Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
Parisa Pourhosseini
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Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1
Introduction …………………………………………………………..... 52
Shahnameh …………………………………………………………….. 53
Dualism in Divinity …………………………………………………..... 53
The Collective Origin of Good and Evil in Firdausi’s Words …………. 54
The Extended Reign of Evil over the World …………………………… 55
Fatalism in Shahnameh …………………………….………………..56
Pessimism in Shahnameh …………………………………………... 57
Greed ………………………………………………………………........ 58
The battle of Keyumars and Ahriman ………………………………...... 59
Evil inside human existence in Shahnameh and Zurvanite teachings 62
Judgement ……………………………………………………………… 66
Time and Destiny (Zamāneh and Rouzegār) …………………………... 70
Fate and God-given Fate (Baxt and Bagu Baxt) ……………………….. 73
Spihr, the Sky, Firmaments, and the Celestial Sphere …………………..77
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The Determined Rule …………………………………………………….78
Allotment and Portion ………………………………………………….. 79
The Impact of Good and Vicious Stars on Life ………………………… 81
God's Willing …………………………………………………………… 83
Failure of Abstinence and Knowledge in Preventing Destiny ………..... 87
Transient World and the Necessity of Happiness ……………………. 89
The Other World ……………………………………………………… 97
Conclusion …………………………………………………………… 103
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Introduction
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Jalili Moqhadam 1384: 24
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to come into birth, and within its prevenient Iranian mythology, it unwillingly
paves way for the creation of Ahriman.
This point indicates fatalism as a basic and fundamental element of
Zurvanism, one conquering the intentions and decisions made by deities. The
concept Time or Zurvan is closely associated with destiny. Such insights are
hardly unfamiliar with any moderns; as Jean-Paul Sartre (1353:132) affirms:
‘Time besides Space is of the two determinants of the existence’.
Needless to say, the circulation of night, day, year, and month alongside
their natural manifestations, i.e., the sun, moon, stars, and celestial bodies,
had led ancient Mesopotamian and Persians to perceive a relation between
Time and the heavens and to convictions about the influence the latter exerted
over the universe. Zurvanists pile in on this thread, but also the instability of
human affairs, evil and cruelty, and the ephemeral quality of life are other
concerns of theirs. Moreover, Zurvanism condemns greed and insists on
harmony, moderation, contentment, and encourages its followers to honour
their vows. It reminds followers that there will be an annihilation of the world;
the universe finally dissolves back into the eternity of Zurvan.
Zurvanism has had a profound and continuing influence on the Iranian
sphere of thought. Fatalism though modified with the coming of Islam through
the concept resignation or trust in God, never entirely vanished among
Persians even up to present era, and keeps on reappearing as a long-lasting
effect on beliefs and ideas of the people. Such a durable impression can
obviously be traced from Iranian poets and thinkers of the earlier centuries of
Persian literature, especially with the Khorasani Style. The naturalistic spirit
and ethics of this group of poets derives from an historical intimacy with pre-
Islamic Iran, confirming the persistence of Zurvanian influences.
It is of great importance to explore religious influences in literature. Our
study in this respect is highly relevant to the contemporary situation. Human
beings now live in a dividedly multicultural, technological, and globalized
world. In these days, exploring cultural developments and human relationships
with religion provides insights into the mystery of other cultures, which in itself
opens an inquiry into the philosophical questions concerning life and death,
love and hate, time, space, history, subject and object. The study of the
influences of Zurvanism on post-Islamic Persian literature can be a clue for
unveiling how religion as a cultural and historical phenomenon mobilizes itself
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through time and space and becomes a defining element in a nation’s art and
literature philosopher and a critic who argued that literature can represent
ideology.
This thesis examines the endurance of Zurvani ideas in Persian culture
through considering the works of predominant Khorasani poet and more than
that, it examines the views of Hakim Abdul-Qasim Firdausi or Ferdowsi. In the
extensive amount of Iranian intellectual works, mostly written following the
emergence of Islam, literature plays an important role, this author assumes
that Khorasani school of Persian literature may be the most suitable mean to
recognize the influence of the pre-Islamic mind-set, especially Zurvanism.
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• Fatalism is not the only influence Zurvanism has had over these
poets, but also views about the instability of life, the ‘Epicurean’ way
of living, contentment, harmony, and life lived independently of
thoughts about the afterlife must be included.
• The poets have not been equally influenced by Zurvanism and the
effect varies depending on their mental and social context.
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Literature Review
Very few writings specifically deal with the above research agenda which is a
project only fully opened up by this thesis itself. Prior publications most
pertinent for my research, however, include:
H. Dolatãbãdi, Persian Title in Italics (The Footprint of Zurvan, God of
Fortune and Destiny) (1372)
The author examines the influence of Zurvanism across different periods of
Iranian history. The book explores Zurvanism in Shahnameh to some
degree.
R.C. Zaehner, Zurvãn: a Zoroastrian Dilemma (1972).
In his precious book Zaehner examines Zurvanism very deeply. His focus on
the story of Zál, of great relevance to this thesis, shows how Shahnameh
had been under the influence of Zurvanism. The Magi in this story ask Zál
some questions and his relevant answers all relate to Time, including
Zurvanite ideas. Citing this interaction, Zaehner concludes Firdausi and his
Shahnameh as a true representation of Zurvanism. It will be explained in
what follows, however, that Zurvanism had not been the only source of
inspiration for Firdausi but traces of Zoroastrianism and sometimes
Ash'arite Kalãm can be found in the epic.
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Chapter One
The human mind has always been fascinated by the ‘natural phenomena’
particularly the sky, i.e., the moon, the sun, and stars, which have been
worshipped since ancient times. Relying on this background, including the
belief in solar deity in Afanasevo culture widespread across upper Yenisei
catchment, the Aryans fused their own beliefs and mythologies with those of
developed cultures of the Iranian plateau, including Babylonian astrology. The
result was the belief in the influence of celestial bodies and of astronomical
forces over human life. In addition, concern over 'good' and 'evil' and of
divisive forces (good gods and bad ones) was another consequence that
emerged from familiarity with Mesopotamian civilizations.
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Purusha is described as a primeval giant that is sacrificed in the Indus Valley by
the gods and from his body the world is created.
The world as status quo has come into existence after a primal chaos and
after god’s rebel against their original ‘questionable’ source. Apsu and Tiamat
in Mesopotamia are the original source from which gods and demons are born.
Greek Chronos, Persian Zurvan, and the Purusha in Indian mythology seem to
play the same generative role.
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Wind Deity as Mediator
At this point we should introduce the wind deity as a possible mediator
between older and newer deities. Vāyu, according to the most significant part
of the Avestan Yaŝt, pursues both the creation of Ohrmazd and that of
Ahriman. Already in the Veda, the Zoroastrian Vāyu is regarded as the god of
wind. Ahura Mazda prays to Vāyu and he manifests himself through powerful
forces in supporting creations by both Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. His
personality oscillates between the principle of light and darkness, and becomes
a place of mixture between the powers of good and bad. His role as a good
Vāyu is to protect the soul (Ruvan) of the righteous from the harm of evil.
From this introduction to the character and attributes of the Vāyu as an
important god, we can conclude that cosmologically, he is conceived as an
intermediate space between the kingdoms of light and darkness. The god Vāyu
in Zoroastrianism has a close relationship with Zurvan in Zurvanite system of
belief. In the aforementioned Yasna 30, the two primal spirits are referred to
as twins. The doctrine of the two opposite spirits is more remarkable in Yasna
30.34 where Zoroaster says:
In the beginning, the two spirits who are the well-endowed twins were
known as the one good, and the other evil, in thought, word, and deed.
Between them the wise chose the good, not so the fools. In addition,
when those spirits met, they established in the beginning life and the
absence of life that in the end the evil should meet with the worst
existence, but the just with the Best Mind.
The structure of the duality of good and evil god surely witnesses to a west
Asian comparability or perhaps mythical influence in Iranian mythology, with
the mediating role of the Wind confirming this. But the good/evil duality in
Iranian thinking about divinity becomes so dominant that the whole Universe
is divided into Ahuric/Ahrimanic spheres. The very act of developing a concept
of good and evil that encompasses the whole Universe, both in its material and
spiritual existence, is distinctly Iranian ontological trait, quite new and without
any background in the sphere of human thought.
These beliefs in good and evil deities, originating from a Mesopotamian
tradition, finds a specially significant position in Iranian thought, resulting in
two dominant and magnificent gods, one of whom, Ahura Mazda, fashions
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goodness and the other, Ahriman, creates evil; “Ahriman, symbolically
presented in Zoroaster’s Gathas as the creator and the headmaster of vicious
forces, is a new Iranian conception.”
Within its dualistic ontology, Zoroastrianism confirms the independent
existence of two dominant divine beings, one good and one evil, engaged in a
continuous battle that ends eventually, after the twelve-thousand-year period,
with the victory of Ahura Mazda. Matter and material substances such as
water and fire are highly respected as are considered to be 'sacred', and life
and its endowments are also appreciated as well. And even with Zurvanian,
later on, which also accepting the battle between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman,
Zurvan - God of gods – this outlook is endorsed and imported into belief in a
primal generating God-Father.
There was no doubt about these Zoroastrian ideas, though whether they
go back to Zoroaster himself is another matter. In the small anonymous
Zoroastrian/Mazdaean treatise Pand Namak i Zartusht (The Book of Counsels
of Zardusht) (fourth century CE) we read, “I did not come from the spirit, nor
was I always from the world. I was created, and have not (always) been, I
belong to Ohrmazd, not to Ahriman.” It should be firmly believed that there
are two principles, one of which is the Creator and the other is the Destroyer.
Zoroastrianism separated its system of beliefs from all other religions in terms
of a fundamental issue, i.e., the unity of the Creator of the world.
Zoroastrianism is a dualism of two recoiling spiritual and ethical forces of light
and darkness, even if not a cosmological dualism of spirit and matter.
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as the father of the two. However, there is no distinct source to find out his
name. He is the very God-Father whose manifestations are infinite Time and
Space.”
Zurvan in Zoroastrianism is in no sense a god of light, but Ohrmazd
(Ahura Mazda) seems to be the father of light. In the Manichaean system,
mixing Zoroastrianism and Christian Gnosticism, Ohrmazd (as Ohrmazd Bay) is
not a supreme god but the god-man who could create greatness to be sent to
fight evil. In any case, the figure of Zurvan in Zurvanism is very different from
the principal subject of Zoroastrian thought.
In his representations in Zoroastrian texts we find signals of two different
opinions. Zurvan has been mentioned in Yaŝt, Vandidad 19-20, and Khorda
Avesta. In Aban Yaŝt, sections 129 and 30, the term Zurvan indicates unknown
Time, signifying that Zurvan was under the command of God. In contrast, in the
hymns of Farvardin and Zamyad Yaŝts, holding a position highly unusual for the
Avesta, Zurvan is absolute time, and in Yasna Zurvan he is depicted as infinite
time that must be praised. One needs to do some historical investigation to
explain the puzzle of this divergence.
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political structure of the Sassanied period, the connection of Zurvanism in the
Sassanian Empire with power of empire was appeared. It is accepted,
however, that Zurvanism and Mazdaism were formed as two branches of
Zoroastrianism rather than two opposing faiths. Shaul Shaked in “The Myth of
Zurvan, Cosmogony and Eschatology”, mentioned “ it seems that zurvanism
evolved probably by Persian Magi, in the fifth century BC”. He expressed that
Zurvanism as a heresy can poses no meaning except in relation to Orthodoxy
itself. But in reviewing the ancient religions in the bizarre land of Iran, we find
that few sources regarding Zurvanism are left available. Therefore, with these
scattered pieces of information, it is clearly difficult to make statements about
Zurvanism. The lack of prominent spiritual figures means that the heresy of
Zurvanism remained in relative darkness.
Information on the Zurvanite philosophy though, is passed down to the
present to some extent. The main sources are Pahlavi sources, and besides
Graeco-Roman authors such as Eudemus of Rhodes (c. 370-300 BCE) can be
found polemical reports from Armenian and Syrian Christians, especially, Eznik
of Piston and acts of martyrs. The first evidence of Zurvanism lies with the
Aristotelian (or Peripatetic) Eudemus of Rhodes whose information dates back
to the fourth century BCE, in the late Achaemenid period. He notes that some
call “the Whole of that which is intelligible” a unified place, and others call it
time, and from this both a good god and evil demon have separated. His
description clearly refers to two interpretations of time and space and the
separation of good and evil spirits.
As for Christian sources, Bishop Theodorus described a prevalence of
Zurvanite theological ideas among the Magi in ancient Persia. He lived in Cilicia
close to Syrian cultural world where the Zurvanite mythology had been
preserved. The concept of Zurvan was also noted in Hellenistic literature and
Jewish books. A large group of Jews lived under the Achaemenid Empire and
the empire treated different religions with tolerance. Under the Achaemenids
there was a certain affinity was accepted between Jewish and Iranian religions,
and Jews had no difficulty in learning about the notions of Zoroastrianism and
other faiths. The close relationship between Zoroastrians and Jews could have
easily been exposed to the religion of the rulers. According to Norman Cohn,
Judaism was influenced primarily by Zurvanism and an odd version of
Zoroastrianism which had become official religion under the Achaemenids
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since Darius the Great. He explains a wide range of elements common
between Zurvanism and Judaism. Zurvanism was a monist religion that was
more accepted by the Jewish system of beliefs with one god above all evils and
good. Zurvan in many respects has close affinity with the Jews’ non-
anthropomorphic Yahweh. The religious transformations of Achaemenid era
was having lots of influence on the original Zoroastrian dualist scheme based
on the absolute opposition of good and evil in the Gathas, including the hymns
ascribed to Zoroaster, where the twin spirits were earlier identified. The
Supreme God, Ohrmazd, was gradually equated with the holy one of the twin
spirits. The new Zoroastrian dualist formula is reported by Aristotelians, yet
while the Magi believed in the existence of two principles of two spirits,
Eudemus of Rhodes claimed he reported, [to reiterate] another form of
Magian religion. Still; for him some kind of dualism, he called it “the Whole
intelligible and unity of universe space or time.”
