The Aura of Kings: Legitimacy and Divine Sanction in Iranian Kingship (Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series) [Hardcover]

Abolala Soudavar (Author)

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INTRODUCTION

In a 1984 article, Pierre Lecoq faults Shapur Shahbazi—among others—for proposing a reinterpretation of the Achaemenid winged-disk, not as a symbol representing Ahura-Mazdâ but as a symbol of the khvarnah (also called kharra, farreh, farr, "Divine Glory"). Shahbazi had considered two distinct types of khvarnah representations: one as a plain winged-disk supposedly symbolizing the Aryan (Avestic: Airyânem, i.e., Iranian) khvarnah for the Iranian people, and the other with a bearded figure evoking Kayânid (Avestic: Kavaem) khvarnah for royalty. Lecoq produced counterexamples, in which the plain winged-disk appeared in royal scenes and the bearded figure appeared in nonroyal ones. For the latter, Lecoq relied on a published sketch of a coin issued by the satrap Datames. But in reality, the winged-disk of the Datames coin is without a bearded figure (fig.1), and instead, it has a duplicate tail on top, similar to the one displayed on an eighth century BC Neo-Hittite basalt stele (fig. 91).

As a rebellious satrap, Datames had probably placed a winged-disk above his own effigy to claim the authority that his Achaemenid overlord, Artaxerxes II (r. 405-359 BC), also invoked, much in the way that—some twenty centuries later—the rebellious son of Teymur (r. 1370-1405), Mirânshâh, who wished to establish an independent rule in Tabriz, appropriated for himself the authority claimed by his father. He deleted the name of his father and issued farmâns in the name of the very Changizid puppet khân whom Teymur had elevated to the throne (fig. 2).

In the Avestan hymn of Zâmyâd Yasht, Ahura-Mazdâ informs Zoroaster that mortals must seek khvarnah in order to obtain advantages and success. In other words, every man can have the khvarnah, albeit in varying degrees. Even though a non-Achaemenid, Datames could therefore claim the authority of khvarnah after a significant victory. In the same vein, the winged-disk over a scene where Persians are vanquishing their foes in combat (fig. 3), which Shahbazi qualifies as the Aryan khvarnah, may simply symbolize a khvarnah acquired through victory, which enhanced the glory of individual combatants or the Persian army as a whole.

Based on the above examples, simple intuitive logic suggests—and our analysis shall confirm—that the plain winged-disk represented good fortune and increased authority through military success and victory, i.e., the usually accepted attributes of the khvarnah.

Similarly, common sense dictates that the incorporation of the Achaemenid bearded man, who is brandishing a ring of investiture, alters the nature of the abstract winged-disk motif, and its parallelism with Sasanian reliefs suggests that this anthropomorphic symbol represents a deity, most probably Ahura-Mazdâ.

Viewed in the context of authority and legitimacy, the question of whether a motif is the symbol of Ahura-Mazdâ or khvarnah may seem inconsequential. However, as we shall argue, each of our two motifs emanated from a different ideology: one essentially Achaemenid and the other pre-Achaemenid.

Lecoq believes that, in the absence of contemporary textual reference to the winged-disk symbolism, one should not speculate on this issue and bring down the fragile edifice of an acquired knowledge based on the understanding of the winged-disk as a symbol of Ahura-Mazdâ. Unfortunately, the paucity of textual documentation is a hallmark of Iranian studies from one end to the other, and reliance on texts alone can seriously limit research options. The absence of texts, though, can be partially compensated by the recurring imagery that has preserved fundamental Iranian beliefs throughout the course of history. Whether transferred by a Jungian collective unconscious or through a process of oral transmission, basic symbols of authority reemerge with remarkable consistency in Iranian imagery and poetry.

This study traces back khvarnah symbolism from the Mughal era which gives us textual references on the subject of kingly khvarnah and its representation, to the Il-Khânid era in which legitimacy symbols of pre-Islamic Iran were revived; to the Sasanian era when multiple ways of khvarnah representations were created; back to the Achaemenid era, when universal symbols of authority were devised to address the beliefs of the conquered people of the empire as well as the ancient beliefs of Iranians themselves.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: Mazda Pub (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568591098
• ISBN-13: 978-1568591094
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,263,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Novel Study on the Aura of Kings, September 13, 2004

By 

Noshir M. Khambatta (DURHAM, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aura of Kings: Legitimacy and Divine Sanction in Iranian Kingship (Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series) (Hardcover)

Bibliotheca Iranica must be congratulated in sanctioning the publication in it's Intellectual Traditions Series, a unique and novel study on the Aura of Kings, particularly in reference to Ancient Persian and Iranian Kings by Abolala Soudavar.

