"The rule of Persians was based on justice and their practice was mercy and righteousness, and every one of the kings instructed his heirs with these words: One cannot rule without an army, and one cannot hold an army without wealth, and wealth cannot be aquired without construction and one cannot build without justice."
—Ibn Balkhi (12th century Iranian historian and geographer), "Farsnameh".
—Ibn Balkhi (12th century Iranian historian and geographer), "Farsnameh".
"Antisthenes, an Athenian, Socratic philosopher wrote ten volumes, the first being 'Magic': it tells of a magus, Zoroaster, who discovered wisdom (Sophia/Σοφια). Some other people attribute this to Aristotle, others to Rhodon."
—Suda Encyclopedia (ca. 10th century AD), entry: alpha,2723 (Antisthenes/Ἀντισθένης)
—Suda Encyclopedia (ca. 10th century AD), entry: alpha,2723 (Antisthenes/Ἀντισθένης)
"Τhen shall you know that the spear of the Persian man has gone forth far; that a Persian man has delivered battle far from Persia."
—Darius the Great, part of the DNa inscription.
Pictures: Persian spearheads found in Athens, Anatolia, Marathon and Egypt.
—Darius the Great, part of the DNa inscription.
Pictures: Persian spearheads found in Athens, Anatolia, Marathon and Egypt.
"King Xerxes says: by the favor of Ahuramazda, this Gate of All Nations I built. Much else that is beautiful was built in this Persepolis (Pârsâ), by me and my father. Whatever has been built and looks beautiful - all that we built by the favor of Ahuramazda."
—King of Kings Xerxes (I) the Great, XPa inscription, Persepolis.
—King of Kings Xerxes (I) the Great, XPa inscription, Persepolis.
پارسی: "فَساد و فِتنۀ تیمور عالمی بگرفت
شُیوع یافت گناهان ازو بِگَرد جهان
ستم گُذَشت ز اندازه هان بشادی کوش
که جز به محو ستمگر نگشته دور زمان"
Transliteration:"Fasād u fetne-ye Teymūr ālamī bargereft
Šoyū' yāft gonāhān azū be girde jahān
Setam gozašt ze andāze, hān be šādī kūš
Ka juz ba mahve setamgar na gašta dōr-e zamān"
Translation: "The chaos and depravity of Timur took the world
Spreaded the sins from him around the earth
Injustice exceeded the limit but thou! seek rejoice
For the turn of time revolved has not, but to fade the oppressor"
—Ebn Arabshah (1389–1450), Syrian writer and traveller, "Aja'ib al-Maqdur fi Nawa'ib al-Taymur" (The Wonders of Destiny of the Ravages of Timur).
شُیوع یافت گناهان ازو بِگَرد جهان
ستم گُذَشت ز اندازه هان بشادی کوش
که جز به محو ستمگر نگشته دور زمان"
Transliteration:"Fasād u fetne-ye Teymūr ālamī bargereft
Šoyū' yāft gonāhān azū be girde jahān
Setam gozašt ze andāze, hān be šādī kūš
Ka juz ba mahve setamgar na gašta dōr-e zamān"
Translation: "The chaos and depravity of Timur took the world
Spreaded the sins from him around the earth
Injustice exceeded the limit but thou! seek rejoice
For the turn of time revolved has not, but to fade the oppressor"
—Ebn Arabshah (1389–1450), Syrian writer and traveller, "Aja'ib al-Maqdur fi Nawa'ib al-Taymur" (The Wonders of Destiny of the Ravages of Timur).
"Darius had inherited a loosely organized kingdom. He left behind an empire that was well-organized and strong. Even when the Achaemenid empire was, after almost two centuries, subdued by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, it survived in another form: the Seleucid kings controlled more or less the same realms with an almost identical administrative organization. They were not Darius' only pupils: during the reign of Xerxes, the Athenians, those archenemies of Persia, had started to copy several institutions invented by Darius, which is probably the ultimate compliment."
—Jona Lendering, Dutch historian and professor.
—Jona Lendering, Dutch historian and professor.
Rōzveh Dādgošnasp (724-759 AD), later known as Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak/ ibn al-Muqaffa', was an Iranian translator, literator and philosopher who is known as 'one of the founders of Arabic literature'.
Born in Ardeshir Khwareh of Pars and moving to Basra in childhood, Rouzbeh became a court attendant in both Ummayyad & Abbasid governments. Most famous for his translations of Middle Persian literature into Arabic prose, he developed a reputation for heresy between the Muslims for his defense of dualism, and at last was put to death by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur in the most barbarous way imaginable.
Born in Ardeshir Khwareh of Pars and moving to Basra in childhood, Rouzbeh became a court attendant in both Ummayyad & Abbasid governments. Most famous for his translations of Middle Persian literature into Arabic prose, he developed a reputation for heresy between the Muslims for his defense of dualism, and at last was put to death by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur in the most barbarous way imaginable.
