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Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture

www.dabirjournal.org

ISSN: 2470-4040

No.7.2020

Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review

Special Issue: Hellenism and Iran

xšnaoθrahe ahurahe mazdåDetail from above the entrance of Tehran’s fij ire temple, 1286š/1917–18. Photo by © Shervin Farridnejad

The Digital Archive of Brief Notes & Iran Review (DABIR) ISSN: 2470-4040www.dabirjournal.org

Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and CultureUniversity of California, Irvine1st Floor Humanities GatewayIrvine, CA 92697-3370

Editor-in-ChiefTouraj Daryaee (University of California, Irvine)

EditorsParsa Daneshmand (Oxford University)Shervin Farridnejad (Freie Universität Berlin/Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien)Judith A. Lerner (ISAW NYU)

Book Review EditorShervin Farridnejad (Freie Universität Berlin/Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien) Advisory BoardSamra Azarnouche (École pratique des hautes études); Dominic P. Brookshaw (Oxford University); Matthew Canepa (University of Minnesota); Ashk Dahlén (Uppsala University); Peyvand Firouzeh (Cambridge Univer-sity); Leonardo Gregoratti (Durham University); Frantz Grenet (Collège de France); Wouter F.M. Henkel-man (École Pratique des Hautes Études); Rasoul Jafarian (Tehran University); Nasir al-Ka‘abi (University of Kufa); Andromache Karanika (UC Irvine); Agnes Korn (CNRS, UMR Mondes Iranien et Indien); Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (University of Edinburgh); Jason Mokhtarain (University of Indiana); Ali Mousavi (UC Irvine); Mahmoud Omidsalar (CSU Los Angeles); Antonio Panaino (University of Bologna); Alka Patel (UC Irvine); Richard Payne (University of Chicago); Khodadad Rezakhani (History, UCLA); Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (British Museum); M. Rahim Shayegan (UCLA); Rolf Strootman (Utrecht University); Giusto Traina (University of Paris-Sorbonne); Mohsen Zakeri (University of Göttingen)

Copy Editor: Philip GrantLogo design by Charles LiLayout and typesetting by Kourosh Beighpour

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Contents

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1Articles1 Domenico Agostini: On Jerusalem and Luhrāsp: A Closer Look2 Daryoosh Akbarzadeh: Collapse of Sasanian Empire3 Kiumars Alizadeh: The earliest Persians in Iran toponyms and Persian ethnicity4 Elshad Bagirow: Sassanid toreutics discovered in Shemakha, Azerbaijan as artistic metalwork

in the art of Sasanian Iran5 Majid Daneshgar: An Old Persian-Malay Anthology of Poems from Aceh6 Morteza Djamali, Nicolas Faucherre: Sasanian architecture as viewed by the 19th century

French architect Pascal-Xavier Coste7 Shervin Farridnejad: Cow Sacrifijice and the Hataria’s Dedicatory Inscription at the Zoroastrian

Shrine of Bānū-Pārs8 Hasmik C. Kirakosian: New Persian Pahlawān9 Khodadad Rezakhani: Notes on the Pahlavi Archives I: Finding *Haspīn-raz and the Geography

of the Tabarestan Archive10 Yusef Saadat: Contributions to Middle Persian lexicography11 Diego M. Santos; Marcos Albino: Mittelpersisch rōzag ‘Fasten’12 Ehsan Shavarebi; Sajad Amiri Bavandpour: Temple of Anahid and Martyrdom of Barshebya

Special Issue: Hellenism and Iran13 Jake Nabel: Exemplary History and Arsacid Genealogy14 Marek Jan Olbrycht: Andragoras, a Seleukid Governor of Parthia-Hyrkania, and his Coinage 15 Rolf Strootman: Hellenism and Persianism in the East

Reviews16 Chiara Barbati: Review of Benkato, Adam. Āzandnāmē. An Edition and Literary-Critical Study

of the Manichaean-Sogdian Parable-Book. Beiträge Zur Iranistik 42. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2017. 216 p., 42 images, ISBN: 9783954902361.

