Fire Ritual in Cappadocia

Subject Areas : Historical Archaeology

Şevket Dönmez ¹ , Farshid Iravani Ghadim ²

1 -
2 -

Received: 2023-07-26 Accepted : 2023-07-26 Published : 2007-08-23

Keywords: Zoroastrianism, Achaemenids, Anatolia, Cappadocia, Fire Ritual, Fireplace,

Abstract :

The land of Cappadocia was one of the Achaemenid satrapies in the 6th century BC. During this period, the religion of Zoroastrianism, as well as the tradition of sanctifying fire, which is one of its symbols, became more popular in Cappadocia than in other regions of Anatolia. The prevalence of the fire worship tradition in Cappadocia can have natural causes. One of the most important archaeological evidences for the introduction of the fire sanctity tradition in Cappadocia is a stone fireplace that was found in the mountain region of Arjish (Erciş). The place of discovery of this fireplace is a volcanic territory. On the four sides of the fireplace found in Cappadocia, there is a carved image of a man whose type of clothing and Barsam in his hand indicate him as a Zoroastrian mystic. This fireplace does not have any inscriptions. Therefore, to date and determine its age, it should be compared with similar examples in Iran and other similar engravings. Then it is probably attributed to the end of the 6th century BC and the 5th century BC. The images of Moghan and fireplace and fireplace studied in this article are all archaeological documents and evidences that indicate the existence and prevalence of fire worship and Zoroastrianism in the Late Iron Age in Anatolia.