In many parts of Iran and Afghanistan, families prepare for the arrival of the new year by a thorough cleaning of their homes, a tradition called khaneh takani, meaning “shaking the house.” The cleaning of the house includes washing carpets, painting the house, and cleaning the yard and the attic. The cleaning has been interpreted as a Zoroastrian practice of fending off evil and preparing the house for the anticipated visit of the spirits of the ancestors. In other words, they are invited to descend on their previous homes to help nourish the growth of the sabzeh, the main source of their sustenance, which has been depleted during the long and cold days of winter.
A table called Haft Sin is also set with seven items, each with its name starting with the letter “S,” hence Haft Sin, or Seven Ss. The seven items displayed on the traditional New Year table are sabzeh (wheat, barley, mung bean, or lentil sprouts that have grown on a plate), senjed (dried oleaster), seer (garlic), seeb (apple), sekeh (coins), serkeh (vinegar), and samanu (sweet pudding made from wheat germ). Certain items are usually added to the traditional Haft Sin table. These include a mirror; flowers, particularly hyacinths (sonbol); a bowl of water containing goldfish; painted eggs; milk; pomegranates; sweetmeats; confectioneries; candles; fruits; nuts; and sometimes a copy of the family’s holy book, such as the Quran or the Avesta, and at times a copy of Ferdowsi’s epic poem Shahnameh [Book of Kings] or the Divan of Hafez by the beloved Persian poet of the 14th century.
Each item on the Haft Sin table is believed to stand for an aspect of rejuvenated life. There are, however, different interpretations of what each item symbolizes and represents. The colored eggs are believed to symbolize people, while the milk represents the cattle, the candles represent purifying fire, the coins represent wealth and prosperity, and the hyacinth represents immortality (Shahbazi: Haft Sin).
A few days before the arrival of the new year, a man with a blackened face, who is dressed in a bright red shirt and pants, appears singing on the streets of cities, towns, and villages across Iran. People of all ages and walks of life, but particularly the children, rush out of their homes to gather around and greet the smiling and singing man in red with cheers and laughter. The jovial singer and dancer is none other than Haji Firuz, the messenger who proclaims the arrival of the new year. Some pay the Haji Firuz, while others hand him sweets as a means of greeting him and demonstrating their appreciation. On some occasions families invite Haji Firuz to their homes, feeding him and paying him for an extra private performance. At times Haji Firuz appears as a lone performer, singing “Haji Firuzeh Sali Ye Ruzeh” (“It is Haji Firuz and it appears only once a year”). On other occasions, Haji Firuz is accompanied by a small group of musicians whose faces are not blackened and who are dressed in regular clothes. A similar figure who is popularly called Baba-ye Dehqan (Father Farmer) also appears in various rural communities in Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan heralding the arrival of the new year.
In celebrating the arrival of their New Year, Nowruz, which marks the first day of spring or equinox, the Iranian people organize a dining cloth on which is placed seven items, each beginning with the letter sin (S). (Creative Elixir/iStockPhoto.com)
If affordable for them, before the arrival of the new year all members of the family change into a set of new clothes. Some families send a younger child who is believed to bring good fortune out of the house with a tray, which holds coins and a bowl of water containing a fresh leaf. Upon the arrival of the new year, the bearer of good fortune who has been waiting outside of the house is called in to distribute coins among the members of his or her family and bless the house by going from room to room and sprinkling water from the bowl as an act of blessing the house. The entire family then gathers for a meal. In some regions of Iran that have close proximity to water, such as the Caspian provinces of northern Iran, a fish-vegetable-rice dish serves as the main dish. After the arrival of the new year, younger family members visit and pay their respect to their elders. Nowruz is not a New Year celebration centered on shopping for gifts. The exchange of gifts is limited to the older members of the family handing a memento of the occasion or a coin of some value to their children or grandchildren.