"The Caliph ordered that they tear apart his body limb from limb and as he himself watched, burn in the furnace. When all his limbs were cut off, his body was set on fire. The Caliph said: 'Before you burn in the fire of hell, I shall burn you in the fire of earth'. He responded: 'You shall kill me and with doing so a thousand men have died, but if one hundred of your kind were disposed of it would not compensate for a man like me.'"
—Mohammad Jaheshyari (?-942 AD), "Al-Wuzara va al-Kotab".
—Mohammad Jaheshyari (?-942 AD), "Al-Wuzara va al-Kotab".
"Why we wished to expound our affairs from Greek sources although they are more frequently mentioned in Chaldaean and Assyrian books
Let no one be surprised at this, that although, as is clear to all, many nations have histories, especially the Persians and Chaldaeans, in which particularly are found many references to the affairs of our nation, yet we have mentioned only the Greek historians from whom we have promised to present the account of our genealogy..." (1.2)
"We have truly found these things in the literature of the Greeks; for although the Greeks themselves translated from Chaldaean into their own language..." (1.5)
—Movses Xorenatsi (5th or 8th century AD), "History of the Armenians".
Let no one be surprised at this, that although, as is clear to all, many nations have histories, especially the Persians and Chaldaeans, in which particularly are found many references to the affairs of our nation, yet we have mentioned only the Greek historians from whom we have promised to present the account of our genealogy..." (1.2)
"We have truly found these things in the literature of the Greeks; for although the Greeks themselves translated from Chaldaean into their own language..." (1.5)
—Movses Xorenatsi (5th or 8th century AD), "History of the Armenians".
Parsig: "Pursīd dānāg ō mēnōg xrad kū : ped pādixšāyīh tis-ē cē sūdumanttar ud cē zyāngārdar?
Mēnōg xrad pesox kird kū : pādixšāyān rāy tis-ē hampursagīh ī abγ dānāgān ud vehān sūdumanttar; u-šān gōbišn ud hampursagīh ī abāg spazgān ud dosoxanān zyāngārdar."
English: "The wiseman asked the spirit of wisdom: 'What is the most beneficent and most deleterious act for a king?'
The spirit of wisdom answered thus: 'Most beneficent for kings is the audience and counsel of the wise and the good hearted, and the most harmful and injurious for them is the audience and counsel of the slanderous defamers and hypocrits.'"
—Mēnōg-ī Khrad, 20.
Mēnōg xrad pesox kird kū : pādixšāyān rāy tis-ē hampursagīh ī abγ dānāgān ud vehān sūdumanttar; u-šān gōbišn ud hampursagīh ī abāg spazgān ud dosoxanān zyāngārdar."
English: "The wiseman asked the spirit of wisdom: 'What is the most beneficent and most deleterious act for a king?'
The spirit of wisdom answered thus: 'Most beneficent for kings is the audience and counsel of the wise and the good hearted, and the most harmful and injurious for them is the audience and counsel of the slanderous defamers and hypocrits.'"
—Mēnōg-ī Khrad, 20.
Aerial view and reconstruction of Tonb-e Pargan, an archeological site with its construction dated to the Late Sassanian period.
Perse/pol/is
Aerial view and reconstruction of Tonb-e Pargan, an archeological site with its construction dated to the Late Sassanian period.
"A religious function is most probable for the Tonb-e Pargan complex. In truth, the general architectural form of the site, specially the center and the central pillar of the building, with attention to creation of focal point there, is coherent with architecture of other religious complexes (Mithraeums, Fire-temple altars, Mosque sanctuaries). Thus, according to present evidence we can consider Tonb-e Pargan a religious complex in its building era. However, it’s not clear what exact rite or unique ceremonial ritual of a group of Iranian people near the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf was Tonb-e Pargan constructed for."
— Asadi et. al. (2019)
🔗 Paper (In Persian).
— Asadi et. al. (2019)
🔗 Paper (In Persian).
Old Avestan: "mithrem vouru-gaoyaoitîm, jakhaurvånghem, ýô zem-frathå aiwyâiti, pasca hû frâshmô-dâitîm, marezaiti va karana, ainghå zemô ýat pathanayå, SKANERAYA dûraêpârayå, vîspem imat âdidhâiti, ýat añtare zãm asmanemca..."
English: "We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, sleepless, ever-awake; Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, after the setting of the sun, touches both ends of this wide, SPHERICAL earth, whose ends lie afar, and surveys everything that is between the earth and the heavens..."
—Mihr Yasht, of the oldest 'yashts' (hymns) of the Avesta, 24.95.
Picture: Image of Mithra on a gold coin of the Kushan king of kings Kanishka the Great.
English: "We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, sleepless, ever-awake; Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, after the setting of the sun, touches both ends of this wide, SPHERICAL earth, whose ends lie afar, and surveys everything that is between the earth and the heavens..."
—Mihr Yasht, of the oldest 'yashts' (hymns) of the Avesta, 24.95.
Picture: Image of Mithra on a gold coin of the Kushan king of kings Kanishka the Great.