Considering the Eudemus’s interest, the influence of the Hellenistic
philosophy and their supposed counterparts in the new Persian heresy [sect] of
Zurvanism should be considered. The Greek philosophical systems probably
had an important role in forming the doctrine of Zurvanism. Behind Hellenistic
philosophy and Zurvanism lie early and common beliefs about celestial bodies
and the face of nature. The Zurvanite cosmogony was partly an adoption of an
antecedent Hellenistic philosophy. In fact, it was the Greeks who strictly
speaking, posed for first time the question of the origin and the nature of evil
in philosophical terms. Even in the traditional religion of Hellenic civilisation
and its characterisation of gods, it seemed that evil preceded the deity Zeus,
who was introduced as the king of the gods and brought good order after the
chaos of Kronus. The Indo-European name, Zeus, means “Sky Father” who
could bring lightning, hail, and roaring winds as well as kindly light and fertile
rains. In Hellenistic mythology, moreover, there is the dual nature of spirit and
matter which for a long time was discussed by Greek philosophers. The Ionians
in particular and in their special way were interested in defining the origin of
the world and its transformations. Denying any real and intrinsic essence of
terrestrial objects, Plato, the father of idealist philosophy, argued that evil does
not have a real existence at all, but results from lack of perfection and
privation. He expressed that the world of Ideas is perfect, wholly real and
good, but the phenomenal world cannot adequately reflect the world of ideas.
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Therefore the world is less real, less good, and as a result, more evil; evil was
recognized as the lack of vitality and health.
It seems that the idea of lack of perfection as the cause of evil was
adopted by Zurvanite theology to comprehend the problem of thinking about
evil cosmologically. Hellenistic philosophy and theology influenced thinking
about evil in many religions and ‘cults’ as much as mythology continued to do.
Theology, with cosmology, the deliberate effort to explain the origins of the
world and good and evil, became widespread in the Hellenistic period. Most of
the Greek philosophers did not establish a clear referable principle of good and
evil, which itself caused much confusion. But the religious aspects of Hellenistic
philosophy later influenced Jewish and Christian thought, as well as the
Zurvanite doctrine, and important developments concerning clearer moral
choices resulted. The problem of evil principle had to be solved among
philosophers of that time. Philo, eventually, drew heavily upon the Greek
philosophers, especially Plato, and succeeded in synthesizing Greek and Jewish
doctrines in a mode that was later imitated by the Christian Apologists. The
Hebrew deity Yahweh was introduced by Philo in Greek as the Lord of
goodness and one who imposes forms upon matter. Matter is unruly, to the
extent that it resists the God’s agency and can be considered evil. Philo
assumes that the material world is the source of evil.
When Hellenistic philosophers (ca. 400BCE- 100CE) made their effort to
explain the mystery of evil, they brought with them negative views of matter.
As a result, through philosophical and literally endeavours, Hellenistic
philosophy obtained a generalized and ethical view of good and evil. Whether
speaking of a high god, the philosophers impersonal deity, or even Philo’s
supreme being from the Jewish tradition, God wishes to create a good and
orderly cosmos, but he is restricted by the existence of matter. It is usually
understood that Greek philosophies with this orientation had a great influence
on forming a principle of evil in Zurvanism.
If the initial popularity of Zurvanism, as Christensen believes, traces
back to Achaemenid era, Walter Bruno Henning, Scholar of Middle Iranian
Languages, believes that its rise happened in the second half of Achaemenid
era. And according to Zaehner, a group of magi, who due to illegalization of
Satanism (Daeva-yasna) under Xerxes, had immigrated to Asia Minor and
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Mesopotamia took with them some Babylonian maxims by which they
developed a religion which emanated
As for the learned Mary Boyce, she attributes the popularity of Zurvanism to
the inclination of Darius II (423-405 BCE) and his wife to the religion. She also
emphasizes the significant role that Ardashir II (383-379 BCE) played in
popularizing the doctrine.
There are some Greek texts that point to prevalence of Zurvanism
during the Achaemenid era. What the Neoplatonist Damascius (ca. 458-538 CE
) has quoted from Eudemus of Rhodes (ca. 375-300 BCE) manifests this idea:
“The entire contemplative sphere of the reason is called by the Magi
sometimes Time and sometimes Space... It results in a distinction between
Ohromasdes of Light and Ahrimanius of Darkness.”
The Parthians
There is no original first-hand documentation from Parthian times that admits
the prevalence of Zurvanism. Only studying local beliefs in Asia Minor and
Roman Empire has led some scholars to this conclusion. There is an epigraph of
Antiochus II of Commagene indicating his belief in a religion similar to Iranian
cults:
Regardless of the names of some Iranian gods noted in the epigraph,
Opeiros Chronos has been mentioned so that it takes a position higher
than Ohrmazd-Zeus. The Infinite Time, he stated somewhere else,
determines the destiny of his people...
Mithraism practised in the Roman Empire also reflects the importance and
influence of Zurvanist tendencies. The Supreme God in Mithraism is called Ion-
Chronos who represents Zurvan. The point signifies that contemporaneous
with popularity of Mithraism throughout Europe, Iranians used to worship
Zurvan to a great extent; hence Mithraic myths had been under the influence
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of Zurvanite myths. This idea comes into mind because if Mithraic myths had
been influenced by the Mazdean religion, Jupiter (Ahura Mazda) would have
found an upper hand over the gods rather than Ion-Chronos (Zurvan). Another
noteworthy point is that “Time in Mithraic epigraphs has been characterized
by the epithet 'Devourer', indicating its affiliation with death, which is a
Zurvanite belief.”
The Sassanids
Historical evidence confirms different religious tendencies throughout the
Sassanid Empire. Christianity in the western realm of the Empire had extended
to Shām (Levant, Syria) and Mesopotamia. There were some inclinations
towards Indian religions such as Buddhism, but they were viewed as threats to
the religion traditionally supported by the Sassanids. Moreover, there were
many religious divisions and cults inside Iranian society at the time.
Armenian Christian Eznik of Kolb categorized the major religions of the
Sassanid Empire into three categories:
Some believe in two principles: good and bad, some believe in three
principles: good, bad, and the just, and there is another group that
believes in seven principles…’
Though it may be very difficult to guess the identity of the group believing in
seven principles, it is clear that follower of ‘two principles’ were traditional
Mazdaists, and followers of ‘three principles’ believed in a good god, Ahura
Mazda, an evil one; Ahriman, and a medium god, Zurvan or Mehr, these
obviously being Zurvanite. The Denkard, a key book of Zoroastrian principles
and practices of Sasanian times, has depicted three religious tendencies: “first,
Yatukih or witchcraft, a cult that regards the Creator as completely powerless.
Second, a pseudo-religion that regards the creator as both kind and ineffective
at the same time. The third is Mazdyasn or the religion of Mazda-worshippers
who regard the Creator as omnipotent, Gracious, and completely free of evil.
The place of Zurvanism in this category is not clear, although perhaps it could
be said that Zuirvanism is caricatured in the second case.
In his Zurvanite Doctrine, Moghadam studies the rise and fall of
Zurvanite ideas under the Sassanids and examines six theories concerning the
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changing situations, the first theory is from Zaehner, who detects cyclical
impulses of Zurvanism under the Sassanids. This religion, Zaehner states, had
experienced rises and falls. During some periods it reaches a peak gaining
popularity, and in some periods it is pushed aside by the traditional Mazdean
religion under which Zurvanism is forced to remain under. The cycle was as
follows: Mazdean religion under Ardashir I was renewed through cooperation
with Tansar. In a period of his life, when Zurvanism was a dominant religion,
Ardashir I tended to Manichaeism. Mazdaism under Bahrām I responded and
seized power. Under the guidance of Kartir, principal Mazdean criteria were
ratified, hence making it also the dominant religious order of its time.
Thereafter, all other religions were proscribed and their followers were
prosecuted. Shapur II adopted the same policy and established a council to
solve religious disputes. The council approved traditional dualist Mazdaism and
re-confirmed it as the official religion of the Empire. Zurvanites under
Yazdegerd I staged a comeback through his vizier Mihr-Narseh, said to be a
Zurvanite. Under Khosrow I, the traditional religion re-gained popularity,
though he later sought reconciliation and somewhat mitigated the hardships
that Zurvanism had to endure. After Khosrow I, the general social situation
experienced a period of chaos because the main religious tendency of the
Empire was in fact not clear to anyone.
A second theory that of Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, holds that the
Sassanid kings were adherent to traditional Mazdean religion while Zurvanite
religion was popular among lower classes. A Third group of researchers,
including Anquetil du Perron, Henrik Nyberg, and Christensen, besides Richard
Frye and Boyce, refer to Greek texts that consider Zurvanism as the dominant
tendency under the Sassanids.
Ardashir I declared Zoroastrianism as his religion and commanded all
those scattered teachings to be brought to the court. Further, Shapur I, son of
Ardashir, collected those writings scattered throughout India, the Byzantine
Empire, and other lands, including the scripts on medicine, astronomy,
movement, time, space, substance, creation, becoming, death, and other
processes and phenomena. He ordered those teachings to be added to Avesta.
This way, he aligned all systems with the Mazdean religion. It seems Shapur I
desired to broaden his religion by developing religious ceremonies through the
introduction of foreign materials from Greek and India, including works on
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astronomy, time, space, the process of becoming, decline, and alteration which
were reminiscent firstly of Aristotle and secondly of Zurvanism. All this huge
additional body of materials was branded as Zoroastrianism in the Greek
speaking world, but in fact it was made up mostly of Zurvanite literature. The
terms “Time and Space” indicate that Shapur himself had probably inclined to
Zurvanism. He sought to give scriptural authority to the new alien religion. The
similarities between Zurvanism and Manichaeism have been noticed, but it
may be true that most of the elements in Zurvanism come from Western
Christian heretical and Gnostic sources.
Another theory discussed by both Zaehner and Boyce concerns the
probability of geographical development of religions. Referring to original
Manichean works and examining the names of the gods in this religion that
differ geographically, Zaehner defines north Parthian religion as traditional
Mazdaism and describes Zurvanism as the dominant Persian religion of
southwest.
Another theory and one not without favour from aforementioned
Duchesne-Guillemin, regards the Sassanid kings as Mazdean. Jes Peter
Asmussen has also accepted the same theory. Per contra, Henning believes
that Zurvanism had flourished in second half of Parthian era and was then
suppressed by the Sassanids, eventually to be succeeded by Mazdean dualism.
Yet another theory takes Zurvanism merely as a philosophical attitude. In a
view partly shared by Asmussen, Frye treats Zurvanism as an intellectual
orientation among some clergy engaged in theoretical discussions on ‘evil’ and
does not consider it a sect. Zurvanism, but rather, he believes, “nothing else
but a set of thoughts and reflections about Time.” As a philosophical and
natural explanation of creation of the world, we find that, in the pre-existing
tranquillity before the Creation, Zurvan or the Infinite Time creates Ohrmazd
and Ahriman through mixing the two elements, water and fire, and then they
launch out the Creation. There are, however, many more mystical and
symbolic aspects covered by mythological explanation of Creation in
Zurvanism.
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the myth to show the presumed weakness of Iranian thoughts in his
theological arguments with Zoroastrian priests (420sCE). The second narrative
has been quoted from native heresiologist Shahrastani who mentioned
Zurvanite beliefs in his Kitāb al–Milal wa al-Nihal (The Book of Sects and
Creeds) (1130s), while discussing thoughts of different sects. Like Eznik, he
regards the Zurvanite myth a childish story, though it might contain some
realities of what had been imprinted in people’s mind in a symbolic way.
A summary of what Eznik and some Christian sources have narrated is as
follow:
At a time when there existed nothing, neither sky nor the Earth, the
great God Zurvan whose name means fate or fortune existed alone.
Zurvan desired having an offspring whose name would be Ohrmazd and
would create heaven and hell, and had been making sacrifice for this
through one thousand years. Towards the end of this period, Zurvan
began to doubt the efficacy of sacrifice, wondering what the result of his
sacrifice would be and whether he would have a child by the name of
Ohrmazd or was just making useless efforts. In a moment of this doubt,
Ohrmazd and Ahriman were conceived: Ohrmazd for the sacrifice and
Ahriman for the doubt. Upon realizing that twins were to be born, Zurvan
promised himself: the one who springs to me first, I’ll make him the king.
Ohrmazd perceived his paternal decision and revealed it to his brother.
Ripping open the womb, then, Ahriman emerged first. Zurvan asked:
“Who are you?” “I am your offspring, Ohrmazd,” he answered. Zurvan
replied: “My child is bright and fragrant while you are dark and foul.” He
then burst into tears. While they were talking to each other, Ohrmazd
appeared brightly and fragrantly. Encountering him, Zurvan found out
that he is his offspring, Ohrmazd, the one for whom he had sacrificed.
Giving Ohrmazd the twigs of “barsom,” Zurvan told him: “Heretofore I’ve
been sacrificing for you, and from now on you will do it for me!” Even
then, Ahriman got close and said: “Were you not the one who promised
to give kingship to the one who would emerge first?” Zurvan conceded:
“Oh, malevolent evil! You’ll be given the kingship for nine thousand
years, but Ohrmazd will conquer your ultimately. However, after nine
thousand years, he would rule and would do everything as his
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benevolent wish.” Ohrmazd created the sky and the Earth and whatever
beauteous and right. On the other hand, Ahriman created the devils and
anything bad and untrue. Ohrmazd created wealth (blessing) while
Ahriman created poverty (adversity)…
Some have come to an idea that the “Light” created everything from light,
all spiritual, bright and deistical; however the greater existent whose
name was Zurvan hesitated over one thing amongst creatures, so
Ahriman came into birth due to his doubt. Some others believe that
Zurvan had been murmuring for 9999 years to conceive a son but he did
not. Therefore, he wondered whether his knowledge was not efficient
and proper. A [single] grief was brought about by his thought, so Ahriman
came into existence due to this grief while Ohrmazd was created from his
knowledge, while both were conceived in the same womb. Ohrmazd was
more likely to be born first but Ahriman played a trick to rip his mother's
womb. So he emerged prior to Ohrmazd and conquered the world…
22
light. Zurvan’s doubt might be a source of embarrassment in that could be the
manifestation of an essential defect in the godhead and it is exteriorized in the
existence of Ahriman.
