielinski et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the google scholar
- Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Vol. 1, pp. 7–25). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag google scholar
- Boyce, M. (1975a). A History of Zoroastrianism, Volume I Early Period, Leiden: E.J. Brill. google scholar
- Boyce, M. (1975b). On the Zoroastrian temple cult of fire. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 95(3), 454–465. google scholar
- Boyce, M. (1979). Zoroastrians: Their Religious Belief and Practices. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. google scholar
- Boyce, M. (1982). A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume II, Under the Achaemenians. Leiden: E.J. Brill. google scholar
- Boyce, M & Grenet, F. (1991). A History of Zoroastrianism Volume Three Zoroastrians Under Macedonian and Roman Rule. Leiden: E.J. Brill. google scholar
- Briant, P. (2002). From Cyrus to Alexander, A History of the Persians Empire, (P. T. Daniels, Trans)., Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. google scholar
- Brosius, M. (2006). The Persians (1st ed.). Routledge. google scholar
- Cameron, G. G. (1948). Persepolis treasury tablets. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. google scholar
- Canepa, M. P. (2018). The Iranian expanse: Transforming royal identity through architecture, landscape, and the built environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. Berkeley: University of California Press. google scholar
- Cantera, A. (2019). Fire, the greatest god (ātarš … mazišta yazata): The cult of the “eternal” fire in the rituals in Avestan. Indo-Iranian Journal, 62, 19–61. google scholar
- Chosky, J. K. (2015). Religious sites and physical structures. In M. Stausberg & Y. Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to Zoroastrianism (pp. 393-407). Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. google scholar
- Curtis, V.S. & Tallis, N. (2005). The Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia, The British Museum Press: London. google scholar
- de Jong, A. (1997). Traditions of the magi: Zoroastrianism in Greek and Latin literature. Leiden: E.J. Brill. google scholar
- de Jong, A. (2015). Religion and politics in pre-Islamic Iran. In M. Stausberg & Y. Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to Zoroastrianism (pp. 85–101). Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. google scholar
- Daryaee, T., & Rollinger, R. (2021). Iran and its histories: From the beginnings through the Achaemenid Empire. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. google scholar
- Degen, J. (2024). Xerxes I, and heir of Assyria? The Daiva inscription in context. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 83(1), 41–58. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. google scholar
- Dusinberre, E. R. M. (2005). Gordion seals and sealings: Individuals and society. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. google scholar
- Frazer, J. G. (1930). Myths of the origin of fire. London: Macmillan and Co. google scholar
- Frye, R. N. (2010). Cyrus the Mede and Darius the Achaemenid? In J. Curtis & S. Simpson (Eds.), The World of Achaemenid Persia (pp. 17-19). google scholar
- Garrison, M. B. (2017). Beyond Auramazdā and the winged symbol: Imagery of the divine and numinous at Persepolis. In W. Henkelman & C. Redard (Eds.), Persian religion in the Achaemenid period / La religion perse à l’époque achéménide (pp. 185-254). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. google scholar
- Garrison, M. (2017). The ritual landscapes at Persepolis: Glyptic imagery from the Persepolis fortification and treasury archives. Chicago: The University of Chicago. google scholar
- Gnoli, G. (2011). Daivadana. In EncIr Online. google scholar
- Hallock, R. T. (1969). Persepolis fortification tablets. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. google scholar
- Henkelman, W. F. (2012). The Achaemenid heartland: Archaeological–historical perspective. In D. T. Potts (Ed.), A companion to the archaeology of the ancient Near East (pp. 931–962). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. google scholar
- Herzfeld, E. E. (1941). Iran: The ancient East archaeological studies presented in the Lowell Lectures at Boston. New York: Oxford University Press. google scholar
- Houtkamp, A. (1991). Some remarks on the fire altars of the Achaemenid period. In J. Kellens (Ed.), La religion iranienne à l'époque achéménide (pp. 23–49). Gent. google scholar
- Huart, C. (2008). Ancient Persia and Iranian civilization (M. R. Dobie, Trans.). New York: Routledge. google scholar
- Jacobs, B. (2001). Kultbilder und Gottesvorstellung bei den Persern – Zu Herodot, Historien 1.131 und Clemens Alexandrinus 5.65.3. In H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg et al. (Eds.), Achaemenid Anatolia: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Anatolia in the Achaemenid Period (pp. 83–90). Leiden: Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul. google scholar