17 Majid Daneshgar: Translation of Persian and Malay Literary Works in Malaysia and Iran18 Yaser Malekzadeh: Review of Ghafouri, Farzin. Sanǧeš-e manābeʿ-e tārīḫī-ye šāhnāme dar

pādšāhī-ye ḫosrō anūšīravān [The Evaluation of Historical Sources of Shāhnāme in the Reign of Khusraw Anūshīravān]. Tehran, Mīrās̱-e Maktūb. 2018. 577+17 pp. ISBN 9786002031310.

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© Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture University of California, Irvine

No.7.2020

Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review

ISSN: 2470 - 4040

Special Issue: Hellenism and Iran

1

On Jerusalem and Luhrāsp: A Closer Look

Domenico Agost ini(Tel Aviv University)

In a recent article, published in Irano-Judaica VII,1 I investigated the historical origin and the literary development of a tradition that relates the mythical Kayanian King Luhrāsp,2 Wištāsp’s father, to the

conquest and destruction of Jerusalem, the dispersion of the Jews and/or the annihilation of their laws.This literary tradition is preserved in two diffferent texts, belonging to ninth-tenth-century Pahlavi

literature – the Mēnōg ī xrad (probably a product of the Late Sasanian period)3 and the fijifth book of Dēnkard4 – which report as follows:

1) Mēnōg ī xrad 26: 64-67. And this was the merit of kay Luhrāsp, that is, he exercised well his lordship and he was grateful to gods; and he razed Jerusalem of Jews (urišlīm jahūdān) and destroyed and scattered Jews (jahūdān wišuft <ud> pargand kard), and kay Wištāsp, the acceptor of the dēn, was fashioned from his body.5

2) Dēnkard V.1:3-5. The concise responses of Ādurfarrobay, son of Farroxzād, leader of the

1- See Agost ini 2019.2- On this mythical fij igure, see Skjærvø 2013.3- For a review of this text, see Tafazzoli 1993. 4- For a modern philological edition and translation of this book, see Amouzgar and Tafazzoli 2000.5- My translation is based on K 43 155r.2—155v.2 (1936)

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© Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California, Irvine

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disciples of the Good Religion, to some remarkable questions of Yākob son of Khālid who was, according to what he said, an authentic kinsman of all the peoples called Simrā (that is, Himyar) {from whose kin Yākob originates}. Under the lordship of those of Iranian stock <it came> that their ancestors, as generals and allied troops of that people, went out under the command of Bōxt-Narsēh (that is, Nebuchadnezzar) to render powerless the sinful law and evil acts of the sons of Israel, <their> grave idolatry and damage coming from them, having been sent with Bōxt-Narsēh by the ruler Kay Lohrāspfrom Ērānšahr against the sanctuary of the Greeks (ō hrōm <baitā> makdis; that is, Jerusalem).6

In my article, I argued that this tradition was already established in the Sasanian era,7 and later gained a certain popularity in Muslim tradition. Furthermore, I proposed that this tradition belongs to the religious and historical process known as Jewish-Iranian syncretism, and also to the more widely known sphere of Zoroastrian polemics against Jews. In the article’s conclusion, I briefly suggested that the story of Luhrāsp and Jerusalem might have been granted more popularity after the Sasanian conquest of the city in 614, and that perhaps the mythical Iranian king constituted an authoritative model for Khosrau II.8

While maintaining my previous arguments, this note will investigate whether this narrative model also acted as an ideological and authoritative tradition for Sasanians in the context of a still-debated and unclear event that interested the Jewish community during the Sasanian occupation of Jerusalem. According to some contemporary Christian sources, the Jews, who helped Sasanians in the military operations against Byzantines in Palestine and then in Jerusalem,9 were banned (Sebeos 34 and 35 and Khuzistan Chronicle)10 from the city probably in 61811 (or 617), or perhaps only “further Jewish immigration into Jerusalem was banned”.12

Both the aforementioned Pahlavi sources seem to include narrative elements that could fijit this tragic description, since both depict the distress of the Jewish community, banned and annihilated. Furthermore, the account in the Dēnkard V clearly refers to the Byzantine Jerusalem (hrōm baitā makdis), thus providing an important element to date the historical context of the narration. I prudently suspect that the reference to hrōm might be the result of a Late Sasanian reworking, though baitā makdis is clearly a calque from the Early Islamic toponym Bayt al-Maqdis.

