Reconstruction of an early Parthian warrior based upon the decorated belt plaques from Kurgan teppe.

—Source: Sassanian Armies: The Iranian Empire Early 3rd To Mid-7th Cent, by D. Nicolle & N. Sekunda, Montvert Publications (1996).

Kushanite terracota panel depicting the god Farro (Bact. ΦAPPO; Av. xvarənah; M. Pers. xvarrah) and a worshipper. (Met Museum, Acc. No. 2000.42.1)

ca. 3rd century AD.

"[Titus] immediately marched on Zeugma on Europhates, where he met envoys from the Vologeses [/Parth. valaγš], king of Parthia, who gifted him a crown of gold for his victory over the Jews. He accepted, feasted along the envoys and returned to Antioch."

—Flavius Josephus (37-? AD), "The Jewish War", VII. 5. 2.

HKR ('Treatise of Khosrow and a Page-Boy') 56-57
Pārsīg: "gōbed rēdak kū : anōšag baved ! ēn and may hamāg nēk ud xvaš : may ī kenīg..."
Englsih: "the page-boy said thus: may thee be immortal! these wines are all fine and well: 1- virgin wine..."

Burhān-e qāṭeʿ (17th century Persian dictionry):
"bekr-e pūšīda rūy (veiled virgin): metaphor for wine that has not been removed from the barrel."

While Ibn Hazm and Mas'udis' report about the pre-eternality of matter in Magian philosophy is traceable in Iranian texts, but some Iranian texts we possess today perceive something else pre-eternal in its place: "dēn", that is 'vision; religion (of Ohrmazd)'. As we read in the opening of Bundahišn:

Pārsīg: "ohrmazd ud gāh ud dēn ud zamān ī ohrmazd būd ud ast ud hamē baved...
ahrmen, andar tārīkīh, ped pas-dānišnīh ud zadār-kāmagīh, zufr-pāyag, būd, ud ast, kē nē baved."

Translation: "Ohrmazd, place, vision (religion; dēn) and time of Ohrmazd have always existed, exist now and will always exist...
Ahrmen, in darkness, with backwards-knowledge and desire for destruction, in the depths, has always existed, exists now but will not exist forever."

Interestingly, another Arabic account (Aš-šāmil fī Uṣūl ad-Dīn, by ʻAbd al-Malik al-Juwaynī, written ~1085 AD), reporting the five pre-eternals of Razes, replaces 'Matter' (الهیولی) with 'Reason, Intellect' (العقل, a literal Arabic translation of the Persian 'dēn'), perhaps coming from a more accurate source, approximating the view of Razes to that of 'orthodox' Iranian accounts even more.

"All the Parthians, crowned with the traditional flowers and wearing robes embroidered in gold and various colors, celebrated the occasion, dancing wildly to the music of flutes and the throbbing of drums. They take delight in such orgiastic dancing, especially when they are drunk."

—Herodianus, History of the Empire, IV. 11. 3.

Picture: Arsacid era lute player, Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden, Leiden.

پارسی: "پس اورمزد خدا بندگان را فرموده است که سگان را حرمت داشتن واجب است که پاسبانِ شما است... و هر کسی در دنیا سگ را نگاه دارد و لقمه دهد و سگ را نیازارد، آن روان اگرچه گنهکار و دوزخی باشد، وقتی که دیوان بر وی عقوبت کنند، آن زمان زرینگوش آوازی سهمگین چنان میزند که دیوان از عذاب آن روان دست باز دارند و آن روان را هیچ عقوبت نرسانند."

Translation: "The LORD Ohrmazd has insctructed the people that 'respecting dogs is necessary, for they are your protectors, and whoever protects, feeds and does not harm a dog, if he is wicked and damned, as the demons punish him, Zarrēngōš (lit. Golden-eared, a mythological dog in Zoroastrian afterlife) lets out such a horrific roar that the demons do not punish his soul no more.'"

—Rivayat Hormozyar Framarz, MU I، 260.

"‏وکان انوشروان یقول: الملک بالجند، والجند بالمال، والمال بالخراج، والخراج بالعمارة، والعمارة بالعدل..."
—Al-Mas'udi (896-956 AD), Murūj al-ḏahab wa maʿādin al-jawhar ('The meadows of gold and the mines of jewels').

English Translation:
And (Khosrow) Anushirvan has thus said: Ruling is dependent on army, and gathering an army is dependent on wealth, and gathering wealth is dependent on taxation, and collecting taxes is dependent on construction, and construction is dependent on justice.

