Zoroastrianism in Armenia

Zoroastrianismis a religion which has been practiced in theWest Asiancountry ofArmeniasince the fifth century BC. It first reached the country during theAchaemenidandParthianperiods, when it spread to theArmenian Highlands.Prior to theChristianization of Armenia,it was a predominantly Zoroastrian land.^[1]Theyazatas(deities)Mithra(Mihr) andVerethragna(Vahagn) particularly enjoyed a high degree of reverence in the country.^[2]

Name

The name ofZoroaster(Zarathustra) is attested inClassical Armeniansources asZradašt(often with the variantZradešt).^[3]The most important of these testimonies were provided by theArmenianauthorsEznik of Kolb,Elishe,andMovses Khorenatsi.^[3]Elishe also provided the adjectivezradaštakan,meaning "Zoroastrian".^[3]

The spellingZradaštwas generated through an older form which started with*zur-,a fact which the German IranologistFriedrich Carl Andreasused as evidence for aMiddle Persianspoken form*Zur(a)dušt.^[3]Based on this assumption, Andreas made similar conclusions regarding theAvestanform of the name.^[3]However, modern IranologistRüdiger Schmittrejects Andreas's assumption and states that the older form which started with*zur-was influenced by Armenianzur( "wrong, unjust, idle" ), which therefore means that "the name must have been reinterpreted in an anti-Zoroastrian sense by the Armenian Christians".^[3]Schmitt adds: "it cannot be excluded, that the (Parthianor) Middle Persian form, which the Armenians took over (Zaraduštor the like), was merely metathesized to pre-Armenian*Zuradašt.^[3]

The wordMazdaism,a synonym for Zoroastrianism, is also attested in the earliest extant Armenian texts. The 5th-centuryEpic Histories(Buzandaran Patmutʿiwnkʿ), written in Classical Armenian, associatesmagi(mogkʿ,մոգք) with Mazdaism, which its anonymous author callsMazdezn(Մազդեզն,"Mazdean faith" ).^[4]This word is borrowed from Parthian*Mazdayaznand Middle PersianMāzdēsn.^[4]In the 6th century, Elishe preferred to use the wordmogutʿiwnin his texts, which undoubtedly parallels theGeorgianmogobay/moguebay( "Magism", i.e. "Mazdaism, Zoroastrianism" ) as attested in the early Georgian hagiographies.^[5]This feature is also seen in other West Asian languages; inSyriac Christian texts,for example, Mazdaism is usually referred to asmgošūtā.^[6]

History

Zoroastrianism was introduced into Armenia during theAchaemenidera, and it was bolstered during Parthian Arsacid rule.^[7]The terminology, belief and symbolism of Zoroastrianism permeated the Armenian religious mindset and lexicon.^[7]

Extant sources of the Classical period, in addition to native Armenian sources, are used for research into the Zoroastrian Armenian pantheon and the centres of worship.^[8]The Armenologist Sergio La Porta notes inThe Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquitythat six of the eight divinities whose cultic centres were mentioned by the 5th-century Armenian historianAgathangelos"clearly represent Zoroastrianyazatasor divinities worshipped in Armenia ".^[8]Aramazd(IranianAhura Mazda,also known as Ohrmazd) was the head of the Armenian pantheon, and the center of his cult was mainly located at Ani-Kamakh (modernKemah) andBagavan.^[8]The worship ofAnahit(IranianAnahita,also known as Anahid) was dominant in the area of Ekeleats (Acilisene), whereas that ofVahagn(IranianVerethragna,also known as Wahram) was located atAshtishat.^[8]The cult of the divinity ofMihr(IranianMithra) was chiefly located atBagayarich,and it featured greatly in the Armenian religious tradition.^[8]The cult of the godTir(IranianTir) had its temple located atArtashat.^[8]The Semitic goddessNanemay have also been introduced into Armenia with Parthian connections.^[8]

The ancient Greek geographer and historianStrabo(64 or 63 BC –c. AD 24), in hisGeographica,referred to the similarity between Iranian and Armenian religious customs.^[8]

A number of Zoroastrian fire-altars have been discovered in Christian sanctuaries in Armenia.^[9]In various parts of Armenia, Zoroastrianism lingered on for several centuries even after the official adoption of Christianity. TheArsacid dynasty of Armenia,under which Armenia eventually would become a Christian nation, were pious Zoroastrians who invoked Mithra.^[a]^[10]An episode which illustrates the Armenian Arsacids' observance of the cult is the famous journey ofTiridates Ito Rome in A.D. 65–66. Tiridates I, brother ofVologases I of Parthiaand founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, was a Zoroastrian magus or priest.^[11]^[12]

In 53 AD, the Parthian Arsacid dynasty came into Armenia. The king Tiridates I is thought to have done a great amount to spread Zoroastrianism in Armenia.^[13]The Arsacid kings legitimized their rule through the authority of the ZoroastrianyazataVerethragna, the god of victory.^[14]According to ArmenologistJames R. Russell,Zurvanism was the form of Zoroastrianism underYazdagird II(438–457), which he promoted inPersian Armenia.^[15]