On the contrary, the version in the Mēnōg ī xrad makes reference to a Jerusalem of Jews and seems to be closer to the original model of this tradition that reflects the conquest of the city and dispersion of Jews by

6- My translation is based on B 338: 3–10 (Dresden 1966: 494).7- In contrast Christ ensen 1931: 93 has suggest ed that this tradition is subsequent to the Sasanian period.8- See Agost ini 2019: 304.9- On Jewish involvement in the Sasanian campaign in Palest ine, see Schick 1995: 26–31. For a summary of the primary sources

on this topic, see Stoyanov 2011a: 50–51.10- For the translation of the passages, see respect ively Thomson and Howard-Johnst on 1999: 70–71; Guidi 1903: 23 (Latin),

and Greatrex and Lieu 2002: 203. Also the later authors Michael the Syrian and Bar Hebraeus report the Jews’ reversal of fortune and their expulsion from Jerusalem (for the translation of these passages, see respect ively Chabot 1901: 400 (II); Budge 1932: 87 (I)).

11- On this dating, see Sivan 2000: 302–305.12- Stoyanov, forthcoming [I am indebted to my colleague and friend, Yuri Stoyanov for letting me read the fij inal draft of his

forthcoming article]. On the expulsion of Jews by the Sasanians, see Avi-Yonah 1976: 268–70; Thomson and Howard-Johnst on 1999: 206; Sivan 2004: 88–92.

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Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century BCE. Nevertheless, the mention of the city as belonging to Jews might suggest another interpretation. Though the sources are problematic and not always reliable, it seems that in exchange for their help in the military campaign, the Persians granted Jews some kind of authority in Jerusalem in 614,13 and likely permitted the return of Jewish communities to inside the walls.

Two interesting Jewish sources - the contemporaneous apocalyptic text Sefer Zerubabbel and a liturgical hymn (piyyut) Time to rebuke (העת לגעור) – seem to refer to the reinstitution of sacrifijices on the Temple Mount esplanade14 and the construction of an altar that will later be destroyed by the Persians after a brief period of hope and enthusiasm.15 Furthermore, both Jewish texts refer to a political and religious leader who will be suppressed by the Persians and to a very mournful and dreadful period for the community.16

Could this short and politically undefijined Jewish hegemony under Sasanian supervision justify the reference to a Jerusalem of Jews and its destruction in the Mēnōg ī Xrad’s passage? I admit that this is quite speculative, though this event should be considered in the context of a process of reworking and re-use of extant narrative elements and traditions.

The annihilation of Jewish laws and authority in Jerusalem in 61817 seems to be reflected better in the account of Dēnkard V, which might refer to the political laws of the Jewish authority and perhaps to the resumption of liturgical observances in the city. The Dēnkard V lists a series of Zoroastrian anti-Jewish stereotypes of polemics and stigmatization, which might depict the changing attitude of Sasanians towards their previous allies.

The fijirst benefijiciaries of the Sasanian change of policy in Jerusalem were Christians. In a perspective of realpolitik, the King of Kings probably preferred to restore a peaceful status quo ante in strengthening his alliance with the Christian community that still comprised the majority in the population. This renewed partnership between Sasanian and Christian authority probably led to the delegitimization of the Jewish community’s role and status. The Khuzistan Chronicle reports that Khosrau II decided to expel Jews from Jerusalem only after he ordered their wealth confijiscated and some of them crucifijied.18 It is relevant to remark on the influential Christian Nestorian minister, Yazdīn,19 who convinced the King of Kings to banish the Jews. According to the same chronicle, Yazdīn sought retribution for the Jews’ failure to fulfijil their

13- On the form and nature of Jewish power in Jerusalem, see Avi-Yonah 1976: 266; Yahalom 1996: 278; Peters 1986: 87; Stemberger 1999: 260; Schick 2007: 180. Van Bekkum 2002: 103 and Cameron 2002: 63 are more cautious on this subject .

