Religious terminology in Persepolis fortification tablets
Subject Areas : Journal of History (Tarikh)Leila Kochaki Kia 1 , Mehrnaz Behroozi 2
1 - Graduate of Iranian History, University of Science and Research, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Department of Archeology and History, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: gods, Persepolis, fortification tablets, Treasury tablets, ritual terminology,
Abstract :
Ever since the Persepolis clay tablets were read and translated by Hallok and others, various scholars have examined it from linguistic, economic, and geographical perspectives. Among the features studied is the religious feature of the Achaemenid era. The words available in the fortification and treasures of Persepolis help to clarify the religious ambiguities of the Achaemenids. The aim of the research is to recognize and analyze ritual words in Persepolis fortification tablets.The methodology is Descriptive-analytical, historical and documental; After analysis, the following result was obtained: The tablets mention the letters of the gods of different Iranian, Elamite and Akkadian nations together due to the religious tolerance of the Achaemenids and those gods receive the same rations. It also mentions the Babylonian and Elamite priests/Shatin along with the Magus and the guardians of the fire/Hatormakshe, and rations and rewards have been set for them and their temples. They even hold special ceremonies for lan (ceremony) and libation for all the Iranian and non-Iranian gods. In addition, in these tablets, the names of 3 rivers and 3 mountains are also mentioned, for which a ceremony of libation should be performed. It represents the worship and sanctity of the two elements of soil and water by the Achaemenids.
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