Zurvan is the father of good and evil alike. Therefore, he is the source for
both light and darkness. As Shahrastani emphasized, Ahriman arose from the
single reflection and Ohrmazd arose from his wisdom.
There are lots of issues regarding this particular phase of Zurvanite myth. Is
Zurvan perfect or is he imperfect? If he is perfect, he must be capable of
creating heaven and earth and he should not need a son to create those for
him, and if he is in fact imperfect, then there must be an entity superior to
him.
Shahrastani explained that the reason for this sacrifice is the thought of
Zurvan about a son. But a hard issue is this: to whom did Zurvan offer sacrifice?
Eznik states that this sacrifice was made to fortune or a hypostasis of him.
Thus, according to this restriction of Zurvan as described by Eznik, fate or
fortune is what Zurvan made his sacrifice to. The gender of Zurvan is another
issue, because a female element certainly needs to be present beside Zurvan.
The only conceivable explanation in this matter is that Zurvan is in fact
hermaphroditic.
In the post-Sassanian Zoroastrian text Ulama i Islam, Zurvan does not
give birth to Ohrmazd and Ahriman directly, but he primarily creates fire and
water, and when he brings these two ‘elements’ together Ohrmazd comes into
existence as the result. The evolution of the world of nature, the material
cosmos comes into a finite time from infinite time and space, as a passage
from potency to act.
In the original Zurvanite myth, Zurvan himself armed the two spirits with
their respective weapons. The two moral spirits are both finite, and the
omniscience of Ohrmazd is also finite. It means perhaps that the prescience of
Ohrmazd is bounded by ‘natural law,’ which can be broken by neither side in
the cosmic battle. .
Both Mazdean and Zurvanite doctrine held “Infinite Time” to be in some
way superior to Ohrmazd. But Zurvanites make a mythical figure of time that is
superior to Ohrmazd and Ahriman, and controls the inexorable fate of
Ohrmazd. However, the issue should be considered as to how Ohrmazd creates
23
a good creative deity from the forcible course of fate which stands beyond him
and evil.
It is recognized that Zurvanism survived among Iranians through the late
Achaemenid period until the Sassanid era. Therefore, in six hundred years, this
local religion persisted in the consolidation of its philosophy. It should be
considered that the dualism in Sassanid thought was the main factor leading to
the formation of Zurvanism. Based on this Persian dualism, Ohrmazd is
described in passages of the Avesta and Pahlavi books. He is regarded as the
creator of good things and all the good creations are attached to him. The term
Ahriman is exclusively discussed in Zoroastrian dualism and is one of the
entanglements in Zoroastrian doctrine. Ohrmazd resembles light more than
anything else and Ahriman is the symbolism of a negative entity.
According to traditions of the Magi, there are few subjects in the history
of the study of Zoroastrianism that have been changed as dramatically as
Zurvanism. In fact, Zurvanism was recognized as the most important tendency
within Zoroastrianism, and as one of the main contributing factors in formation
of Gnosticism in general and for Manichaeism in particular.
However, the Pahlavi books have frequently referred to Zurvanism as
heretical, especially in (Pahlavi-translated) in which, Avesta makes compromise
with the Denkard and Ulema-i Islam. All references to Zurvanism refer to the
name of Zurvan as unlimited time and space, and Fate over all creations. It is
clearly emphasized that Zurvan has his basis in dichotomies such as good and
evil, male and female, light and darkness, bliss and misery, order and chaos. In
fact, Ohrmazd and Ahriman (Evil) are the two different halves of Zurvan that
were separated by the act of generation.
Despite a naturalistic explanation of the Creation narrated by Denkard
and Ulema-i Islam, Eznik and Shahrastani as the two most famous heresy-
hunters, have chosen subjective and metaphysical aspects, especially
Shahrastani who focused on the conscientiousness of Zurvan, or perhaps more
specifically the unconsciousness of Zurvan and the respective influence these
states may have over the creation of Ohrmazd and Ahriman. Both these
interpreters, in any case, want to focus on the most important topic regarding
divinity in monotheist schools of thought, the nature of God and Gods own
omniscience. This issue we will discuss through following sections.
24
Imperfect Origin of the Creation
The most important issue in Zurvanite myth of the Creation is Zurvan's doubt
which could be an implication that imperfection plays a significant role in
Zurvanite ontology. Human attitudes towards existence, good and evil, destiny
and freedom, greed and contentment vary according to a concept of perfect
and imperfect god and this issue needs explanation.
Zurvan in pre-existing tranquillity is infinite, regardless of any form of
determination. But there is something inherent at work here that causes
motion and reflection. This is what mythologists recognize as a tendency to be
creative, which automatically leads to a sense of imperfection. Thus, as
Shahrastani states it “A group of Zurvanites believe in something wicked
appended to Great God, a wicked thought or putrefaction wherein the Satan
inhabits.” Energy and mobility comes from somewhere inside Zurvan that must
be necessarily imperfect. Energy moves around to compensate for his
impotence and the very motion causes reflection. Zurvan comes to understand
that in spite of his magnificence and eminence, his qualities are meaningless
for there is no audience for his magnificence. He, then, demands Creation.
Ohrmazd takes shape through Zurvan's consciousness from whom the
terrestrial world emanates. This, however, results in another development:
Ahriman. Ahriman himself is a by-product of Creation and at the same time an
immediate result of Zurvan's doubt and unawareness, for Zurvan hesitated
over the futility of his own demand and desire. “In Zurvanism,” writes Zaehner,
“decline and degeneration are not created by humans; it derives from a fault
especially at the heart of God himself, i.e. for “not relying on himself.”
25
emergence of evil in the world derives from a fault in Zurvan’s essence;
therefore, in order to eliminate evil, he has to devote himself. Such devotion is
symbolized in myth as one thousand years of sacrificing, yet this does nothing
than bringing about a Finite Zurvan.
Zurvan mythology talk about a symbolic and determined one-thousand–
year period. Limiting some part of him to a countable and determined time,
Zurvan provides for material circumstances of the Creation before creating
Ohrmazd, who has to undertake population of the world. In other words,
Zurvan does so partly by sacrificing himself. One thousand years is simply a
symbolic number, representing the state of transition from Infinite Zurvan to
Finite Zurvan.
According to Zurvanite myths, the emergence of finite time precedes
the creation of Ohrmazd and Ahriman, which “appears to have taken place in
eternity, for the limitation of Time is coincident with the act of creation. Rather
perhaps it should be regarded as occurring in a sort of twilight between
eternity and temporality, between ‘being’ and ‘manifestation’.”
Some Mazdean-Zoroastrian texts such as Bundahishn and Ulema-i Islam,
in contrast, do not support such a theory regarding the existence of Ohrmazd
as posterior to Finite Time. According to Bundahishn “by the time Ohrmazd
emanated all the creatures, Zurvan i derang-xvatdy was the first who came out
because Time was, before amalgamation, entirely infinite from which Ohrmazd
emanated Finite Time.” Ulema-i Islam likewise has it that “Ohrmazd emanated
Zurvan (Time) i derang-xvatdy, which lasts for twelve thousand years.”
Zat-Sp[a]ram, believed to be a Zurvanite text, and the Zoroastrian
Denkard, however, both have a Zurvanite idea according to which Zurvan i
derang-xvatdy is independent from Ohrmazd and Ahriman:
26
But here Time merely helps the two Spirits, and is not their creator. But even in
Zurvanite theology itself, “time is limited by the very act of Infinite Zurvan
determining the limited time for Ahrimanic domination and contending with
him at first. Zurvan in Zurvanite doctrine takes a determinant character which
is the very limited *beside+ celestial time.” To help and put this in perspective,
the maxim of time infinity and its secondary finitude has been mentioned in
the Denkard: “Time is originally infinite, then it is confined… *The+ Time
formula is a transition from primal infinity which implies movement and
transportation.”
The very determination and mobility from infinity to finitude causes an
inherent imperfection inside Zurvan, hence the second step by which Ahriman,
due to Zurvan's unawareness, comes into existence and makes this fault
clearer. The Infinite and undetermined Zurvan wanted to make the Creation
possible. In doing so he had to waive some parts of himself, which meant in a
sense imperfection. The birth of Ahriman and Ohrmazd was a result of this
transaction in which each of them undertook his own ‘deistical’ responsibility.
On the other hand, the determined Time or Zurvan i derang-xvatdy, which is
the terrestrial body of Infinite Time and similar to the Universe (Spihr),
therefore had to be treated as a material context inside which Ahriman and
Ohrmazd perform their acts.
However, for Zurvanists it is more important to concentrate on Infinite
Zurvan (Zurvan Akarana) as primary, then the Finite one and the Zurvan-
Universe relationship. Infinite Zurvan, in R.C. Zaehner's word can be described
as:
Zurvan, as Time and Space, is infinite; and nothing is infinite but him. He
is at the same time ‘un-circumscribed in space and boundless in essence:
and there is no other place or abode that is devoid of him.’ He is ‘that
without which nothing from the first’ is. Nothing can exist without him
or separate from him. But so far as he is infinite he cannot be
understood. He cannot be comprehended by any intellect; likewise, he
cannot be comprehended by the intellect of God. Being infinite, his
essence is incomprehensible even to himself; he cannot know himself
since it is meaningless to say that he knows his own infinite essence by
an infinite intellect... He is undying, without pain, un-corrupting and un-
27
decaying, safe from assault, and for ever and ever no one can violate
him nor deprive him of his sovereignty in his proper sphere…
Finite Time, however, is the terrestrial manifestation of Infinite Time and the
mean and cause of all existence;
Zurvan himself made finite is primarily the material Cosmos, the so-
called ‘endless form,’ animated, it is true, by the Spirit of the Power of
the Word which proceeds from Ohrmazd and essentially appears as the
material macrocosm and manifesting himself through the operation of
fate. He is embodied in the Cosmos, but is also the law by which the
Cosmos works. This law manifests itself in the treaty which Zurvan
makes between Ohrmazd and Ahriman. He gives each of the
protagonists his appropriate arm and settles the rules for the combat.
His law favours neither good nor evil. The law of Time is simply to
proceed from original infinity through limitation involving action, motion
and passage, and finally to return to ultimate infinity…
28
Spihr is “the seat of the stars and therefore controls the fate of man ... after
the limitation, Spihr is strictly the starry firmament and Vāy the space within it.
Matter moves in Vāy but is controlled by Spihr.” Space and Place are the
embodied representation of Time wherein the stars and terrestrial life
function. This is what is called Spihr or the Sky which is in fact the material
body of Zurvan i derang-xvatdy.
Most scholars have come to a consensus that Zurvan, Vāyu, and the Sky
are the same. Benevenist confirms the unity between Sky and Zurvan.
Widengren regards Vāyu and Zurvan as aspects of a unique god as well.
Vāy and Thwāsha, according to Nyberg, are existential aspects of Zurvan
or synecdochically some of his epithets…
Zurvan in the Zurvanite text Menog-i Xrad is God of Destiny and the cause for
emanation;
You must know that destiny, fortune, and pre-destined fate manage and
direct everything in the world and Zurvan himself is the absolute leader
and derang-xvatdy…
29
Regarding the special essence of Zurvan (Time), destiny, even prior to
determination and finitude, remember in Zurvanist thought he rules over his
own existence yet still causes Ahriman to come into being. This is the condition
that even makes even “the *ideal+ kingdom of Jam to appear as vulnerable,” as
Hafez famously wrote.
There is, obviously, a subtle difference between the Zoroastrian-Mazdean
narrative of fatalism and the Zurvanite one. Zurvanite destiny has got
dominance over the whole celestial and terrestrial aspects of life. Wealth,
marriage, children, art, race, birth and even objects show tendency towards
good or evil are all ruled or are at least influenced by fate and destiny. Human
endeavours and work are even under the dominance of destiny. “To extend
the empire of fate into this province is to deprive man of any power over his
own spiritual destiny, and apparently this is what Zurvanism did.”
Fate in Zurvanite philosophy is presented as a lord or king over all
humanity and things. In terms of effort, if it is not favoured by time, it will be
fruitless on the earth, though in the spiritual world, time comes to a man’s aid
and will redress the balance. It seems that the goal of universe is simply the re-
absorption of the finite into the infinite, and hell is only temporary and will
come to an end at the termination of the cosmic cycle. Fate rules over good
and bad, right and wrong, salvation and damnation, rewards and punishment,
neither with moral values, nor with the energy of the soul, that means such an
overly powerful force on earth and a fatalist determinism from which none
shall escape.
The twelve zodiacal signs in Zurvanite fatalist point of view are
commanders of Ohrmazd, while the seventh planets, sun, moon, and five
known planets are recognized as commanders of Ahriman. Those seven
planets oppress the creation and escort them to their death and all kinds of
evil. The stress on the twelve is in contradiction to Zoroastrian’s philosophy.
The emphasis on astrology and fatalism is the sign of strong influence of
Babylonian and Assyrian’s ideas on the Zurvanite philosophy. One of the major
scholars claims Zurvanism influenced Zoroastrian religion with impetus from
Babylonian and later Greek religions. Babylonia in southern plain and Assyria in
the north of the modern Iraq were ancient kingdoms in Mesopotamia that
shared borders with Persia. It is well known that astrology had strong effects
on Zurvanism, as the philosophy based on twelve zodiacal symbols had on it,
30
as emerged from Assyrian and Babylonian astronomical lore. The doctrine of
the overwhelming power of fate was driven from these cultural completes.
The first significant astrological system was organized by the Babylonians
in 2000 BC. This creation has been recorded in the written papers which were
kept in the library the Assyrian King Assurbanipal in Nineveh (650 BC), a
collection containing some 70 tablets of astrological texts in early cuneiform. In
addition, there are evidences of an establishing of astrological schools in the
neo-Babylonian Empire. Babylonian astronomy was the ground for many
astronomical traditions, which were developed later in the Greek, Hellenistic,
Sassanid, Syrian, Byzantine, Medieval Islamic and western European
astronomies. The twelve zodiacal divisions originated from Babylonian
astrology, which is based on the symbolic circle of animals. The five planets
were firstly identified with the gods of the Babylonian pantheon. Five planets,
with the equivalent of Jupiter being Marduk, with the Goddess Ishtar, Saturn
Nenurta, Mercury Nabbu, and Mars with Nergal, constitute five important
elements which, as well as the movements of the Sun and Moon, were
regarded as the manifestation of the activities of the five major deities. Twelve
Zodiacal Signs were definitely used in Babylonian astronomy prior to 700 BC,
and probably from as early as the days prior to Hammurabi in 2000 BC. The
idea of constellations by depicting prominent groups of stars was a Babylonian
development and the outlines of images involved were derived from their
mythology and religion.