The historical origins of Nowruz are shrouded in mystery and subjected to a great deal of scholarly speculation and debate. Though most probably an ancient Zoroastrian holiday, Nowruz was not mentioned in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book. Nor are there any references to Nowruz in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid and Sasanian kings. Pahlavi texts mention the significance of the sixth day of the first month of the Iranian calendar or the day of Khordad in the month of Farvardin. The sixth day of each month in the Zoroastrian calendar is named after Haurvatat (i.e., Hordad or Khordad), meaning “wholeness,” which is one of the Amesha Spentas (holy immortals) who had been brought into existence by the great god Ahura Mazda to assist him with creating the world and battling and overcoming evil. In a Pahlavi text titled Mah-e Farvardin Ruz-e Khordad [The Month of Farvardin the Day of Khordad], the Iranian prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster) asks the great god Ahura Mazda why people hold the day of Khordad (the sixth day) of the month of Farvardin (the first month of the calendar) as the greatest and the most auspicious of all days in the calendar (Kia: 7). In response, Ahura Mazda lists the great events that took place or will take place this day, beginning with the act of creation. Included in this long list are three deeds accomplished by the mythical king of the Pishdadian dynasty, Jamshid. The third of these is the building of ossuaries (astodanha) and commanding people to make them: “And when they [people] saw what Jam [Jamshid] had commanded them, they made the day ‘New Day’ and called it Nowruz” (Kia: 7–8; Boyce: Nowruz I). Thus, according to this particular text, Nowruz began not on the first day of the month of Farvardin but on its sixth day.
THE HAFT SIN TABLE
Seven items are displayed on the traditional Persian New Year table. All these items begin with the letter “S,” hence Haft Sin (Seven Ss). These items are sabzeh (wheat, barley, mung beans, or lentil sprouts growing on a plate), senjed (dried oleaster), seer (garlic), seeb (apple), sekeh (coins), serkeh (vinegar), and samanu (sweet pudding made from wheat germ). Other items are added to the traditional Haft Sin table. These are flowers (particularly hyacinths), candles, coins, a large mirror, goldfish, painted eggs, pomegranates, hot milk, cookies, sweet meats, etc. At times families add on the table a copy of a holy book, such as the Quran or the Avesta, or the poetical works of a beloved Persian poet such as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh or Hafez’s Divan as well. The items on the table are generally considered decorative and ornamental rather than palatable and edible. Thus, the main meal served after the arrival of the new year is not served on the Haft Sin table.
Various texts of the Islamic era also attribute the establishment of Nowruz to Jamshid, the mythical king of Iran’s legendary history. In his book Athar ul-Baqiyeh [Vestiges of the Past], the Iranian scholar Biruni described several accounts of how Nowruz came into existence, all of them attributing its founding and commencement to Jamshid. For example, he reported that on Nowruz “it was the custom for people to present each other sugar,” the reason being that “sugar-cane was first discovered during the reign of Jam [Jamshid] on the day of Nowruz” (Biruni: 200, 40). Biruni added that “the 6th of Farwardin [Farvardin, the first month in the Iranian calendar], the day of Khurdadh” [Khordad] was “the Great Nowruz for the Persians a feast of great importance. On this day—they say—God finished the creation,” and on this day “God created Saturn” and the prophet Zoroaster “came to hold communion with God” (Biruni: 201, 39–40).
See also: Cultures: Chaharshanbeh Suri; Legendary Kings: Jamshid; Primary Documents: Document 39
Further Reading
Biruni, Abu Rayhan. Athar ul-Bakiya [Vestiges of the Past]. Translated by C. Edward Sachau as The Chronology of Ancient Nations. London: W. H. Allen, 1879.
Boyce, Mary. “Nowruz I: In the Pre-Islamic Period.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2009, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-i
.
Kia, Sadeq. Mah-e Farvardin Ruz-e Khordad. Tehran: Iran Kudeh, Number 16, 1952.
Shahbazi, A. Shapur. “Haft Sin.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haft-sin.
Old Persian
The language of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, which was founded by Cyrus II the Great and ruled from 550 to 330 BCE. Old Persian was one of the Western Iranian languages, which was spoken probably for centuries on the Iranian plateau before the establishment of the Achaemenid state. As with other Iranian languages, Old Persian belonged to the family of Indo-European languages. Middle Persian, which was the language of the Sasanian dynasty (224–651 CE), and New Persian are the direct offspring of the evolution of Old Persian. Our knowledge of Old Persian is based primarily on the cuneiform inscriptions of the Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty. The longest of these is the inscription of the Achaemenid monarch Darius I (r. 522–486 BCE) at Bisotun near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran. Old Persian was written from left to right and had 36 signs.