TheArmenian calendarshows influences of theZoroastrian calendar.^[16]^[17]

Russell notes that theArmenian crossincorporates influences from Armenia's Zoroastrian past: "The Armenian Cross itself is supported on tongues of flame and has at its center not the body of Christ, but asunburst".^[18]As Zoroastrian traditions were very much integrated into Armenian spiritual and material culture, they survived the zealotry of theSasanianpriestKartir(fl. 3rd century) and his successors, and they were ultimately incorporated into Armenian Christianity.^[18]

The ArmenologistNina Garsoïanstates that—although the Christianization of Armenia separated it from the Zoroastrian world it had once been part of—the Zoroastrian mythology "had sunk so deep in the Armenian popular tradition that early Armenian Christian writers were apparently forced to alter Biblical stories in order to make their evangelizing mission comprehensible to their hearers".^[14]By the second half of the 4th century, thecatholicoi of the Armenian Churchstill officially used the title of Zoroastrian priests (mowbed) namely "Defender of the dispossessed" (Middle Persian: [driγōšān jātakgōw]Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 4) (help),Armenian:ǰatagov amenayn zrkelocʿ).^[14]^[19]However, Armenia post-Christianization gradually withdrew from the Iranian spiritual tradition, and its resistance to Sasanian Zoroastrianism soon also turned into opposition against the Christian national church of the Sasanians, theChurch of the East.^[14]

Arewordikʿ

Reports indicate that there were Zoroastrian Armenians in Armenia until the 1920s.^[20]This small group of Armenian Zoroastrians that had survived through the centuries were known as theArewordikʿ( "Children of the Sun" ).^[18]They had never converted to Christianity and appear to have survived as late as theHamidian massacresand theArmenian genocideat the turn of the 20th century.^[18]Medieval Armenian sources narrate that theArewordikʿwere never converted byGregory the Illuminator,the patron saint and first official head of theArmenian Apostolic Church,and that they had been "infected" by Zradasht (Zoroaster).^[18]TheArewordikʿwere specifically distinguished from Christian sects whose adherents were deemed heretics (such as thePauliciansandTondrakians).^[18]TheArewordikʿhad seemingly taught the Paulicians and Tondrakians "to expose the dead on rooftops instead of burying them", which indicates that burial and exposure of the dead was practiced in Armenia as in Iran.^[18]

TheArewordikʿspoke theArmenian languageand, as Russell notes, revered thepoplarand allheliotropicplants.^[18]Russell adds: "A tree which is either a poplar or acypress,probably the latter, which is particularly revered by the Zoroastrians, appears on anArtaxiadcoin. "^[18]TheArewordikʿArmenians offered sacrifices for the souls of the dead, and the leader of theArewordikʿwas called theHazarpet(cf. IranianHazarbed).^[18]TheArewordikʿwere known to populate five villages in the area ofMardin(present-day southeasternTurkey) in the late 14th century, Mazaka (later renamedKayseri) and others inhabitedSamosata(modernSamsat,Turkey) andAmida(modernDiyarbakır,Turkey).^[18]In the town of Marsovan (modernMerzifon,Turkey), in the early 20th century, the Armenian quarter was known as "Arewordi".^[18]Furthermore, a cemetery outside the town was known as "Arewordii gerezman", and an Armenian owner of a close by vineyard was named "Arewordean", Armenian for "Arewordi-son".^[18]

Controversy, assessment and issues in scholarship

The historian of ancient religionsAlbert de Jongsaid that although theArmeniansand easternGeorgians(referred to asIberiansby Classical authors) were Zoroastrians prior to their conversion to Christianity, this has been vehemently opposed, in particular by Armenian and Georgian scholars, who, de Jong said, "prefer to think of the pre‐Christian religions of the Armenians and Georgians as chiefly 'local' or 'indigenous' traditions, which accommodated some Iranian elements".^[21]De Jong continues:^[22]

They are aided in this interpretation by the fact that the (Christian) Armenian and Georgian sources rarely, if at all, identify the religion of their ancestors before their conversion to Christianity as "Zoroastrianism." These sources either prefer seemingly neutral terms (such as "the religion of our forefathers" ) or polemical ones ( "heathenism" ), but do not label the religion as "Iranian" or "Zoroastrian." Where these terms occur, they refer to the religion of the Persians, chiefly of the Persians as enemies of the Christian Armenians. This fact in itself, while undeniable, is not compelling; on the contrary, it seems to be in harmony with the self‐identifications of most of the Iranians; the wide spread of the term "Zoroastrian" is of post‐Sasanian date and even "Mazda‐worshipping" is mainly used in limited (e.g., imperial and liturgical) contexts. Iranian Zoroastrians seem to have been identified after the Iranian land they came from (Persians,Parthians,Sogdians,etc.), with the Zoroastrian element of their identity self‐understood.