Most astrological predictions fell into the category of judicial astrology or
mundane astrology to forecast the destiny of the nation or kings. Fate was an
idea in ancient Assyrian and Babylonian lore which specially strived to know
and sometimes control. Šimtu was the Babylonian word for Fate, that also
meant destiny but it seems to indicate a wider concept. It is expressed
something similar to purpose. In the Babylonian system of belief, gods gave
everything Šimtu, and the primary astrological bodies, including Sun, Moon,
and planets and the positions of celestial bodies, are signs of the causes of
destiny, Faith, and natural events.
Reflecting on the subjects like death, eternity and will was a basic theme
of the so-called first epic of the world, that of Gilgamesh, faith being taken as a
determining force from which no one can escape. Thus, one may conclude that
it is the Mesopotamians who first indicated the historical necessity or faith in
31
general. A crucial feature of Mesopotamian religion was the doctrine of
numina or spiritual forces behind natural phenomena. It claims that each act
of nature is brought into being by some gods with appropriate external
appearances and form. Babylonians believed that all areas of life were
inseparably linked with numerology, numbers representing the energies of
creation. Mesopotamian numerology was always performed in synergy which
was based on the sidereal zodiac and the ‘equal house’ system. The sidereal
zodiac allowed for predictive methods based on the luminary planets and the
sun. According to these methods spirituality, numerology, astrology, and
medicine were not separated branches of knowledge, but intertwined. They
considered all their sciences to be of divine origin.
Faith as Šimtu has numerous textual nuances in ancient Mesopotamia in
working out what happened between birth and death. It was difficult for
ancient Mesopotamia to understand the term Šimtu without having in view the
role that gods played in human life and affairs. Faith is looked upon as
significant and unavoidable when is attached to events. The gods are privy to
the ruling of faith best of all. Death is the exclusive end of humans and gods, to
level faith. It is found that the idea of universal power, even though in a
disguised form, was developed in an increasing tendency during reflection
upon the destinies of human life. It became recognized that the gods
themselves are subject to faith and fortune, as much as they cannot even
prevent their own destruction.
In Babylonian narrative, these are human beings who bear the full
weight of Šimtu. According to the ancient Mesopotamian mythology, men
were created to serve the gods who are the inferiors to the superior gods.
Human life is thus portrayed pessimistically, for this means that the gods
create life forms to serve them. Human life is interpreted as a process that
emerges from death and destined to return to death. Surly Gilgamesh Epic
aimed at teaching life’s absolute and the ultimate limitations as embodied in
term Šimtu, and gives the recognition of a cramped condition of the life
between birth and death.
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of the gods rather than by humans. The gods of Mesopotamia brought about
people’s faiths. Therefore, Šimtu can well be used as a metaphor for events
beyond men’s control. Representing the deities, the kings of ancient Babylon
and Mesopotamia conveyed the will of the gods to the people, and with the
king being a substitute for the divine in royal ritual he presented a strong
impression of being both the influence and concrete expression of Šimtu.
It is clearly understood that the existence and control of faith was
rooted in the divine realm. Everything in human existence was under the
control of the gods—health, happiness, life span, including the ultimate Šimtu,
which was named Death. The god of faith in Mesopotamian doctrine, however,
is nonetheless a subordinate to the gods who administer the faith of humanity.
As it was mentioned, apart from enduring Mesopotamian effects, during the
Sassanid period the empire remained open to foreign influences; Indian
influence from the east and Greek from the west were the important elements
which formed new heresies like Zurvanism.
Zurvanite fatalism apparently has influenced by Aristotle’s theology of
chance and fortune. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), student of
Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, wrote a major work in the history of
philosophy about metaphysics, and he could be said to found the discrete
subject of metaphysics, but not the term itself. He emphasized that luck plays
an important role in the good life. He argued that self-sufficiency brings the
good life, but recognized that spontaneity and chance are causes of some
things as distinct from others. His general theory of luck and fortune are
thought to prepare grounds for Zurvanite fatalist ideas. In Aristotle’s
theoretical discussion of luck, good fortune is a subspecies of luck. Aristotle
clearly expressed that it is necessary for luck to exist and to be a cause, for to
him many morally relevant cases of good fortune are due to luck. Luck in
Aristotelian philosophy is an accidental cause, indefinite and unbounded, yet
accountable enough by reason. An accidental cause means that luck is relative
to a particular description of events. In addition, it is indefinite and unbounded
because there may be many appropriate descriptions of a lucky events.
Typically descriptions of luck are too close or too far away to relate easily to
cause and effect. Aristotle's theological account of luck is tied to his
metaphysical theories. He argued that fortunate persons do not succeed by
their practical wisdom. He rejected the idea that humans can be fortunate
33
through love of God. He noted that the fortunate are so by nature, although he
expressed that nature is a cause of what occurs either always or for the most
part as it does, but luck is just the opposite. In this account, Aristotle reiterates
the point that luck is not something that works with a high degree of
regularity, but it is contrary to ordinary principles of reason. He argued also on
the substantial point of luck as a reason of one’s natural constitution rather
than good things happening to a person because of his or her natural
constitution.
Aristotle believed that not only that practical wisdom and virtue bring
happiness, but also the fortunate people fare well. He emphasized the
importance of luck for happiness, insisting that those persons are fortunate
who succeed for the most part without any reason. This is why he concluded
that persons could be fortunate by nature. Furthermore, he admits good
fortune could be a case of luck for the most part “holding,” but not forever or
always. Aristotle's theological account of luck distinguishes two forms of good
fortune in conclusion. The one kind is divine. He argued that such a person is
one who is likely to be successful in accordance with his impulses. The other
kind of person to whom the non-divine fortune applies, is successful through
being contrary to his impulses. He believed that all events of human life are in
any case determined, by an eternal pre-ordained destiny.
Such philosophical idea of luck and fortune was in different terms
expressed in Zurvanite fatalism. It should be noted, however, that the
philosophical contemplations of Aristotle, in contrast to his teacher Plato,
defined and explored the implications of worldly fortune, not the work of a
divine being or the role of ideal forms, because, as we know, he dismissed
another perfect and ideal world. Zurvanism is different from Aristotelian
‘fortune theory’ for being dividedly theological.
Many researchers believed that Zurvanism historically arose from
despair and hopelessness. In Zurvanite mythology, Zurvan promised to give the
kingdom of the world to whom born earlier. Ohrmazd with his absolute
knowledge and wisdom discovered this issue and made his brother Ahriman
aware. Therefore, Ahriman tore the womb of his father sooner and the
kingdom of the world was given to him for nine thousands years. The triumph
of Ahriman means that humankind lives in the world rendered imperfect by
evil. This view has prevailed in Iranian culture. It should be taken seriously,
34
though, that Zurvanism apparently resulted from a collapse in the integrity of
Zoroastrians doctrinal system which led thinkers to create the bitter theory of
the Ahriman’s domination. The positive side to this cosmology is that it
involves a different kind of pessimism. Evil has become a totally alien force, it is
not to be as simulated but to be destroyed, a point that should be considered
more.
A religion in which destiny has gained dominance over deities act and the
essence of god is basically nothing but destiny, making it inevitable to rate faith
and destiny even over the moral sphere of life and over the possibilities of
heaven-sent prosperity and adversity. As infinite substance, Zurvan made a
mistake because he resigned himself to finitude. The period of Finitude,
however, is predestined to pass and even if fault arose it will retrievably join
the infinity of the divine essence in the end. The good has to combine with evil
eventually and dissolve back to its primary origin, i.e., infinity of time. Hell,
Heaven, and the other world in this framework are temporal and all function
as a period of transition to infinity.
According to Zurvanist philosophy, Zurvan as the long-term
dominion (finite time) is represented as a being preceding
finite time, which is a fixed term set for the battle between Ahriman and
Ohrmazd. During this finite time (Norm Time), no one can change things
or make them different. The treaty between Ohrmazd and Ahriman to fight
for nine thousands years must lead up to Fraškart (the Promised World), which
the power of evil cannot prevent. The progress of creation seems with
dissipation of energy. The nine thousand years of the divine time of conflict
between Ohrmazd and Ahriman is said to be a “moderated” time (Patmān), on
consideration of the close association of Zurvan with order.
It is obvious what a humble and small position a human being possesses in this
theoretical framework. It may be regarded as a mere cog in the wheel within
the whole context of existence, given to the maxim that everything across the
cosmos just reflects the Ahriman-Ahura battle, the end of which had been
previously determined.
The image of a destiny dominant over human life as portrayed in the
important Zurvanist text, titled: Menog-i Xrad is perfectly a disappointing one:
35
The sage asked the spirit of wisdom thus: “is it possible to contend with
destiny through wisdom and knowledge, or not?” The spirit of wisdom
answered in this way: “Even with the might and powerfulness of wisdom
and knowledge, even then it is not possible to contend with destiny.
Because, when predestination as to virtue, or as to the reverse, comes
forth, the wise becomes wanting in duty and the astute in evil becomes
intelligent; the faint-hearted becomes braver, and the braver becomes
faint-hearted, the diligent becomes lazy, and the lazy acts diligently. Just
as is predestined as to the matter, the cause enters into it and thrusts
out everything else…”
The sage asked the spirit of wisdom thus: “wherefore is it when there
are instances when a lazy, ignorant, and bad man attains to eminence
and great welfare, and there are instances when a worthy, wise, and
good man attains to grievous misery, perplexity, and indigence?”
The spirit of wisdom answered thus: “As to him who is a lazy,
ignorant, and bad man, when his destiny becomes a helper, that laziness
of his then becomes like unto diligence, that ignorance unto knowledge,
and that vileness unto goodness. And as to him who is a wise, worthy,
and good man, when his destiny is an opponent, that wisdom of his then
turns to stupidity and foolishness, and that worthiness to ignorance and
his knowledge, skill, and worthiness become manifestly secluded…”
An echo of this motif is heard after centuries where Hafez, on behalf of Spirit
of Wisdom, answered to the sage:
The reason, ask not why the cherisher of the mean became the sphere,
Whose design of giving, pretence without reason is…’
This radical and excessive fatalism is not confirmed by the Mazdeans, who
regard the universe as a battlefield inside which good and evil, Ohrmazd and
Ahriman, fight and where human who owns a free will and deliberation is
capable of choosing to stand on either side. Destiny controls merely material
life, wealth, marriage and children, and has no way to spiritualties;
36
The Mazdeans, with their passion for classification, parcelled up the
whole of human activity into five categories: faith, action or effort,
nature or habit, character, and heredity. Faith is responsible for life,
marriage, children, sovereignty, and riches only. Salvation and
damnation together with the membership of the three castes are
ascribed to effort. Eating, walking, sexuality, sleeping, and excretion are
the province of nature; worthiness, friendship, goodness, generosity,
and rectitude of character; and intelligence, understanding, body,
stature, and appearance of heredity.”
Therefore, destiny may merely influence the extent of one’s wealth, property,
and the household but committing a crime or obeying the rules are absolutely
matters of human choice and expediency. Admittedly some components, such
as characteristic, essence, inheritance, and quality, are controlled by destiny,
because people are unequal in terms of such parameters, especially
personality and inheritance, which are the two most notably bestowed by
destiny. Summarily, Mazdean attitude leaves human faith to the responses of
one’s own will. He or she is the only one who can, through his or her acts,
directly achieve salvation or misery in this response.
Laziness in Mazdaism has been ascribed to Bushāsb, demon of laziness
and indolence, which only indicates the importance of effort and hard work to
this faith, to the point of regarding laziness as an Ahrimanic epithet. Effort in
this view plays a significant role so that
Even on the material side, man may acquire what has been allotted to
him by faith earlier than the allotted date if he makes efforts towards
that end: and what is allotted can be taken away on account of his sins.
Destiny and ‘human attempt,’ according to the Mazdean School, are the two
wings that can carry a person to his or her destination. In Tansar's Letter (third
century A.D., the core of this document is a genuine letter written by the
Persian high priest under Ardeshir I) these two are like bales of a traveller's
baggage on the back of a mule.
37
The golden mean between faith and purposeful action must be found;
for the man who puts his trust exclusively in faith ‘makes himself
contemptible,’ and he who ‘continually exerts himself and makes efforts
and denies faith and destiny,’ is a fool and puffed up with pride ... faith
and effort are like two bales of a traveller's baggage on the back of a
mule. If one of them is heavier than the other, the load falls to the
ground, and the back of the mule breaks, and the traveller suffers
embarrassment and does not reach his destination…’
Every good and the reverse which happen to mankind, and also the
other creatures, happen through the seven planets and the twelve
constellations. And those twelve constellations are such as in revelations
are the twelve chieftains who are on the side of Auharmazd, and those
seven planets are called the seven chieftains who are on the side of
Aharman. Those seven planets pervert every creature and creation, and
deliver them up to death and every evil. And, as it were, those twelve
constellations and seven planets are organizing and managing the
world…’
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Spihr is the one who bestows good and deserves kingdom ... the one
who donates more is called benefactor, and the one who donates less is
called bad Spihr. The very bestowment is determined by Time…
The treasure of the worldly existence was allotted as truly, in the original
creation, as that of the spiritual existence. And the Creator, Ohrmazd,
provided happiness of every kind invested in creatures and creation, for
the use of the sun and moon and those twelve constellations which are
called the twelve chieftains by revelation; and they, too, accepted it in
order to allot it truly and deservedly. And, afterwards, Aharman
produced those seven planets, such as are called the seven chieftains of
Aharman, for dissipating and carrying off that happiness from the
creatures of Auharmazd, in opposition to the sun and moon and those
twelve constellations. And as to every happiness which those
constellations bestow on the creatures of Ohrmazd, those planets take
away as much as possible for them (the constellations) to give and give it
up to the power of the demons and their friends and the bad…’
The virtually equal position of Spihr to Zurvan and its neutrality in determining
good or evil has been interpreted in Persian literature and popular opinion, as
perplexity, suspense, unawareness, and often, blind forces at work in Spihr’s
sphere.