Admin's re-translation to original Pārsīg:
husrav anōšagruvān guft ēsted kū: xvadāyīh nē tuvān kirdan bē ped gund, ud gund nē tuvān rāyēnīdan bē ped xvāstag, ud xvāstag nē tuvān gird kirdan bē ped harāg, ud harāg nē tuvan stadan bē ped ābādānīh, ud ābādānīh pēdāg nē baved bē ped dādestānīh.

The Truthful Rule of the Arsacids

"pas bē ō tohmag ud dād ī ahlav bē ardavān rased. ud dārend dvēst-ud-aštād-u-do sāl. ped avēšān xvadāyān sar <āyed> anāgīh andak andak, pas āyed nēkīh spurrīg, ud kišvar andar ābādānīh ud abēbīmīh, ud mardōm andar kāmagzīvišnīh dāšt ēstād bavend."
—Jāmāspīg, Chapter 15.

English Translation:
Then (ruleship) reaches to the line and law of Ahlav(1) until Ardavān, and they rule for 282 years. In (the time of) those lords, blight will end little by little, and well-being will come perfectly, and they keep the land in prosperity and security, and the people live freely.
1- Ahlav ‘truthful’, epithet of Aršak (the founder of the Arsacid dynasty.)

"aškānān, <ī> ped ahlav-xvadāyīh nām barend, dvēst ud and sāl."
—Bundahišn, 240.

English Translation:
The Arsacids who bear the name of the 'Truthful Rule'(1) ruled something over two-hundred years.
1-Old Persian: arta- xšaça-

The incorrect ascribed time of Arsacid rule (~200 to 280 years) is the result of a religious - royal calendar disruption between Iranians after the defeat of the Achaemenid empire by Alexander II of Macedon, perceiving the Macedonian ruler to be a foretold Avestan villain (Av. mairya-).

For more information, see: Asha, R. The Old Persian Era (🔗PDF) and Maiyra: Alexander (🔗PDF)

az anešnāsīh ī dēn mardōm bē ō dēvīzagīh ud uzdēsperistīh vardend.
—Dēnkird, Book VI, M 556.

English Translation:
From unfamiliarity with the religion the people turn to worshiping demons and idolatry.

gētīg ped espanz dār, ud tan ped āsān; nēkīh ped kirdan dār, bazag ped ranz-spōz, mēnōg ped xvēš kunišn.
—handarz ī husrav ī kavādān (The Testament of Khosrow I Anushirvan son of Kavad), 10.

English Translation
Hold (=regard) the material world as an inn; and the body for the rest; hold goodness as a thing to do; and expiation as what repels pain; and hold the spiritual world as your own action.

do hend kē andar āvām ī vad āsānīh: ēk dil dānāg kē dānāgīh ud frazānagīh rāy tis ped tis-iz tis nē dāred ud ranzag nē baved, ēk dušāgāh kē dušāgāhīh rāy tis ped tis-iz tis nē dāred ud ranzag nē baved.
—handarz ī ōšnar ī dānāg, 20.

English Translation:
There are two (persons) who are marked by ease in evil times: one, a wise who, on account of his knowledge and wisdom, does not regard a (material) thing as anything whatever, and is not distressed thereby; the other, an ignorant who, on account of his ignorance, does not regard a (material) thing as anything whatever, and is not distressed thereby.

Chess Playing Strategy:

vāzīdan ī catrang ēn kū: nigerišn ud toxšišn ī ped nigāh dāštan ī abzār ī xvad vēš toxšišn cōn ō burdan šāyistan ī abzār ī ōy ī did, ud ped umēd ī abzār ī ōy ī did burdan šāyistan rāy dast ī vad nē vāzišn, ud hamvār abzār ēk-ē ped kār ud abārīg ped pahrēz dārišn ; ud nigerišn bavandag-menišnīhā, ud abārīg ōn cōn andar ēvēn-nāmag nibišt ēsted.
—vizārišn ī catrang ud nihišn ī nēvardašēr ('explanation of chess and institution of backgammon'), 38

English Translation:
One who (‘d like) to play chess should essentially know this: his intention and effort should be so that he tries more to preserve his own pieces than to be able to take away the pieces of the other, and in the hope of being able to take away the pieces of the other he should not play a bad game, and he should always keep a piece on the attack and the others on the defense, and his intention should be with perfect-mindedness, and the other things as have been written in the Book of Institutes (1).