Since early antiquity, rulers and kings of various dynasties in varied civilizations have claimed themselves or had their chosen ministers proclaim some kind of divine connection with the Divinity. Claiming a divine connection, makes the task of ruling
and formulating policies much easier as few (if any) would like to defy the ultimate source of all power in this universe. Pre-Achemenid, Achemenid, Parthian and Sassanian Kings of Persia were no exception to this rule. This divine connection, legitimacy and sanction of Persian kings was acheived by the ideological concept of the "khvarnah" or the "Divine Glory" usually, visually symbolized as a circular disk or a ringed circle around the head of the king. In early antiquity it was also iconographed as a winged circular disc above the head of the ruling king. Persian literature and sculptures abound with references to the ruler's "Divine Glory" and past studies often emphasized the centrality of this theme to the topics of authority and power. Yet so far little attention and studies have been devoted to this visual symbolism of the "khvarnah" and it's potential for shedding more light on the understanding of Ancient Iranian history. Abolala Soudavar has attempted in his bold daring and novel publication to develop this wealth of iconographic material available into an essential tool for Ancient Iranian historiography.

Soudavar's study traces back the "khvarnah" symbolism from the Mughal era which gives textual references on the subject of kingly "khvarnah" and it's representation to the Il-Khanid era in which legitimacy symbols of pre-Islamic Iran were revived, to the Sassanian era, where multiple ways of the "khvarnah" representaions were created, back to the Achaemenid era when universal symbols of authority were created to demonstrate divine connectedness.

Readers interested in Ancient Iranian history, art and culture would do well to give this book their undivided attention as it is a novel and bold approach at studying a rare and difficult subject, where the past written words are scarce. The book has an excellent bibliography with many new and "fresh" references in the Persian language. However the black and white plate reproduction at the end of the book is marginally satisfactory. The publisher could have provided coloured plates and the layout more spread out for easy reading and comparison.

The book does open up new avenues for discussion and will serve a good reference source for some time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars based on extensive research, July 30, 2006

By 

ghalekhany "babak" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aura of Kings: Legitimacy and Divine Sanction in Iranian Kingship (Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series) (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting book about legitimacy and divine sanctions in Iranian kingship during different Iranian dynasties, Achaemenid, Sasanian, Mughal, and Il Khanid.
As a Turko-Mongol Muslim ruler, the emperor ruler Akbar encountered problem to get an acceptable legitimate right to rule based on Islamic principle of legitimacy and his Vizir based Akbar's Legitimacy on a more acceptable principle of Farre Izadi (Divine glory) and Kayan Kharra (Kayanid Glory) which had deep roots in Iranian culture.
The book consists of 4 chapters:
Chapter I: Khvarnah symbolism is discussed during different dynasties and its connection to Mithraic symbolism.
Chapter II: Reinterpreting Sasanian reliefs: The author has introduced new ways to analyse Sasanian iconography and has rejected the classical translation of Sasanian regal inscriptions which describes the king as `whose seed is from the gods' and a correct translation is `image of god', Chihr az Yazdan.
In this chapter he has also discussed Apam-Napat/Anahita and Mithra as protector of Khvarnah and how Ahura Mazda rose to prominence, while Mithra and Apam-Napat were demoted to a secondary position during Zoroasrtianism.
Chapter III: Symbols of authority for a nascent empire: he traces back the origins of symbolic winged disc to Egyptian art which represented the sky-god and Assyrians used lotus as regal iconography
And it provided Achaemenids with new ideas of combining the lotus and sunflower for a dual representation of the Khvarnah.
Chapter IV Aspects of Farr duality: he has discussed common roots of Iranian and Roman Mithra
The book is very easy to read and is based on calligraphic, pictorial and textual analysis and last 33 pages provides the reader with helpful images and have fantastic footnotes.
I thank Ahura Mazda for having dedicated people like Mr Soudavar among us and recommend this book to readers with love and passion for Iranian history.