This is not, however, all to be said about Spihr. Like its origin, Zurvan,
Spihr is a combination of consciousness and unawareness, sensible and
animate, and not fully conscious. Mankind is, too, a mixture of awareness and
the unconscious, good and evil making so many impossible actions to be
39
explained reasonably. Similarly, acts of Spihr are sometimes arbitrary and
blind, seemingly based on desires which reason fails to explain.
It was first an instrument like a blazing fire from which he brought about
the infinite light. Of that, he created the whole of creation then hid it
unto the body inside which, it was kept for three thousand years and
promoted it and thereafter brought out gradually and one by one. First
of all, he introduced the sky from his head and the fire from his thought.
Humankind has been created of the mud from which Keyumar (the
primal human form) had been created…’
Likewise, the present and latter form of the universe, prior to its dissolution
into infinity, and the primal form of the world look like humankind.
Another similarity one may draw between human and the universe is
that both have the nature of metal. The essence of the sky, according to
Menog-i Xrad, is made of metal: “The sky is made from the substance of the
blood-stone, such as they also call diamond (Almást).” The Bundahishn
confirms that the substantial element of Kyumars’s body is made of metal:
“body of Kyumars had been made of metal, and from there, typical humans
derived.” The Avesta text Zad-spram, on the other hand, comparing Spihr and
the human and great world with little world, has likened seven shelves of the
sky to seven layers of human body:
Seven chieftains of the planets have come unto the seven chieftains of
the constellations as the planet Mercury (Tir) unto Tistar, the planet
Mars (Vahram) unto Haptok-ring, the planet Jupiter (Auharmazd) unto
Vanand, the planet Venus (Anahid) unto Sataves, the planet Saturn
(Kevan) unto the great one of the middle of the sky, Gokihar and the
40
Thievish (Duggun) Muspar provided with tails, unto the Sun and the
Moon and stars…’
The apparent similarity between human and the Sky might be explained by a
determination which Zurvan exercises over existence at different levels. Zurvan
in definite form not only acts as the source of creation from which the Sky and
the celestial bodies come into birth, but is also the origin for human creation. A
statement from the Muslim historian, Shahrastani's Kitāb al–Milal wa al-Nihal
confirms the idea that “the first human is Kyumars, who is said to be the great
Zurvan.” Another document that takes human’s originality back to Zurvan is a
phrase by a Christian priest which seems to be a belief among Zoroastrians
that Zurvan is the founder of their race.
Such an immediate connection between human creation and Zurvan, and
a belief in similarity of humans and the Spihr or Zurvan i derang-xvatdy not
unexpectedly lead to teaching of moral indifference, according to which there
would really be no difference between good and the evil. Or comparably,
Spihr’s whose activities entirely are determined by planets and the position of
the twelve celestial bodies, then human existence is a combination of two non-
homogeneous forces of good and evil. In this light, Ohrmazd and Ahriman
represent a portion in each human existence, and Zat-Spram refers to the
mixture of two good and evil spirits in human being:
The two spirits (Ohrmazd and Ahriman) were mixed together in a whole
body who is the first human- Keyumars. One of them, named Ohrmazd,
gives vigour and life, and the other, named Ahriman, stimulates
destruction and deterioration. This would be the destiny of life true for
every human…’
41
every person. From a Zurvanite perspective, leaning to any of the two spirits is
not a deliberate moral act but is predestined and originates from human
nature.
The sage asked the spirit of wisdom thus: “On account of the begging of
favors, and the practice and worthiness of good works, do the sacred
beings also grant anything to men otherwise or not?” The spirit of
wisdom answered thus: “they grant, for there are such as they call thus:
‘Destiny and divine providence.’ Destiny is that which is ordained from
the beginning, and divine providence is that which they also grant
otherwise…
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Faith or fortune is the eternal destiny controlled by the heavens from which
there is no escape. Zurvan accounts to an irreversible law which shall happen
in its accurate time and without a doubt, and a human has got no way out but
to accept it. This might be the reason Hafez links faith with the heavens and
calls it irreversible:
As for me, out of my head, love for those dark eyed will not go
This is the sky decree; and other way, it will not be
Greed
It is useful to scrutinize and compare the concept of greed in Mazdaism,
Zurvanism, and Manichaeism, for a common trait in all three worldviews is the
crucial conditioning role of mythological foundations and the outworking of
creation.
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Zurvanite greed
Greed, in a report narrated by Zat-Sparam, concerning the role it plays in
creation, is a weapon granted by Zurvan to Ahriman so that in the last moment
of the world it will devour Ahriman himself and all his creatures.
Mazdean greed
Greed in the Avesta has not been subjected to much scrutiny. While in
Zurvanism it is the greatest adherent of Ahriman and in Manichaeism is
introduced as the king of evil forces, the Avesta only refers to the act of
devouring fire by greed and notes it as a product of demonic rule. Yet one can
discover trace in Mazdean texts of the dominance of greed. Furthermore,
44
other Mazdean texts such as the Bundahishn and the Denkard treat greed
simply as the misusing of legitimate and normal activities.
The Denkard derives greed from deprivation of bodily satisfactions
which must be handled with a more pragmatic concern:
Greed is the brother of will. It is a limitation barring will and till the
demand for wealth and sovereignty is not quenched, greed gets more
powerful and the reason fails to protect itself. Man comes into a
reasonable moderation when he secures his kingdom and wealth.
The very eminency is functional for the people. However, while
the will stand higher than moderation and reason, greed gets more
powerful and reason would diminish. This is how wisdom becomes
instable and would devour man and his glory. Property, wealth, and
sovereignty shall definitely endanger him…
As long as the boundaries of will are not violated, earthly satisfaction of the
body not only brings stability and balance for human substance, but also
protects reason. Greed in its material aspect fights with the natural
manifestations and flows of the body while spiritually being the enemy of
reason. If the health of the body is not achieved through moderation, the spirit
will become unhealthy as well.
The very idea is fundamentally in line with that of Zakariya Razi (854-925
CE), The Persian philosopher who recognized pleasure as lack of pain. This is
especially interesting that Razi had been attentive to Iranian pre-Islamic
wisdom: “He is the only scholar who has confirmed the Old Iranian concept of
five eternals, including Ohrmazd (the creator), Time, Space, and Matter.” Razi
significantly is a prescriber of true moderation.
Manichaean greed
Greed in Manichaeism is represented as lust, avidity, and neglecting one’s
metaphysical destiny, the main focus, however, being on lust. Greed, the evil
master above all Ahriman's demons, creates a terrestrial body through lust,
filth, and abomination of male and female demons, thus imprisoning the spirit
as “scattered light” in the body:
45
Greed, Ahrimanic mother of all demons, was furious and made a scary
scream; then out of a mixture of male demons’ impurity and the ugliness
of feminine demons she created this body into which she entered. Using
Ohrmazd's weapon, she then created good spirit and imprisoned it
inside the body, making it so insane and unaware that it would not
recognize its genealogy. She built that body and the very prison within
which she imprisoned unconscious spirits. She then tied the spirit inside
the very vicious body…
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Ahriman have to obey within finite Zurvan. Such convention is to be tied
directly between Ohrmazd and Ahriman, yet, the world management of things
is submitted to Spihr which is the body of finite Zurvan. As Jalali Moghadam
writes, “soon after Ohrmazd and Ahriman tied the contract to divide their
share including heaven and hell, Spihr was assigned to share whatever there
was of health, illness, wealth, and poverty and so on among people.” Spihr
(finite Zurvan), therefore, governs convention and functions as a channel to
convey the will of both Ahriman and Ohrmazd. Every good and evil must
spread via Spihr and transgressing this boundary means breaching the
ordained primed covenant.
There is a document reported by the monl Eznik that narrates the first
war between Ahriman and Ohrmazd and their consequent attempt in search of
a judge. “The sons of Ohrmazd were defeated by those of Ahriman and they
came to assign a judge, but found nobody, so they created the Sun in order to
stand as their judge.” The Sun, however, was created by Ohrmazd in
mythology in order to enlighten his creation; thus it seems impossible for a
creature of good spirit to judge between the two.
Now, Mihr, in Sassanid theology, had been transformed into the Sun,
hence, it seems that Eznik has confused Mihr with the Sun. Eznik also uses an
Iranian term Dāvar, which has been frequently used in Pahlavi texts to indicate
Mihr: “We call for merciful Ohrmazd and appreciate him who created you, the
well-doer. Thou Mihr owner of wide plain you are wise and judge fairly for
spiritual and terrestrial creatures.” The intercessional function of Mihr has
been stated by some scholars: “Mihr (Mitra) mediates between Ahriman and
Ohrmazd, and so is called Mihr by Iranians.”
Mihr in a Pahlavi text Bahman Yasn, challenges Ahriman that he has
violated his contract:
Sinful evil spirit who calls up for Mihr – owner of wide plains – to
administer justice. Mihr – owner of wide plains – who calls up through
this 9000-year contract of Ahriman, malicious Dahāk, Afrasyab of
Tourān, Roman Alexander, and filthy demons who have ruled for 1000
years more than the agreed term.” The sinful spirit hears the speech and
passes out…
47
On a cosmologic and mythological scale, ‘convention’ is manifested here as a
contract between Ohrmazd and Ahriman, i.e., as Zurvan i derang-xvatdy, which
no one can undo. However, from a moral perspective, moderation in life can
protect physical health and the functionality of the reason. ‘‘Moderation in the
terrestrial order manifests itself as health, but when going to extremes is an
illness. Moderation in the spiritual order includes moral virtues whose enemy
is extremism.”
There is a direct affiliation between moderation and reason in Iranian
belief, so that permanent appreciation of reason must have had a relation with
a moral tendency to moderation and convention:
48
And when the nine thousand years have become completed, Aharman is
quite impotent and Srosh, the righteous, will smite Aeshmm and Mitro
and unlimited time and the spirit of justice, who deceives no one in
anything, and destiny and divine providence will smite the creatures and
creation of Aharman of every kind, and, in the end, even Azo, the demon
and every creature and creation of Auharman becomes again as
undisturbed as they were created by him in the beginning…
49
Zurvanism does not address humanity’s ignorance of life after death,
nor does it convince about these matters. As a religion, it merely accompanies
humans to un-recognised borders, where he is left with no identity regarding
neither mortality nor the enduring existence. There is no clear theological
route but a blind movement towards a not-yet-known utopia. Human
cognition makes sense merely inside a realm of senses and if material form
fades away knowledge becomes impossible. The Mazdean perspective of after-
death world is really more helpful and promising than the Zurvani perspective.
Resurrection, heaven, and hell, however, have been depicted in some semi-
Zurvanite reference texts, such as in some part of Zat-Sparam and The Spirit of
Wisdom:
Everyone would pass away. If a man is virtuous he would face glory and
victory, he is accompanied by beautiful spirits. The angel of prosperity
will come in his first-three-nights and recollects soul, fragrance, and
spirit which have been scattered by bad Vāyu in order to decorate
substance and accident. However, if a man is vicious all these would
dissipate…
The Spirit of Wisdom confirms resurrection and the evaluation of human acts:
Types of Zurvanism
Borrowing some Indian-Greek principles such as ex nihilo, besides its belief in
Eternity of Time, Zurvanism was apt to extend from a mere moral religious
doctrine to a rational philosophical system. Nyberg has suggested there was an
original version of Zurvanism, even “lacking any notion concerned with
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Ahriman and Ohrmazd.” There might be questions in some aspects; for
example, the Iranian mode of thought had always been concerned with ‘good’
and ‘evil’ symbolized in divine characters, so it is hardly surprising that
Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism had the concept of two competing spirits in
their cores. Still, there did existed some ‘materialist’ orientations in Iranian
thought with no Ohrmazd-Ahriman conception, but with a belief in eternity of
Time enshrouding the material world and adopting a notion of a causing as
against creative god. Such ideas extended into the Islamic times.
Matter, on this ‘materio-determinist’ perspective, is as eternal as God is;
hence, any phenomenal change is a change in form and not a creation from
nothing. God, as a mere neutral agent, observes and preserves stable natural
laws and transformations of substance and accidents. This group, besides
Manichaeans, have been noted in Pahlavi texts as “Zendic,” yet as a cult that
based its theology on an interpretation of the Avesta than on the Avesta itself.
Zendics were contemporaneous with Mani, as the medieval philosopher
Masoudi (Abbas al-Majusi, d. ca. 990) claims it. They were a group whom
Zoroastrians had so named because of their variant interpretation of the
Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. Upon entering Iran, the Arabs appropriated
this term into Arabic and labelled some sects Zendic for believing in maxims
variant than theirs.
Referring to “Eternalists,” for example, Al-Ghazali categorized them as
Zendic. For him the Zendics had one of the oldest doctrines denying an
omniscient omnipotent creator and manager. They believed that the universe
had been perpetual with no creator, and that animals have always been
generated from seeds of animals. The mechanism has always been alike and
shall be the same. This sect was known as Zanādiqe. People who believed in
eternality of Time were named ‘eternalists’ or dahriyyun in Islamic texts, which
means a group who believe in dahr (time in Arabic). The question that could be
asked is if there are any similarities between eternalists and Zurvanists.
According to Al-Ghazli, the cosmos in Zurvanism is caused by a change in
the existence of Zurvan and the determinations of Time as well. Aiming to
reject the evil resulted from its creation, Time accepted a necessary finitude
and accordingly a material form. Materiality is a variant form of Time which
returns to its original eternal form after stages of transformation and
alteration. Thus matter is as eternal as time. When Al-Ghazali emphasized the
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eternalist’s denial of an omniscient manager and omnipotent creator,
however, we have to be cautious that he is very conservative and did not
discuss openly the Zurvanite principles. Zurvan in Zurvanism owns no
properties in his infinite form but an infinite existence only. However, as soon
as its existence is recognized and infinity changes into finitude, an amalgam of
consciousness and unconsciousness occurs. Each of these causes a part of
terrestrial creation cycle to proceed. Therefore, although God in Zurvanism is
absolute existentially, he or it is also partial in terms of knowledge, a mixture
of knowledge and lack of it. Al-Ghazali's insistence is on the denial of an
omniscient creator, not on a total denial of the creator. It should not be
ignored, of course, that if the creator is stripped of his consciousness the
necessity of his existence will be threatened. If God is pending between
awareness and unawareness it will be of no use as divinity because such a god
is the same as non-being. God in this notion is on equal terms with nature.