14- For the translation, see respect ively Reeves 2005: 57; Sivan 2004: 89. On the hope and later disillusionment of Jews due to the Persian change of policy, according to some piyyutim, see Sivan 2000.

15- For the translation, see Sivan 2004: 89. On the st atus of the Temple Mount during the last Byzantine-Persian wars, see Stoyanov, forthcoming. Eilat Mazar (2015: 13–14) argued that perhaps the Partitions Building itself, located at the foot of the Temple Mount’s southern wall, housed a synagogue that was hast ily abandoned by Jews in conjunct ion with the events of 617. On the st atus of the Temple Mount during the fij irst years of the seventh century, and in particular in the Persian period (614-628), see Mango 1992; Stoyanov, forthcoming.

16- For the translation, see respect ively Reeves 2005: 58; Sivan 2004: 89.17- As for the end of Jewish power in Jerusalem, Lutz Greisiger (2014: 68–77, 85–88) suggest s that it might have occurred after

only fourteen years under the rule of Šērōē (Kawad II), who is described as a suppressor of the Jewish leader, Nehemiah in the Sefer Zerubbabel. In the same book is Armilos, the prototype of the evil Roman emperor (here likely Heraclius), who kills Nehemiah and banishes Jews from Jerusalem (for the translation, see Reeves 2005: 59). However, in an apocalyptic context this portrayal might ref lect and re-use an earlier model, perhaps that of the banishment of Jews by Sasanians a few years earlier.

18- For the translation of the passage, see Guidi 1903: 23, and Greatrex and Lieu 2002: 203.19- On the support provided the Christ ian community by Yazdīn and his family, see Flusin 1992: 245–254 (II).

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promise to hand over to the Persians, a treasury that was apparently under the tomb of Christ. Yazdīn is also portrayed as helping the Christian communities in the reconstruction of buildings and sacred spaces.20

Furthermore, many Christian chronicles, while describing in a propagandistic way the tragic destructions and several massacres by the Persians (now reappraised by modern archaeology),21 highlight the active and even preponderant participation of Jews in these evil and shameful actions against Christians.22 Sasanians might have taken the Christian side in this religious quarrel in the hope of renewed pacifijication and collaboration.

The Sasanian decision to abandon collaboration with the Jews might also have followed the Jewish defeat by Tyre in 617, which might have been seen as a clear sign of the military untrustworthiness of the Jewish troops in the framework of peacekeeping in Palestine. Also relevant was the aspiration of the conquest of Egypt, in which the support of Christians was probably considered strategically more important and decisive.23 Military arguments, as well as political and social convenience were probably the cause of the sudden change of policy in Jerusalem, to the detriment of those who had fought hard and enthusiastically against the common Roman and Christian enemy.

I suspect that this tradition of Lūhrasp was not only a literary and authoritative model for the conquest of Jerusalem, but also a historical-mythical justifijication for the betrayal of the “ancient” ally that, after an undefijined partnership, came to be described again according to some of the most common polemical stereotypes of Zoroastrian anti-Jewish propaganda.

20- For a review of the primary sources on the program of reconst ruct ion of Yazdīn and Modest os, see Stoyanov 2011a: 20–21.21- On the real extent of the Persian dest ruct ion of Jerusalem from an archaeological perspect ive, see Avni 2010; Stoyanov 2011b.22- See Shick 1995: 33–39.23- See Avi-Yonah 1996: 269; Shick 1995: 27–28.

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