- Jacobs, B. (2006). Die Religion der Achameniden. In A. Koch & E. Rehm (Eds.), Das persische Weltreich (pp. 213- 221). Stuttgart. google scholar
- Lecoq, P. (1997). Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide. Paris: Gallimard. google scholar
- Karagöz, Ş. (1997). Küçük Asya Tipi Greko-Pers Bir Eser, Bünyan Sunağı, Anadolu Araştırmaları, (ss. 137-45). google scholar
- Klingenberg, A. (2020). Die Iranishche Diaspora in Kleinasien Kontinuat und Wandel des persischen Erbes nach dem Ender der achaimenidischen Herrschaft. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH, Bonn. google scholar
- Legrain, L. (1925). The culture of the Babylonians from their seals in the collection of the museum: Text and plates. Publications of the Babylonian Section, 14. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. google scholar
- Malandra, W. W. (1983). An introduction to ancient Iranian religion: Readings from the Avesta and the Achaemenid inscriptions (NED-New edition). University of Minnesota Press. google scholar
- Maringer, J. (1974). Das Feuer in Kult und Glauben der vorgeschichtlichen Menschen. Anthropos, 69(1/2), 68–112. google scholar
- Moorey, P. R. S. (1978). The iconography of an Achaemenid stamp-seal acquired in Lebanon. Iran, 16, 143–154. google scholar
- Potts, D. T. (2013). A companion to the archaeology of the ancient Near East (Vol. I–II). Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. google scholar
- Potts, D. T. (2021). Geography and climate. In B. Jacobs & R. Rollinger (Eds.), A companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire (Vol. I, pp. 13-26). Wiley Blackwell. google scholar
- Razmjou, S. (2005). Religion and burial customs. In J. Curtis & N. Tallis (Eds.), Forgotten empire: The world of ancient Persia (pp. 150-180). The British Museum Press. google scholar
- Root, M. C. (1979). The king and kingship in Achaemenid art. Leiden: Brill. google scholar
- Root, M. C. (1988). Evidence from Persepolis for the dating of Persian and Archaic Greek coinage. The Numismatic Chronicle, 148, 1-12. google scholar
- Rossi, A. V. (2021). The inscriptions of the Achaemenids. In B. Jacobs & R. Rollinger (Eds.), A companion to the Achaemenid-Persian Empire (pp. 75–85). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. google scholar
- Saadi-nejad, M. (2001). Anāhitā: A history and reception of the Iranian water goddess. London: I.B. Tauris. google scholar
- Saba, M. (2021). Zerdüşt Dini’nin Anadolu Yayılımı: Oluz Höyük Geç Demir Çağı Bulguları Işığında, İstanbul. (Doktora Tezi) google scholar
- Sancisi-Weerdenburg, H. (Ed.). (1987). Achaemenid history, I: Sources, structures and synthesis (Proceedings of the Groningen 1983 Achaemenid History Workshop, pp. xiv + 196). Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. Paper. google scholar
- Sarianidi, V. (1998). Margiana and proto-Zoroastrianism. Athens: Kapon editions. google scholar
- Sarianidi, V. (1999). Near Eastern Aryans in Central Asia. Journal of Indo-European Studies, 27(3/4), 295-326. google scholar
- Sarianidi, V. I., & Margus. (2002). Ancient Oriental Kingdom in the Old Delta of the Murghab River. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan: Türkmendöwlethabarlary. google scholar
- Scerrato, G. (1979). Evidence of religious life at Dahan-e Ghulaman, Sīstān. In M. Taddei (Ed.), South Asian archaeology 1977 II (pp. 709-735). Naples. google scholar
- Scerrato, S. (1966). Excavations at Dahan-I Ghulaman: First preliminary report (1962-1963). East and West, 16, (186 – 197). Rome. google scholar
- Schmitt, R. (1991). The Bisitun inscriptions of Darius the Great: Old Persian text. Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. google scholar
- Schippmann, K. (1791). Die iranischen Feuerheiligtümer. Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter. google scholar
- Shenkar, M. (2007). Architecture in the Iranian world before the Macedonian conquest. Iran & the Caucasus, 11(2), 169–194. google scholar
- Shenkar, M. (2014). Intangible spirits and graven images: The iconography of deities in the pre-Islamic Iranian world. Leiden & Boston: Brill. google scholar
- Skjærvø, P. O. (2011). The spirit of Zoroastrianism. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. google scholar
- Stronach, D. (1985). On the evolution of the early Iranian fire temple. In Papers in honor of Prof. Mary Boyce (pp. 479–491). Acta Iranica, 23. google scholar
- Stronach, D. (1978). Pasargadae: A report on the excavations conducted by the British Institute of Persian Studies from 1961 to 1963. Oxford: Clarendon Press. google scholar
- Stronach, D. and Roaf (2007). google scholar
- Tavernier, J. (2021). Peoples and languages. In B. Jacobs & R. Rollinger (Eds.), A companion to the Achaemenids (Vol. I, pp. 39–52). Wiley Blackwell. google scholar
- Taylor, I. (1980). The origin of the Aryans. Scribner & Welford. google scholar
- Tiele, C. P. (1932). The religion of the Iranian peoples (G. K. Nariman, Trans.). Bombay: The Parsi Publishing Co. google scholar