1- An encyclopedia of various branches of knowledge, compiled during the reign of Xusrō I Anōšervān. Parts of it can be found in quotation or translation in the Dēnkird, works of Tha’ālibī, Ibn Qutayba Dinavari & Ibn Muqaffa’.

—Verses from Omar Khayyam, Translated to Pārsīg:

وقت سحر است، خیز ای مایه‌ی ناز
نرمک نرمک باده دِه و رود نواز
کآن‌ها که به جایند، نپایند دراز
وآنها که شدند، کس نمی‌آید باز

gāh ī ušahin āxēz ē māyag ī nāz
narmag narmag bādag dah ud rōd nivāz
havīn kē ēdar hend nē pāyend drāz
havīn kē bē šud hend nē āyend abāz

At time of dawn, O’ sweet girl, arise!
Slowly, play the lute and pour the wine
For those who still remain, shall not last here long;
And none shall come back, from those begone.



در کارگه کوزه‌گری رفتم دوش
دیدم دو هزار کوزه، گویا و خموش
از دسته‌ی هر کوزه برآورده خروش
سد کوزه‌گر و کوزه‌خر و کوزه‌فروش

ō kārgah ī kōzakkar-ē šud ham dōš
u-m dīd do hazār kōzag gōbāg ud xamōš
az dastag ī harv kōzag āxist hē xrōš
sad kōzakkar ud kōzagxar ud kōzagfrōš

I went at dawn, to a potter’s workshop
Thousands of pots I saw, talking or their mouths shut
From the handle of each, moans you could hear;
Of hundreds of buyers, brokers and potter.

guft ēsted kū hazār mard ō mard-ē ped gōbišn ēdōn nē šāyend vurrōyēnīdan cōn mard-ē hazār mard ped kunišn.
—Dēnkird, Book VI, M 577

English Translation:
It has been said: A thousand men with words cannot convince a single man in such a way as one man with action can convince a thousand.

(Av.) katārō aϑaurunəm pāraiiāt̰ nāirika vā nmānō.paitiš vā. (1.a)
(Prs.) agar har donīn ō gēhān bandagīh, kū-šān xvāstag-sālārīh ēv-dum tuvān kirdan, kadār-iz-ēv be ē raved. (2.b)
—Hērbedestān, Chapter 5.

“Which one of the two should go away for (receiving) priestly training, the woman or the paterfamilias?
If both (are able) for service of the world(ly possessions), so that one of them alone can be the manager of properties, either may go.”

jimšēd kē-š ēn zamīg ped si bahr ē bahr frāxdar kird, u-š āz ud hēz ud zarmān ud margīh bē bast, u-š dar ī dušox bē hannūd... ud dēv margumand dāšt, u-š dād ud peymān abāz ō gēhān āvurd; ud ka-š ōš frāz mad, ēn guft kū 'az ōš ud zamān kas-iz virīxtan nē tuvān.
—gōbišn ī ādurbād ī mahrspendān (Codex TD 26, K.R. Cama Oriental Institute Library).

"Jamshid, who made this earth one-third wider, bound the (demons of) greed, drought, old age and death, plastered (= closed) the gate of hell,... made the demons perishable (= mortal) and brought law and measure back to the world, when he was passing away, said thus: 'None escape death and time.'"

kē may xvāred aziš ēn panz tis ō pēdāgīh rased ī ēd daxšag ī ahlavīh: bavandag-menišnīh ud vahmanyārīh ud mardōmdōstīh ud rādīh ud āštīhxvāhīh. ud ka ēn panz tis ō pēdāgīh āyed ī ād daxšag ī durvandîh: tarmenišnīh ud anāštīh ud mardōmdušmenīh ud penīh, ī akaman, indar, sāval, nāghes, tariz ud zeriz.
—Dēnkird, Book VI, M 576.

“He who drinks wine, of whom these five things become manifest, this is the mark of his righteousness: perfect-mindedness, good-mindedness, love of people, generosity, and peacefulness. And when (of whom) these five things become manifest, this is the mark of his deceitfulness; insolence, lack of peace, enmity with people, (wrath), and avarice, that is, Aka Manah, Iṇdra, Saurva, Nåŋhaiϑya, Taurvi, Zairica.”

A small notice to everyone here:

Thank you for following me until now and thank you for your kind messages. When I made this channel I expected it to gain perhaps 20-25 followers and stay there. But here we are now, at ~250.

I unfortunately have become rather sick, and am unable of updating the channel for a few days. Normal schedule will resume as soon as possible.

-Thank you for all your support,
Admin.