Insofar as Zurvanism accepts Time as a basis for the world and as the
father of good and evil, beside neutral, quasi-conscious existence, this doctrine
can be categorized as moral Zurvanism. However, when Time is taken as the
mere origin for matter and the universe, we enter or are only in the sphere of
philosophy.
There is another analogy between eternalize and Zurvani beliefs,
connected to the good/evil dichotomy and notions of heaven, hell, and after-
death world. There is another sect, distinct from specific group of atheists, who
do not obey religious rituals and make no attempt to achieve virtue. They insist
more on their endless disputes. They respect Time as the origin of the universe
as well as it is the origin for transitions, transformations and plurality. Organs
of the very cosmic plurality contradict one another while simultaneously they
are seen as mixed together. Moreover they believe that virtue should receive
no appraise in return, neither does guilt. There exists neither heaven nor hell,
nor does reward-punishment system have a manager. They also see everything
materialistically with no spirit.
It was mentioned previously that world in Zurvanism is a transitive
stage prior to final amalgamation into infinity. The World, in the end, after evil
is defeated by good, will not be under control by Ohrmazd or any saviour
figures but returns to eternity. Hence any imagined heaven or hell would be
unstable and inconsistent with the determinist nature of Zurvanism apparently
52
denying human responsibility. The human being, deprived of his autonomy,
does not have a sense of responsibility for his actions. Al-Ghazali’s reference to
the non-atheistic sect, then, may well be to continuing Zurvanites.
The similarities between Zurvanism and externalism have brought
Zaehner closer to the interpretations of Nyberg respecting two Zurvanite
orientations; its moral-mythological and rational-philosophical aspects. The
first relies on myths. It commences as an attempt to explain and justify what
Zoroaster might have meant by referring to good and evil twins. This version of
Zurvanism takes infinite time and space as a mere possible absolute existence
that emanate from the twins. The origin of good-evil and light-darkness is very
much conflicting. In contrast, by borrowing Indian-Greek elements, such as
refusal of the principal of ex-nihilo, philosophical Zurvanism tried to bring
reason and Avestan maxims close together. There are strong ties between
philosophical Zurvanism and eternalist ideas so that it is justifiable to suggest
that Zurvanite materialism was the belief of the people whom were sanctioned
by Kartir, great Sassanid clerical authority. They were following the Avesta in
their own discretion and they must have been truly Zendic (not after Al-
Ghazali’s misleading representation of their case).
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Chapter Two
Zurvanism had a long-term implication for the history of Persian thought and
culture. It is our goal to show this in connection with the great cultural
monument and masterpiece of Persian literature, that is, the Shahnameh. It is
increasingly important to study religion in literature. Men live in a diverse,
multicultural, technological, and globalized world. Nowadays, an intellectual
study of culture and its relationship with religion provides access to the
mystery of other cultures which may provide answers and to philosophical
questions of life and death, and love and hate that characterize the human
conditions. A study of the influences of Zurvanism in Shahnameh is a key to
know how religion acts as a part of culture in the course of history and become
as part of the art, folklore and cultural heritage.
Epics, myths, history, and religions transfer from one generation to the
next at the heart of cultural practices. This study will give comprehensive and
balanced analyses of the Zurvanism religion within the famous Persian epic
poem. The Shahnameh, or the Book of Kings, was created by the great Persian
poet Firdausi around AD 1000. Firdausi started developing the idea of
Shahnameh under Samanid dynasty in Iran in 977 and completed the book
around 1010 during the Ghaznavid era. The book is in pure Persian that
contains 60,000 verses. Shahnmeh is the epic poem that describes Iranian
mythical and historical figures from the creation of the world till the Islamic
conquest of Iran in the seventh century by the Arabs. This masterwork of
Iranian literature not only describes national myths, history, and cultural
values, but also reflects ancient religions and their social status.
This book precisely narrates last days of Persian Zoroastrianism and also
strong belief system of Zurvanism and its elements. In the Shahnameh Firdausi
describes the Zurvanism’s view of human behaviour and its followers’ beliefs in
faith and destiny.
In the belief system of Zurvanism, Zurvan created Ohrmazd to keep a
promise which is a great contractual relation among humans. Firdausi
deliberates on the final days of judgment and the conflict to show the eventual
victory of light over darkness. As a great epic Shahnameh contains lots of
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religious beliefs, spiritual and philosophical elements, and myths, and this
study is designed to explore the relationship between them.
The absence of broad studies in this area is a problem, especially
because an intellectual study of the religion of Persian Zurvanism in the
Shahnameh generates many questions that could help fostering self-reflection
and positive human interactions. This thesis first intended to explore and focus
on Zurvani elements and beliefs in great works of Persian literature in a
broader aspect, but as it proceeded, the author decided to settle on Firdausi in
this chapter as a case study. It illustrates that religion and literature have been
closely interrelated.
The epic of Shahnameh draws a line between human fundamental desires
and aspirations and explores the inner sides of men. This is the highly
significant poem that adopts a brilliant approach to study the root of ancient
religion. This study will be a journey, a trail, and can help revealing the
continuingly influential role of the religion in Persian history.
Shahnameh
Shahnameh discusses the history of Iran, beginning with the creation of the
world and the introduction of the human civilization (with the discovery of fire,
cooking, metallurgy, and law) and ends with the Arab conquest of Iran. The
epic is not exactly chronological, yet it has its own timeline. Some of the
heroes live for long time, like some of the characters in the Bible and Qur’an,
though most have normal life span. Many kings are introduced who come and
go, as well as heroes and villains that appear and disappear in their turn. There
are of course many great heroes in Shahnameh, however, the most important
one is Rustam, a hero who fights in the service of many impotent Shahs, and
yet he never envies their power. He is a reluctant hero who performs his duty
his job.
Besides being an epic, Shahnameh contains many doctrines that are
hardly in compliance with mainstream ideologies of its time. Although it is
written during the flourish of Islamic era, it seldom glorifies the principles of its
time as it ‘mourns’ the time before time. For example, when it comes to wine,
we find no recourse to Sharia, or when it comes to the origin of evil, Firdausi
does not hesitate linking evil to the Almighty. Yet with all its “heresy,” even to
this day we find Shahnameh popular in the Islamic Iran, and in a brief review of
55
the history of Iranian culture we find its stories re-enacted in coffeehouses and
public places along with the re-enactment of the epic of Imam Hussein and
battle of Karbala.
To Iranians, Shahnameh is one of the very few windows to their ancient
past; the way they lived, thought, and perceived the world before the
introduction of Islam. Zurvanism is definitely a part of the Iranian cultural
heritage reflected in that wonderful epic story. The following is a brief
description which is the main object of the thesis; that is, to uncover Zurvanist
lineaments in Shahnameh. The procedure involves laying the mere through by
quoting from relevant passages, sometimes simply listing to the quotations
extensively to make sure the job is done effectively, because nobody has ever
considered as discussing these points systematic. Considering how dense and
complex Shahnameh is and as it is so difficult to unravel for the average
reader, one hopes that this exercise could be of use for students of religion
and culture. In what follows, key concepts and themes that have been found in
reconstructing Zurvanism are re-discussed in an arranged way as could be
traced in Shahnameh, which is definitely a text with its key epistemological
basis that chose Zurvanite and thus it is text that tries to keep Zurvani lines of
philosophical outlook alive.
Dualism in Divinity
Zurvan, as mentioned above, is the ultimate deity from whom Ohrmazd and
Ahriman emanated. Firdausi’s Shahnameh also contains instances of such
concept, the noble characters from whom both good and evil emerge.
Farídún is an example of such character; he fathers three sons; Íraj the
virtuous, and Salm and Túr who are evil. A careful study of this story reveals
that in this story the forces of evil (Salm and Túr) clearly have a far larger
domain than that of the good (Íraj). The force of evil is constituted of two
figures while the good is unaccompanied and outnumbered, suggesting the
prevalence of evil, and it is in fact Farídún himself who divides the kingdom
amongst his sons and thus brings doom to the universe. He is the good who
creates evil.
The same conclusion can be drawn from the story of Zál who fathers
both the heroic Rustam and the Ahrimanic Shaghád, and also Rustam himself
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who fathers Suhráb, who is also divided between good and evil, therefore, it
makes balance:
And again:
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His kingdom knoweth neither gain nor loss.
One that is rich in generosity,
Discreet, intelligent, and vigilant,
Should lock not fast his treasures, least of all
If he is lord of throne and diadem,
And if a wealth of words be thine to give,
Be lavish, knowledge faileth not. Incline
To God in good and ill as thou wilt have
Thy good endure. If thou acknowledgest
That all thy good and evil are from Him
Thy guerdon will be jocund Paradise…’
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Throughout Shahnameh the success of evil and its triumph over good is
repeated over and over. Íraj is murdered by Salm and Túr, Siyáwush is
murdered by Afrásiyáb, Rustam is murdered by Shaghád, and even when Kai
Khusrau defeats Afrásiyáb in a way he feels defeated within and so he resigns,
good disappears, Iranians begin to divide, and evil returns anew with Luhrásp
and Gushtásp.
Just like Farídún, Kai Khusrau dichotomizes the singularity into opposing
poles; the Zál dynasty and the Luhrásp clan. It can be conceived that Kai
Khusrau stands as equivalent to Zurvan, who eliminates the antagonism
between Ohrmazd (Iranians) and Ahriman (Túrán) but as time is not right for
peace, rivalry again is the case. If Sohrab is killed it is because he took it upon
himself to unite Iran and Túrán, which means to abolish evil, and that cannot
be. Siyáwush also makes the same attempt by marrying the daughter of
Afrásiyáb and he also fails as the prolonged reign of evil does not permit unity.
This primacy of evil resembles the temporary priority of Ahriman to Ohrmazd
upon their emergences.
But why is it that evil prevails in every turn as Firdausi narrates? If we
consider Firdausi to be influenced by Zurvanism, the answer could be found in
Zurvani ideas about the lifespan of the cosmos which is considered to be
twelve thousand years divided into quadrants, three of which equal to nine
thousand years pledged to evil and the last remaining three thousand years
dedicated to the eventual prevalence of good.
Fatalism in Shahnameh
Another noticeable characteristic of Shahnameh is some form of fatalism, and
a way of attributing affairs to destiny, faith, and fortune:
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These lines are cited from the story characters in Shahnameh; nevertheless the
following lines from the preface are Firdausi’s own words, revealing his
personal despair:
Pessimism in Shahnameh
One of the subjects that Firdausi points to so often is the unfaithfulness and
instability of the universe. He rarely misses an opportunity to draw the
grimmest image of the world; whether it is a fallen hero, a troubled king
passing the throne to his son just so he can leave and fade away, or even the
notion of his own youth slipping away from him:
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In Shahnameh we find characters who deliberately subject themselves to
isolation and atrocity. Like Kai Khusrau, for instance, we find Íraj unimpressed
by the world and earthly possessions;
Such loathing of the world is not infrequent amongst the ‘noble’ characters of
Shahnameh.
Greed
Among almost all the Iranian scholars of the old ages, greed was a subject of
condemnation; such statement can be verified by simply reading the works of
the majority Iranian poets. However, Firdausi’s view on the matter, although
mainstream in principal, tends to differ with that of the others. In Zurvanite
doctrine, greed is considered to be a weapon granted to Ahriman by Zurvan
and in order to maintain the equilibrium, while Zurvan also arms Ohrmazd with
‘reason’ as a weapon.
The Bundahishn describes Āz (greed and avarice) as a daeva. In
Shahnameh we find instances of deevs trying to cloud the judgment of
humans,
But Ahriman the wakeful was not pleased thereat, and he pondered how
he
could once again arouse the ambition of the Shah. So he held counsel
with
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his Deevs how they might turn the heart of Kai Kavous from the right
path.
And one among them said-
“Suffer that I go before the Shah, and I will do thy behest.”
And Ahriman suffered it. Then the Deev took upon him the form of a
youth,
and in his hand he held a cluster of roses, and he presented them unto
the
Shah, and he kissed the ground before his feet. And when Kai Kaous had
given him leave to speak he opened his mouth and said-
“O Shah, live for ever! though such is thy might and majesty that the
vault
of heaven alone should be thy throne. All the world is submissive before
thee, and I can bethink me but of one thing that is lacking unto thy
glory.”
Then Kai Kaous questioned him of this one thing, and the Deev said
“It is that thou knowest not the nature of the sun and moon, nor
wherefore
the planets roll, neither the secret causes that set them in motion. Thou
art master of all the earth, therefore shouldst thou not make the
heavens
also obedient to thy will?...”
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seems from the stories that he was a prototype and material. His appearance
was somehow equilateral, with equal length and width: “On the sixth, he made
Keyumars; he was shining like the sun. His length and width were equal.”
Therefore, it is mistakenly possible to consider Keyumars as a first man.
Firdausi, even, mentions Keyumars to be the first king not the first
human:
In the story of Khosrow Parviz, Keyumars has been mentioned as the first living
thing that God created, and not necessarily the first human. However,
Keyumars’s position in the beginning of Shahnameh as the first member of the
human generation, and who has a son called Siamak, leads to the
misconception that Firdausi thinks of him not only as the first king, but also as
the first human. There is a similar conception in Altaio-Central-Asian Sami
myth, which speaks of Adam not only as the first human, but also as the first
prophet. We should not forget that just as Sami people believed in prophets
and the importance of obeying God by obeying his prophets, Iranian people
believed that they must obey the king who was blessed by the divine
splendour. Therefore, as we see in Sami legends that the first human is the first
prophet, here we see that the first human is the first king.
Another difference between Shahnameh and earlier Pahlavi stories is
introducing Siamak as the son of Keyumars. In the Bundahishn, Siamak is not
the son of Keyumars: he and Woshag are one of the six couples who were born
from Mashi and Mashiyane. “Mashi and Mashyane had six couples of offspring.