- Vanden Berghe, L. (1983). Reliefs rupestres de l'Iran ancien: Bruxelles, Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, 26 octobre 1983–29 janvier 1984. Bruxelles: Les Musées. google scholar
- Widengren, G. (1965). Die Religionen Iran. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag. google scholar
- Wiesehöfer, J. (2001). Ancient Persia from 550 BC to 650 AD (A. Azodi, Trans.). London & New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers. google scholar
- Wikander, S. (1946). Feuerpriester in Kleinasien und Iran. Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup. google scholar
- Yamamoto, Y. (1979). The Zoroastrian temple cult of fire in archaeology and literature. Orient, 15, 19–53. google scholar
- Livius google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-tomb-iv/achaemenid-tomb-iv-upper-register/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-tomb-i/tomb-i/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/persepolis/persepolis-royal-tombs/persepolis-tomb-of-artaxerxes-iii-upper-register/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/persepolis/persepolis-museum-pieces/xph-daiva-inscription/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/behistun/behistun-darius-relief-and-inscription/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-tomb-iv/achaemenid-tomb-iv-upper-register/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-tomb-iii/tomb-of-darius-the-great-dna/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-tomb-iii/tomb-of-darius-the-great-dnb/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/pasargadae/pasargadae-zendan-of-suleyman/ google scholar
- https://www.livius.org/pictures/iran/naqs-e-rustam/naqs-e-rustam-kabah-e-zardusht/naqs-e-rustam-kabah-e-zardusht/ google scholar
- Garrison, M. (2012). Fire altars. In Encyclopædia Iranica (Vol. IX, No. 6, pp. 613-619). Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ fire-altars google scholar
- Gnoli, G. (2011). Daivadana. In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Retrieved from https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/daivadana-lit google scholar
- CAIS-SOAS google scholar
- http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Zarathushtrian/fire_alters.htm google scholar
- Iranica Online google scholar
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/uploads/files/dahan-fig35.jpg google scholar
- Wikimedia google scholar
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia#/media/File:Naghsh-e_rostam,_Ir%C3%A1n,_2016-09-24,_DD_13.jpg google scholar
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Persepolis_Tomb_of_Artaxerxes_II_Mnemon_%28r.404-358_BCE% 29_Upper_Relief.jpg/1024px-Persepolis_Tomb_of_Artaxerxes_II_Mnemon_%28r.404-358_BCE%29_Upper_Relief.jpg google scholar
Atıflar
Biçimlendirilmiş bir atıfı kopyalayıp yapıştırın veya seçtiğiniz biçimde dışa aktarmak için seçeneklerden birini kullanın
DIŞA AKTAR
APA
İlkkurşun, E.H. (2025). The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period. Anadolu Araştırmaları, 0(32), 120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
AMA
İlkkurşun E H. The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period. Anadolu Araştırmaları. 2025;0(32):120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
ABNT
İlkkurşun, E.H. The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period. Anadolu Araştırmaları, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 32, p. 120-137, 2025.
Chicago: Author-Date Style
İlkkurşun, Elif Hatice,. 2025. “The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period.” Anadolu Araştırmaları 0, no. 32: 120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
Chicago: Humanities Style
İlkkurşun, Elif Hatice,. “The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period.” Anadolu Araştırmaları 0, no. 32 (Aug. 2025): 120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
Harvard: Australian Style
İlkkurşun, EH 2025, 'The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period', Anadolu Araştırmaları, vol. 0, no. 32, pp. 120-137, viewed 29 Aug. 2025, https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
Harvard: Author-Date Style
İlkkurşun, E.H. (2025) ‘The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period’, Anadolu Araştırmaları, 0(32), pp. 120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766 (29 Aug. 2025).
MLA
İlkkurşun, Elif Hatice,. “The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period.” Anadolu Araştırmaları, vol. 0, no. 32, 2025, pp. 120-137. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766
Vancouver
İlkkurşun EH. The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period. Anadolu Araştırmaları [Internet]. 29 Aug. 2025 [cited 29 Aug. 2025];0(32):120-137. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766 doi: 10.26650/anar.32.1575766
ISNAD
İlkkurşun, ElifHatice. “The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period”. Anadolu Araştırmaları 0/32 (Aug. 2025): 120-137. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766