See also: Cultures: Iranian Languages; K&Q, Achaemenid: Darius I; Xerxes I; Peoples: Achaemenid Empire
Further Reading
Briant, Pierre. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
Curtis, John. Ancient Persia. London: British Museum Publications, 1989.
Ghirshman, R. Iran. New York: Penguin, 1978.
Kent, Roland G. Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1950.
Pahlavi. See Middle Persian
Parthian
One of the Iranian languages spoken in pre-Islamic Iran. Parthian was the language of the province of Parthia, which is mentioned in the inscriptions of the Persian Achaemenid kings as Parthava. Ancient Parthia corresponded with the territory of present-day northeastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan. Parthian became the official language of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty (r. 247/238 BCE–224 CE). The Arsacids who hailed from Central Asia seized Parthia in 238 BCE. With the conquest of Parthia, the Arsacids came to be known as Parthians. Because documents and inscriptions from the Arsacid/Parthian period are very few, our knowledge of the Parthian language is insufficient. Parthian was written in a modified Aramaic script. Traces of Parthian have been found on rock inscriptions, coins, documents, and inscribed pottery fragments. Parthian coins and inscriptions as well as documents from different regions of the Arsacid Empire, particularly from Susa in present-day southwestern Iran, the ruins of Dura Europos on the right bank of the Euphrates in eastern Syria, and Nisa, the first capital of the Arsacid state in present-day southern Turkmenistan, provide early examples of the Parthian language.
Manichaean script in Parthian, one of the languages of ancient Iran. Parthian shared common linguistic roots with other Middle-Iranian languages, including Middle Persian, the language of the Persian Sasanian dynasty. Some Manichaean texts composed by the followers of the Iranian prophet Mani (216–276 CE) were written in Parthian. Manichaeans believed that their prophet’s teachings constituted the completion of the doctrines of the great religious traditions of the past, especially Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. (Pictures from History/Bridgeman Images)
One of the earliest records of the Parthian language have been found on the ostraca (inscribed pottery fragments), recording for the most part wine deliveries at Nisa. The Iranian prophet Mani (216–276 CE) and his followers also used Parthian in some of their religious writings. These include the hymn cycles of Mar Ammo, a third-century disciple of Mani who established the Parthian language as the official language of the eastern Manichean Church. Our knowledge of Parthian has also been greatly enhanced by the discovery of Manichaean religious manuscripts in Central Asia, particularly in the Turfan (Turpan) region of present-day northwestern China. After the destruction of the Arsacid/Parthian Empire at the hands of Ardashir I in 224 CE, the first kings of the newly established Sasanian dynasty used Parthian in their inscriptions. For example, the inscription of the second Sasanian monarch, Shapur I, on the walls of the Ka’ba-ye Zardosht (Ka’ba of Zoroaster), a cubic-shaped towerlike structure situated at Naqsh-e Rostam in the province of Fars in southern Iran, was written in three languages: Parthian, Middle Persian, and Greek. These Sasanian inscriptions have allowed linguists to develop a better understanding of the structure and grammar of Parthian.
See also: Cultures: Iranian Languages; Middle Persian; Primary Documents: Document 21
Further Reading
Colledge, Malcolm A. R. The Parthians. New York: Praeger, 1967.
Debevoise, Neilson C. A Political History of Parthia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938.
Rawlinson, George. The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy. Tehran: Imperial Organization for Social Services, 1976.
Sellwood, David. Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia. London: Spink and Son, 1980.
Persian Gardens
The ancient Persians were the master gardeners of antiquity. The kings of the Achaemenid dynasty displayed a genuine affection and support for the art, science, and technique of plant cultivation. Persian kings and their provincial governors promoted farming as “among the noblest and most essential concerns,” introducing varieties of plants throughout their vast empire (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.4). Whenever a Persian king bestowed gifts, he first summoned those who had “proved themselves brave in war” and, second, rewarded those who had cultivated “their lands best” and made them “productive” (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.4). Cyrus, “who was without any doubt the most illustrious of all the Persian kings, once told those who had been summoned to receive rewards that he himself had the right to receive the rewards in both categories: for, he said he was best at cultivating land and at defending the land he had cultivated” (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.4). The archaeological excavations at Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa, and Babylon have unearthed large, complex, and beautifully designed gardens, parks, and irrigation canals.