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Of these couples, one was Siamak (male) and one was Woshag (female).” In
the Avesta there is no sign indicating a father-child relationship between
Keyumars and Siamak: “Siamak's lineage is not clear and Avesta does not speak
of him as the son Keyumars.”
Another noteworthy difference in this regard, is that in Pahlavi stories it
is Keyumars who goes on to fight Ahriman, kills his son Arzur and consequently
is killed in return. “Keyumars fought the sixth battle.” The spirit of wisdom
thought that Keyumars's battle was with Ahriman, and killing his son Arzur was
one of his advantages. “Keyumars had such advantages: firstly, killing Arzur
and surrendering himself to Ahriman with good intension...” In his book, The
Remaining Signs of Past Centuries, Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī states that death of
Keyumars was the result of him killing Ahriman’s son Khazureh (Arzur):
…he (Kharzureh) attacked Keyumars but Keyumars killed him. Ahriman
protested to Ohrmazd and asked him to keep his promise and take
Arzur’s revenge. Ahriman first showed Keyumars the end of the world
and resurrection, making Keymars eager to die and, he (Ahriman) then
killed Keymars…
We see that what is mentioned in Pahlavi stories about Keyumars and his
battle with Ahriman and his son, is changed to Siamak in Shahnameh. The
question remains, where the difference originate? We can assume that
perhaps myths change in time.
Myths do change through their evolutionary path. In so far as human
emotional and intellectual needs change in time:
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configuration in Iranian myths. Zál and Rustam as well, could be the altered
forms of Zurvan and Izad Bahrām.
In search for the bases of these mythological relocations, we can cite a
narrative by Armenian monk Eznik of Kolb in the story of Keyumars and
Siamak:
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The basic Gnostic system of thoughts accepts a vertical hierarchy of existence,
with the pure souls on the topmost, and the dark and evil material at the
bottom. In this view, all the evil, suffering and calamity have a material base
and as long as the man is involved with the material side of things, he will be
deprived of happiness and purity. In this religion, the world is established as
based on a dichotomy and conflict between materiality and the soul. God
Almighty in this attitude is so unattainable.
This God did not do the creation of the material world. In this scheme
the material world has been created by a lower force, perhaps an Ahriman
figure. The filth and dirtiness of matter is an important principle in Gnostic
system of thought; due to his material nature, Man inherently has an evil part
and his body is the cage of his soul, which imprisons him in the filthy material
world. Within such viewpoint that believes the world to be made by a lower
God or Ahriman, evil is the foundation of the world. In its cliché form, this
Gnostic teaching may be said to have had an important effect Christian
teachings accentuate the idea of the first sin and evil nature of Man. It is
because of such belief in the filthiness of the world in Zurvanism (and some
Christian theologies) that Ahriman (or Satan) has a physical embodiment and
can harm the body as well as the soul.
Islam’s ‘notion’ on the good and evil, however, is different. From the
Islamic viewpoint, the distinction between body and soul itself is not a value
conflict. Superiority belongs to the soul over the body because only the former
deals with good and evil forces. This is because any person has the potential
and capacity to ascend to the origin of goodness and eternal wisdom. Material
life not only was not denied nor humiliated in the Islamic teachings and
Prophet Mohammad’s life, but on the contrary, it has been emphasized.
Mohammad’s own life is an exemplar of such an amalgamation. In Islamic
beliefs, the materialistic order is the context and background for a mental
movement that can be good or evil. It is the soul that has to make its way to
the good and sublimation. In the Islamic perspective, as mentioned before, the
foundation of existence is considered to be ‘God’s knowledge and awareness,’
and such awareness has been spread to the Man’s soul as well, because Man’s
soul has a divine nature. Such awareness and knowledge are based on
reminding, like Platonic idea of recollection. Knowledge has been given to Man
when his soul was being created and it only needs a hint and a reminder in
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order to become active in him. That is the reason why Qur’an says that the
only duty of a prophet is to remind people: “My prophet, remind the people.
That is your only task and you do not have sovereignty over them.”
Islam accepts a kind of self-consciousness in people who are aware of
good and evil. It is in their nature. The only task of a prophet is to awaken the
human’s consciousness and remind him of his awareness. Qur. ch. A’araf, 172
mentions a promise between God and Man, in which Man attests in the
presence of the God:
…and remember when God asked men, am I not your God? They all
replied yes, we all attest that you are our Lord. So, in the final judgment
day they will be unable to deny it…
What happens in human life is linked to what has happened in eternity and
had influences on human mind and soul. Awareness or ignorance to such
eternal knowledge is what determines the human’s interest in good or evil;
matter and materiality are merely contexts for the soul. Therefore, Satan’s
malfeasance is just in temptation and the task of prophet has a relation to the
souls and spirits of people that is all about reminding.
Duality of good and evil performs on the contrary a pivotal role in
Iranian–Zurvanite thought. Such a duality includes the spirit and soul, matter
or materiality. The Universe or the greater world, which in Zurvanite theology
is referred to as Spihr or Zurvan, is the infinite body of Zurvan and is the
context for the battle of good and evil. Therefore, Zurvan is not entirely in
control of one of the two primordial spirits, while both the matter and the soul
are combinations of both good and evil forces. Such a paradoxical combination
can also be seen in the human existence or the smaller world. “Two spirits
(Ohrmazd and Ahriman) came together inside the first man (Keyumars)”, Zat-
Sparam asserts.
Other narratives concerning the defilement of man by woman also
confirm the notion of good-evil combination:
After Ohrmazd gave the women to righteous men, they fled and went to
Satan; and when Ohrmazd provided righteous men with peace and
happiness, Satan provided women in turn, with happiness…’
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Zat-Sparam tates:
Defilement of the female by Ahriman paved a path through which evil found a
place in human existence, hence he formed a part of human essence.
Therefore, human actions depend on the power of each of these two forces.
The clearest characteristic of the Zurvanite thought, the belief in determinism,
can obviously be seen here. Adversity and prosperity are matters intrinsically
depend on Man’s nature, and each person’s tendency to good or evil relates to
his distance from good or evil.
The story of Zahhák is an example of such approach to the concept of
evil. Zahhák was a dragon in Avestan stories, with three heads and six eyes.
After Iranian alterations, he turned into a foreign king. Avesta clearly speaks of
the evil nature of Zahhák represented by his dragon appearances. His evil
deeds in Shahnameh can be explained by a reference to such old background.
He is an evil creature with a destructive nature. Analyzing this evil nature,
apart from the mythical basis of this character, Firdausi reflects on the human
justification and analysis of contexts in which evil forces rise in Zahhák's
nature. His analysis is adaptable with the idea of natured evil and the
omnipresence of evil and good in human soul.
Although Firdausi accepts the role of Ahriman in gravitation of people to
Obari and Sastari, he regards it as the natural aptitude of Man to accept the
evil. Since Zahhák was naturally evil, he is essentially impressionable to the evil
forces.
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Zahak’ s filthy nature has a similar but different base in the Bundahishn. This
book (Bundahishm) says that Zahhák is Siamak’s relative in his father’s side,
and of Ahriman’s progeny on the mother side: “Zahhák, is the son of Arudasb,
son of Zingav, son of Asbir Afshang, son of Tāz, son of Faravag, son of Siamak.
On his mother side, Zahhák is the son of Odak, son of Bayak, son of Tim Bayak,
son of Ovoyakh, son of Pairi Or, son of Vourva Esm, son of Gaduiso, son of
Dervaskan, son of Ahriman.
The evil nature of Zahhák in Shahnameh is because of an evil act her
mother committed, while in the Bundahishn it is because of his relation to
Ahriman from his mother’s side of the family. It seems as if a relocation of the
myth in Shahnameh is an attempt to rationalize it. Nevertheless, it seems that
the essence of Zahhák has been an evil one from the beginning, so he is the
evil side of the battle, and a creature submitted to Ahriman. Similar to Zahhák,
one who assists Ahriman is naturally a vicious creature. Therefore, the
influence that Ahriman exerts encompasses the material life of the man as
well. In doing so, he tries to infect the world in order to recruit more followers.
Judgement
The creator, according to some verses from Shahnameh, had been called the
Judge. Considering the context in which this metaphor functions, one may
cautiously read in this an Iranian Zurvanite belief. Whereas the normative
evaluating role of God in doomsday applies to orthodox Zoroastrianism, none
of the relevant verses that contain the Judge metaphor could be taken as
representing final reward, punishment, and evaluation of human deeds.
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And know that next to God our Judge and Guide-
He was the means of saving us from death.
He with his love screened us from injury,
And seeketh now for quarter in return;
So grant him to us, O thou noble one!
For he hath never led the way to ill.”
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Cried in his anguish to the righteous Judge.
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The Lord of Saturn, Mars, and Sol, from Whom
Our gospel are, our hopes, and dread of doom…
Spihr is a mixture of good and evil. It leans to neither Ohrmazd nor Ahriman, so
in terms of this neutrality it is fair and honest. Although its procedure may
seem unfair to humankind, cosmologically it follows fair principles. This is why
Spihr judges between good and evil. Its moderate manner leads to the end
when there appears the victory of good over evil and by destiny they both
integrate in the infinity of time.
There exist some verses in the Shahnameh concerning connectivity
between Spihr, celestial bodies and the Judgment:
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On Giv the Judge hath rightly lavished love…
One the other side, Zurvanite myths have recognized God of Mihr as the Judge.
After their sons challenging one another, Ohrmazd and Ahriman according to
Eznik's report, would assign judgment to the Sun.
In their Persian Religion (1929) and Zurvan (1972), Benveniste and
Zaehner respectively suggest that Eznik may have mistaken Mihr for the Sun
due to a very close association between the two. Yet Pahlavi texts would
confirm the link because judgement in Pahlavi literature is assigned to Mihr;
“we praise and invoke the creator, Ohrmazd ... in that he fashioned thee forth,
O right dealing Mihr (Mithra) of wide pastures, for thou art a just person.”
The judging role of the Sun in the Shahnameh has been mentioned in the
story of Asfandiyár who, after his victory over wolves and cleansing his body,
turned his face toward Sun and praised God. The companionship of sun and
the trait of Dāvar (the Judge) can lead us to the conclusion that the Iranian
teaching of Mehr or judge (judgement by the Sun) has been alluded to in the
Shahnameh, alongside many other implicating signs of the belief in
supernatural force of astronomical beings.
In Rustam and Asfandiyár story, in the second task of Rustam, on the
second day of battle, when Asfandiyár sees that all Rustam’s wounds are
healed, thinks of it as a result of a magic done by Zál and the praise of the Sun.
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Time is the dominant force of the whole existence from which no one can
escape. It is time that arranges the affairs, it can find and control everything, it
is the most conscious, and so you can leave the judgment upon the time. It is
time that destroys. If something is destined to happen, everything can be
destroyed in its own time. No mortal can escape from it, not even if he flies up
to the sky or hides in the depth of a well or in the cold waters of a spring.
Then what is the relation between time and Rouzegār? Time, though is
not dependent on man’s measurement, and exists independently from human
understanding, appears in the passing of day and night. Man feels the passing
of the time through the movement of the astronomical objects and the
emergence of night and day that Rouzegār represents it the best. According to
the Ulema-i Islam, time is an abstract concept independent of passing day and
night.
If someone claims that time is equal to the passing of day and night, we
should answer, on the contrary, that for so long there has been time but
no night and day…
However, the time has correlated with the passing of day and night for so long
that it seems hard for people to separate them from one another.
Time and destiny relate, as well, since they both are transient.
Everything in this world has its own moment and it is time’s passing that gets
us to the events. All the occurrences through time had been pre-destined in
eternity and we only need time to get to the events. Just like the final
domination of good over evil in the ending of the world. This notion of time
and its determinant nature can be seen, repeatedly, in the Shahnameh. Thus,
for stronger cases:
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“Would I had died, or never had been born,
Since I am faithd to endure such bale
And taste of every poison in the world…”
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With all thy might incline to virtue’s ways …
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xvatdy. It is because limited Zurvan is concurrently a matrix for creature’s
actions and a container inside which life goes on and owns rules and principles
of the life exercised via Spihr (body of Zurvan) circulation. Fortune and Spihr
are different in terms that the first is content (text) and the latter is the agent.
This is why Spihr in the Shahnameh is active and alive with many activities
while fortune is generally regarded as passive and silent.
All night men raised their stricken friends, bound up and stitched their
wounds, left strangers to their faith, and burned the slain…
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His shrewd heart
showed him the ills that faith would bring upon Kaus…
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Faith giveth thee for travail rest and ease;
Be as my sire, but say not anything
To any one, and note what time will bring…
May faith keep ill for any foe that cometh to attack thee;
May he betray himself both soul and body…
Bagu baxt may be changed by worship and good deeds. Firdausi, too, believes
that faith shall answer if man needs something and demands it. Faith as a God-
given virtue has been accentuated in the Rostam-Esfandyar tale.
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Shall make its aspects known…
Ohrmazd and Ahriman impose their will on creatures through Spihr as well.
Every good or evil, in term, passes the same route. Sky takes a neutral position
towards the two sprits; it descends both tranquillity and sorrow.
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pain, sometimes rewards and sometimes punishes. Spihr holds a secret in
perpetuity.
That hath been which was to 'be. How will it profit thee,
To take my head?…
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In Zurvani thought, all humans, whether good or bad, own a portion of the
destiny that descends through Spihr. It is not possible to add or subtract
perpetual allotment to it nor can anyone manipulate it by thought or virtue.
Thus in the Shahnameh:
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To see no desert but that made by war,
And many great ones of the Iranians
Have perished by my hand upon the field …
Anything that happens to people and other creatures come from the
Seven and the Twelve. These twelve stars are, religiously, like twelve
guardians from Ohrmazd while seven stars are of Ahriman. All creatures
are defeated by the Seven and shall eventually die. The seven stars, on
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the one side, and the other twelve, on the other side, determine the
faith of the world…’
There is detailed explanation of good stars and vicious stars in the Zoroastrian
Bundahishn:
In beginning, when Ahriman was marching, the darkened sun and moon
could not commit a sin. Seven chieftains of the planets have come unto
the seven chieftains of the constellations, as the planet Mercury (Tir)
unto Tistar, the planet Mars (Vahram) unto Haptok-ring, the planet
Jupiter (Auharmazd) unto Vanand, the planet Venus (Anahid?) unto
Sataves, the planet Saturn (Kevan) unto the great one of the middle of
the sky, Go^ihar :i and the thievish (Du^gun) Mtopar, provided with tails,
unto the sun and moon and stars. The sun has attached Mas-par to its
own radiance by mutual agreement, so that he may be less able to do
harm (Vinas)…
In the Shahnameh, too, the stars are to determine the overall destiny, life and
death , rather than only pain and comfort.