Within this matter, confusion has been created mainly due to the works of historians of Zoroastrianism, who often interpret it as an "identity" dominating all others.^[23]Furthermore, these same historians employ a very tightly restricted delineation of what is "real" Zoroastrianism.^[23]This essentialist definition only closely reflects the Sasanian version of Zoroastrianism.^[23]Many scholars, failing to recognize this fact, have resorted to using this version of the Zoroastrian religion, which is historically and culturally very specific, as a standard by which to consider the evidence for the non-Sasanian versions of Zoroastrianism.^[23]De Jong adds that this approach is not only anachronistic—for example, it measures Parthian Zoroastrianism to standards that existed only after the fall of the Parthian Empire—but also "anatopistic"in disregarding the probability of zonal developments in Zoroastrianism past the borders of the central regions of the Sasanian Empire.^[23]Both are existing problems in relation to Armenian (and Georgian) Zoroastrianism.^[23]Although the extant Zoroastrian evidence from Armenia (and Georgia) is scant and not easy to clarify, it is of major value for questioning the viability of most current methods that assess the history of Zoroastrianism.^[23]

Notes

^"The Parthian Arsacids who came to the throne of Armenia in the first century A.D. were pious Zoroastrians who invoked Mithra as the lord of covenants, as is proper. An episode which illustrates their observance of the cult is the famous journey of Tiridates to Rome in A.D. 65-66."^[10]

References

^Boyce 2001,p.84.
^Curtis 2016,p. 185.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gSchmitt 2002.
^^a ^bRapp 2014,p. 91.
^Rapp 2014,pp. 91–92.
^Rapp 2014,p. 92.
^^a ^bLa Porta 2018,p. 1613.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^hLa Porta 2018,p. 1614.
^Nigosian 1978.
^^a ^bRussell 1987,p. 268.
^Lang 1980,pp. 84, 141, 149: "Though Tiridates was to be a client king of the Romans, Nero rightly judged that his investiture would satisfy the honour of the Parthians as well. Three years later, Tiridates made the journey to Rome. As a magus or priest of theZoroastrianfaith, he had to observe the rites which forbade him to defile water by travelling (...) ".
^Boyce 2001,p. 84: "(...) In 62 A.C. the Parthian king Vologases (Valakhsh) put his younger brother Tiridates on the Armenian throne, and this cadet branch of the Arsacids ruled there into the Sasanian period. Tiridates was himself a strictly observantZoroastrian- Roman sources even call him aMagus- and there is no doubt that during the latter period of the Parthian period Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian adhering land ".
^Hacikyan et al. 2000,p. 70.
^^a ^b ^c ^dGarsoian 2004.
^Russell 1987,pp. 136–138.
^De Jong 2015,p. 124.
^Panaino, Abdollahy & Balland 1990.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^mRussell 1986.
^Garsoïan 1985,pp. 136–138.
^Sanasarian 2011,p.313:"Later, Armenian Christianity retained some Zoroastrian vocabulary and ritual. Reports indicate that there were Zoroastrian Armenians in Armenia until the 1920s".
^De Jong 2015,p. 119.
^De Jong 2015,pp. 119–120.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gDe Jong 2015,p. 120.

Sources

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Garsoïan, Nina G.(1985).Armenia Between Byzantium and the Sasanians(in French). Variorum Reprints. pp. 136–138.ISBN 978-0-86078-166-0.
Garsoian, Nina(2004)."Armeno-Iranian relations in the pre-Islamic period".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition.Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh(2016). "Ancient Iranian Motifs and Zoroastrian Iconography". In Williams, Markus; Stewart, Sarah;Hintze, Almut(eds.).The Zoroastrian Flame Exploring Religion, History and Tradition.I.B. Tauris. pp. 179–203.ISBN 9780857728159.
De Jong, Albert(2015). "Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism". InStausberg, Michael;Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw; Tessmann, Anna (eds.).The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism.John Wiley And Sons Ltd. pp. 119–128.
Hacikyan, Agop Jack;Basma gian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan (2000).The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Volume I: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age.Detroit:Wayne State University Press.ISBN 0-8143-2815-6.
Lang, David Marshall(1980).Armenia, Cradle of Civilization.Allen & Unwin.
La Porta, Sergio (2018)."Zoroastrianism, Armenian".In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
Nigosian, Solomon A. (1978). "Zoroastrianism in fifth-century Armenia".Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses.7(4): 425–434.doi:10.1177/000842987800700407.
Panaino, Antonio; Abdollahy, Reza; Balland, Daniel (1990)."Calendars".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume IV: Bāyju–Carpets XIV.London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 658–677.ISBN 978-0-71009-132-1.
Rapp, Stephen H.(2014).The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature.Routledge.ISBN 978-1472425522.
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Russell, James R.(1987).Zoroastrianism in Armenia.Harvard University, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and National Association for Armenian Studies and Research.ISBN 978-0674968509.
Sanasarian, Eliz (11 November 2011). "Nationalism and Religion in Contemporary Iran". In Roald, Anne Sofie; Longva, Anh Nga (eds.).Religious Minorities in the Middle East: Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation.Brill.ISBN 9004216847.
Schmitt, Rüdiger(2002)."Zoroaster i. The Name".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition.Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.