The Persian Achaemenid kings took a special pride in designing their own large gardens and parks, which were watered by rivers or “an aqueduct—the earliest known record of gravity-fed water rills and basins arranged in a geometric system” (Hobhouse: 8). Far from being a space created by a hedonistic, self-indulgent, and despotic monarch to satisfy his sensual pleasures, the gardens provided shade and protection from wind and the harsh heat of the sun, allowing Persian monarchs and administrators to work daily on collecting and planting flowers and trees, especially those that bore fruit. Animals, especially those they had encountered in their military campaigns, were also gathered, brought, and housed within the confines of these large parks, allowing the outer space of each to be utilized as a hunting ground.
The planning of gardens and parks was incorporated into the architectural designs of palaces, mansions, and tombs. The Greek historian Arrian wrote that the tomb of Cyrus II the Great, founder of the Persian Achaemenid empire, was in “the royal park in Pasargadae; a grove of various sorts of trees had been planted round it; there were streams of running water and a meadow with lush grass” (Arrian: 6.29). Protection from the wind and the sun were essential elements of the buildings and their gardens. Architectural excavations “have revealed the orientation of two other open-sided pavilions from which to view the garden during the heat of the day” (Hobhouse: 11). Beginning in the second century CE, the Parthians introduced the barrel-vaulted half-spheres called ayvans or ivans, whose “recessed spaces and high ceilings” created “a cool refuge” (Hobhouse: 11). Building on this Parthian innovation, the Sasanians developed “towering ayvans, backed by deep halls,” that “provided shady retreats overlooking substantial pools and ornamental garden layouts, often with a hunting park beyond” (Hobhouse: 11).
Reconstruction of Persepolis and its gardens. The Persians were the master gardeners of antiquity. Persian monarchs designed their own parks, and they transplanted flowers and plants from across their vast empire to supplement and enrich their gardens. (De Agostini Picture Library/
De Agostini/Getty Images)
There are numerous references in Greek sources to Persian kings, princes, and provincial governors not only maintaining gardens and parks but also working on them as gardeners. In his Oeconomicus, the Greek author Xenophon wrote that in whichever of his territories the Persian king lived and whichever he visited, he was “concerned that there should be gardens—the paradeisoi” as they were called—“full of all the fine and beautiful plants that the earth naturally” produced, and he spent “most of his time in these, except when the time of year prevents it” (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.13). The Spartan admiral Lysander, who had joined Cyrus the Younger as a mercenary, was astonished when the Persian prince told him that he had measured and arranged everything in his garden in Sardis in western Asia Minor and had “planted some of the trees himself” (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.20–25). Cyrus added that whenever he was not participating in a military campaign he never dined “before working up a sweat either by practicing some military skill or doing some agricultural work or, at times, engaging in some competitive activity” (Xenophon: Oeconomicus, IV.20–25). In his description of the campaign of Cyrus the Younger against his brother Artaxerxes II, Xenophon wrote that the Persian prince “had a palace and a large paradeisos full of wild animals” in the city of Celaenae in Phrygia (west-central Asia Minor), “which he used to hunt on horseback whenever he wanted exercise for himself and his horses” (Xenophon, The Persian Expedition: 2.8). In his biographical essay on the Achaemenid monarch Artaxerxes II, the Greek historian Plutarch wrote about one of the royal mansions, “which had beautiful ornamented parks in the midst of a region naked and without trees” (Plutarch: 2.721). In his analysis of the Babylonian texts of the Achaemenid period, Muhammad Dandamayev concluded “from the texts under consideration that in Babylonia there were at least three ‘paradises’ belonging to the Achaemenid kings, which were situated in the neighborhood of Sippar, Uruk, and Nippur” (Dandamayev: 117). Given their love for gardening, it is not surprising that the ancient Persians were fascinated and involved with the design and construction of canals and irrigation systems.
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