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Whose fruit is savagery…
The stars
Decreed that I should perish by thy hand…
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Doth this ill come upon me from the stars
That my renown may go down to the dust?…
God's Willing
Besides a belief in a determination exerted by Spihr, stars, faith, and time in
Shahnameh, divine will, too, plays a role in determining destiny. Destiny,
according to Zurvanite maxims, depends on Time or Zurvan. In this way, the
determined occurrence of the events gradually through passing of finite time
comes manifested.
Key Khosrow also commences his letter to Fariborz by mentioning divine will:
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From Him come triumph and defeat, from Him
Both good and bad get might and their desire.
He fashioned the world and place and time,
He fashioned ant's foot and massy mountain,
And hath bestowed life, lustihood, and wisdom,
High throne and majesty and diadem.
No man can free himself from that control;
The lot of one is Grace and throne, another's
Misfortune, want, grief, suffering, and hardship;
Yet see I that All-holy God is just
In everything, from yonder shining sun
To darksome dust…
When Firdausi starts to quote from Siyáwush and Kai Khosrow, we can see
some similarities to normative Zoroastrian ‘Asha’rism’ (or ‘right*eous+ or the
cosmic order.’ Siyáwush believes that there must be no challenges between
what God and Kai Khosrow both desire, and likewise he thinks that whatever
God does to people is fair.
However, to repeat, it is typically in the beginning of any story that we
read about God and his will while in the remaining of the book, Spihr and
relating elements are more important. It reflects the cosmic predicament by
which God (Zurvan) created the world through creating Ohrmazd and
Ahriman, afterwards; and then leaves the world to the limited time and Spihr.
In the Shahnameh, too, God has a role only in the beginning, and leaves the
world to Spihr afterwards.
From the story of Gushtásp forward, especially in the story of Asfandiyár,
the belief in destiny and divine faith becomes more highlighted than Spihr.
Considering the shift in religion and advent of a new prophet, Zoroaster, such
an alteration in beliefs seems significant. Belief in destiny becomes a distinct
religious outlook for Gushtásp and Asfandiyár, according to which it is believed
that destiny is in the hands of God. It is probable that there is a linkage
between such approach to destiny and the monotheistic tendencies of
Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrianism, as we recall, it is held that Ohrmazd is the
absolute God and “Good spirit and bad spirit were twins that manifested
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themselves in thought, words, and deeds. One of them was good and the other
evil.” It becomes obvious that for a monist, believing that creatures can offer
any kind of help and support to God is interpreted as a kind of blasphemy.
Therefore, belief in the role of Spihr and stars, which effects on the
individuals’ capability of doing on the cosmic stage, has faded away and
replaced by the belief in God’s will.
The divine will can be heard mostly from Asfandiyár, who is the man of
religion and publicizes the new religion of Zarathushtra. He, exactly after each
victory, remembers God and praises him for his kind help.
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Is drawing nigh, will not withhold it with his troops…
From Gushtásp:
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With troops behind and God to succor him…
The sage asked the spirit of wisdom thus: ‘Is it possible to contend with
destiny through wisdom and knowledge, or not?’
The spirit of wisdom answered thus: “Even with the might and
powerfulness of wisdom and knowledge, even then it is not possible to
contend with destiny.” Because, when predestination as to virtue, or as
to the reverse, comes forth, the wise becomes wanting in duty, and the
astute in evil becomes intelligent; the faint-hearted becomes braver, and
the braver becomes faint-hearted; the diligent becomes lazy, and the
lazy acts diligently. Just as is predestined as to the matter, the cause
enters into it, and thrusts out everything else.
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Let not thy head be snared through youth as thou
Wouldst ’scape destruction from the turning sky…
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The transience of life is so obvious that motivates everyone apart from their
beliefs and religion. With the Zurvanite perspective containing a belief in a
concept of time that regulates all existence, transience is naturally more
prominent along with the tendency to suspect the unreliability of the world.
In Zurvanism, the world is the result of the time exactness. To make the
creation possible, time is to be limited and any limitation has a beginning and
an end. Compared to the eternity and infinity of Zurvan, the world is just a
passing moment—a constantly changing ‘pause’ that lasted for twelve
thousand years. The good and the evil are in a permanent conflict and the
good needs change and movement to destroy the evil. Zurvan i derang-xvatdy,
i.e., the limited time is the one that provides such movement and change
without which the evil and chaos will last forever. Thus the world is doomed to
change.
The world finds no possibility to come into existence other than as
changeable and transient, hence consent or designated to it is the only way.
One must accept the destiny and try to make life full of joy. When the length of
life is not manageable by any human, the width must be considered to be
enlarged. Humanity should notice that world is transient.
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This is the process of the ancient sky
It robbeth infants of their mother's breast,
And to the dust deposeth suddenly
A heart by fondness for the world possessed.
Brave not the world but seek its joys to win;
…Vex not thy soul, this home is but a cheat,
Thy sole possession is a narrow bier;
What needeth thine amassing ? Sit and eat…
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Yet frustrate all the wishes of our hearts,
Since in the end the dust will be our share,
And not one of us will escape that day…
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While in greed's grip we travail long, and none
Can tell appearance from reality.
From wind thou earnest and to dust wilt go:
What They I will do to thee how canst thou know…’
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In public and in private to establish
The way of God and wisdom as the guide
Thereto, but when through me the enterprise
Had grown illustrious, and when the hands
Of Ahriman were barred from wickedness,
Faith stretched its lion's claws and brought me down
As though an onager! And now my hope
Is that in Paradise my heart and soul
May reap what they have sown…
This last statement is what Asfandiyár said when he saw shadow of death—the
very Asfandiyár who was ambitiously attempting to spread religion, he was
ignorant to instability of the world and tried to confine further this already
limited world of people. Unlike the other parts of the Shahnameh in which
devaluation of the world is a good reason for the human to be tranquil,
Asfandiyár is referring to cruelty of the world, requiring his reward to be paid
in the other world and remembering the expected paradise. One could expect
such a demeanour from Asfandiyár, who is a man of religion, nevertheless the
point is that the religious tenets in pre-Asfandiyár sections of the epic notion
are in explicit contrast to the Asfandiyár sections.
In the Zurvanite approach, which is reflected in the initial chapters of
Shahnameh and perhaps has inspired it too, fatalism and destiny are
combined with nature of life in such a way that they dominate Zurvan itself
and its will for creation comes true only by nascence of Ahriman. In such a
religion, where the path of human autonomy is so much narrower, salvation is
nothing but consent to destiny and an enjoying of predestined allotment and
portion. We must be satisfied and pleased with our allotment. It is useless to
animadvert against God, given that those who had determined one’s destiny
are also encumbered by their faith and they can do nothing beyond the limit of
rules of existence. Even the other world, Heaven and Hell are ephemeral and
the pre-mergent state in a Zurvanic eternity. Hence, we cannot become
attached to the after-life; it is preferable to enjoy our allotment and portion of
life.
However, in the Mazdean Zoroastrian idea that Asfandiyár tries to
disseminate, determinism and fatalism are clearly not as commonly present as
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they appear in Zurvanism. Moreover, in the end, the universe will follow what
Ahura Mazda the Benevolent had intended. In this perspective, if man fails to
obtain result from his deeds in this world, he will put his trust in the other
world and God’s heaven, hence if he does not achieve his desires, it may be in
his best interest.
We hold in this thesis the ephemerality of world and dominance of
destiny over life in Shahnameh is adopted from Zurvanite mind-set. Its
message is the belief in happiness and gratification are the best ways to
conquer life’s ennui.
We have already seen in such passages there exists the attitude which
famously reappeared in the poetry of Omar Khayyam.
Death is the final destiny for everything and everybody. Time, that is
Zurvan its worldly figure, has determined its moment. Life happens
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across time and death happens does too. The final truth of everything is
Zurvan…
The spirits of the dead people must pass through path of death, the Zurvan-
made path to reach the Činvat Bridge. An Avestan text Aogemadaēča mentions
that Zurvan can never be hidden and there is no remedy against him. When
Time comes upon a man, he can do nothing against it; and Time sews up the
eye of Man.
In the Bundahishn, Zurvan determines longevity: “before advent of
Ahriman, thus spake Zurvan; Keyumars, the raider, was preordained to survive
thirty winters and become imperial.” Time, in a different part of the
Bundahishn, is a main factor of death; “if it were doomed to decay, there
would be no escape for mortal human whether he flies upward or descends
unto a well or sinks under cold offspring.”
An association of time and death is carefully depicted in Shahnameh:
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Human in furious haste but caught him not,
His time had not yet come…
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And if so be that faithd time hath come
What is more glorious than to die in battle…
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world, while Zoroastrian Mazdaism, utilizing a synecdoche characterization of
the world as farmland, relies on human deliberation. Every man shall reap the
harvest of their deeds based on how good or bad they perform in this world.
Thus:
…and what you asked of this world and the heaven; for the world is a
faith of death and nothingness. For the heaven, the faith is so that the
soul of the pious shall therein last without decay, harm, or death, awash
with joviality and charisma, forever at the side of gods, the upright, and
the essence of the righteous. And the punishment for the wicked is also
everlasting in hell, their souls themselves their retribution and their
consort with demons looking to them like a healthy man falling to a
grievous malady…’
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What a prospect! Yet even though he is not sure, for in what this
‘honour’ consists—whether it be an honourable estate in the ‘house of
eternity’ or merely ‘honour’ from the lips of men as yet unborn—is left
utterly obscure; and as to the concupiscent, their faith will be manifest
when they are dead—yet we do not know to whom and where, ‘for a
veil is drawn over our ultimate lot…’
All that is known is that after our brief and miserable sojourn in this
valley of tears we must pass on to the ‘house of eternity,’ which,
according to Denkard, is the ‘essence of infinite Time.’ Here we can
expect no ecstatic union with the ‘one,’ no merging of the self into ‘self’
as of a drop into the sea... Man—who is the microcosm—will return to
the Infinite Zurvan, where motion finds eternal rest in an Infinite which
neither understands nor is capable of being understood.
One could accept Zaehner’s suggestion that Zál and his family to be Zurvanites,
since in Rustam/Asfandiyár story where Asfandiyár talks explicitly about
Heaven Smirch—that is, in relation with Zál—alludes to what are taken as false
beliefs about the other world. However, we cannot go further to consider the
Shahnameh to be entirely based on Zurvanism. As start, the stories in
Shahnameh, from the very beginning until the faith of Kai Khosrow events are
all displayed as worldly accounts of worldly heroes. However, while narrating
Gushtásp’s sovereignty and the concurrent emergence of Zoroaster and the
beginning of Asfandiyár’s religious prophecy, there is an air of religion finding
dominance over the tone of the epic, although, it only in the accounts of The
Seven Trials of Asfandiyár and his battle with Rustam, one can find much more
talking of belief in God`s will and heaven than in any other section of the
Shahnameh, as far as research for in this dissertation has revealed. One cannot
help but notice that the idea of rewards and penalties for the worldly deeds
originates from Zoroastrian doctrine, and has evidently found its way to other
religions from the Iranian originated religions to Judaism.
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Zaehner believes that belief in heaven and hell among the Jews dates
back to the time of their settlement in the land of Babylon, in the vicinity of the
Persians and the Medes.
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O thou who art above both name and place!
Cleanse from all fault the soul of matchless Rustam,
Assign him paradise for his abode,
And joyance of the fruits that there he sowed…
Comparing two verses, one narrated by Simurgh who is a member of Zál family
and the other by Bishutan who is Asfandiyár’s brother, one may distinguish
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Zurvanite perspective from Zoroastrian Mazdaism in terms of the ‘other house’
of heaven, and the hell. Thus:
Voice of Simurgh:
Be luckless in this world and afterward
In pain and anguish…
Voice of Bishutan:
Abuse will be thy portion in this world,
And inquisition at the Judgment Day…
Contrasting two worlds, Simurgh does not mention the other house. He merely
points out that killer of Asfandiyár would suffer intolerable pains after death.
In this case, the date and the place have not been specified. While Bishutan,
representative of Zoroastrian thought, speaks out a system of rewards and
punishments and so underlines ‘the other house.’
Conclusion
From the contents of the second part of this dissertation, it could be
concluded that, whether subconsciously or consciously, Firdausi was
significantly influenced by Zurvanism. Beliefs and thoughts of a nations seldom
disappear without a trace; they often leave a vestige, a touch that no matter
how small or insignificant, it still can be traced back to people who left it
behind themselves. Nations do not abandon their beliefs, thoughts, and
culture in an instant, even when the swords of the victors push them to do so;
this is how the flickering ghost of Zurvanites has been smuggled into the
Iranian subconscious to puzzle us in perpetuity.
Many parts of the Shahnameh reflect Zurvanite principles about
subjects such as will or evil, fatal, destiny and pessimism. Those views evinced
in many lines of the epic that reflect the Zurvanite mind-set, and Firdausi’s own
words have an unmistakable resemblance to the Zurvanite beliefs. Even today,
in many Iranian households, we often find a fine copy of Firdausi’s Shahnameh
placed next to other fine copies such as Quran, and not merely for decoration.
The Shahnameh has been greatly and deeply involved in shaping Iranian
culture in general: many Iranians perceive Shahnameh as ‘their history before
their history’ and even incorporate it into their contemporary religious culture.
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The Shahnameh is holy to Iranians; it is a testament to the fact that they have
an identity that precedes their other identities, an identity as old as their
concept of ‘time.’ Firdausi knew this fact, when he developed a link between
the ancient Persian doctrines with the Iranian psyche in an effort of making
integrity and to at least remind them of who they used to be if they should
ever find who they are puzzling. As he wrote:
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