Sasanian Empire and Zoroastrism

8/13/2019 Sasanian Empire and Zoroastrism

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The Sasanian Empire and Zoroastrianism: A Symbiotic

RelationshipBy Ali Ghafoori

Religion has often been one of the foundational elements of civilizations. This is particularly true for

the Sasanian Empire. From the very beginning of its establishment, religion and its advocates played

a crucial role in this mighty Empire. This happened partly because the founder of the empire made

Zoroastrianism the religion of the state which resulted in direct involvement of priesthood in the

politics of the empire. By introducing religion into the political arena, Sasanian kings both changed

the religion of Zoroastrianism and made their rule susceptible to priests. The dynamic relationship

between the priests and kings is one of the main themes in the Sasanian era that can be traced

from the beginning to the end of the dynasty. But why did the founder of the Sasanian Empire

decide to make religion an essential part of his rule? How exactly did the priests influence Sasanian

politics? In what way did this relationship affect Zoroastrianism as a religion? These crucial

questions essentially outline the subject matter of this paper. The following is an attempt to answer

these questions through examination of Sasanian history with a focus on religion.

As the founder of Sasanian Empire Ardashir I determined the general directions that the

state followed after him. One of his significant actions was making Zoroastrianism the state religion.

There are several possible explanations for this decision. Firstly, according to some reports the

family of Ardashir have been the hereditary guardians of an important religious site.1Their role as

the guardians of a temple dedicated to the goddess Anahita in Istakhr directly connects Ardashir

and his family to the religious establishment. This provided them with power and authority in that

limited area. However this authority is closely tied to the religion and is dependent on the religious

clergy. Therefore dealing with religion and priesthood was not a novel matter; to the contrary, it

had been the way his family had made their living for many years.

The other possible explanation for Ardashir Is reliance on religion has to do with the issue

of legitimization. Just like his ancestors, whose authority and power were based on religion, he too

needed a basic foundation to build his empire on. Religion has historically been used as a form of

legitimization by rulers. In ancient societies religion was the dominant force that laypeople

respected and followed. Therefore rulers who intended to reign over the population had to

1Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire(London: I.B.Tauris, 2009), 3.


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legitimize their position according to the popular religion. This usually created a two way

relationship between the religious and the ruling establishments. In order to receive the approval of

the religious community the ruler had to offer them something back. In the case of Ardashir I he

made Zoroastrianism the official religion of the state and vows to promote it throughout the state.1

As for the religious legitimization he is depicted as the king of kings from the line of gods.2

According to his inscriptions his position as the king was approved by the divine, Ohrmazd.3

Therefore the king is not just an ordinary ruler who has reached this position by having a powerful

army. Rather he has become the king because he is descended from the gods and his kingship is

ordained by the Supreme deity, Ohrmazd.

The use of such religious legitimization by the king has other consequences as well. Most

importantly it opens up the administration of the King to the priests who are the maintainers of

state religion. Different Sasanian kings relied on priests to assist them in difficult times. For

instance, Ardashir I had difficulty justifying his overthrow of a co-religionist to a local ruler. His wise

and able chief priest, Tonsar offered the critics answers and tried to win them over by religious

reasoning.4 Ardashir depended on the priests for another reason. He started building new fire

temples which had to be administrated by a religious authority. These temples were an important

part of his rule since they had financial functions. Zoroastrians were donating money to these

temples which created a temple economy.5 These are just some of the examples of religious

functions of priests which in turn made them an integral part of the state.

In addition to the functions of priests that are mentioned above they had one other role in

the state that made their existence crucial for the King and his rule. They created doctrinal

uniformity in Zoroastrianism. Many scholars have pointed out the diversity of Zoroastrian beliefs in

Persia at the beginning of Sasanian era.6Therefore the main role of early chief Sasanian priests was

institutionalization of Zoroastrianism. A doctrinal uniformity in the land would allow the rulers to

better control and manage the population. On the other hand diversity can create internal conflicts

and various forms of revolutions. According to the evidence from early Sasanian period

1Mary Boyce,Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices(London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1979), 1.

2Daryaee, Sasanian Persia, 35.


4Boyce,Zoroastrians, 102.


6Parvaneh Pourshariati, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The SasanianParthian Confederacy and the Arab

Conquest of Iran(London: I.B.Tauris, 2008), 419.


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Zoroastrianism did not exist as a single entity. At that time it was a collection of diverse popular

beliefs and practices that varied from one area to another.1

The two early chief priests of the Sasanian kings took up the task of unifying Zoroastrianism

and creating a well-defined religion with similar beliefs and practices across the region. The process

of institutionalization began with Ardashir I and his chief priest, Tansar. With Ardashirs order,

Tansar began collecting different religious texts across the country to compile a single version of

Zoroastrian sacred text, Avesta.2Tansar might have begun religious reforms, but it was Kerdir, the

priest after him that had the most influence on both Sasanian politics and Zoroastrianism. He was

the chief priest under three Sasanian kings. As he mentions it himself on a remaining rock relief his

main concern was the eradication of what he called heresy.3He attempted to create a doctrinal

uniformity among Zoroastrians. He promoted the beliefs and practices that were considered by him

and the state as the true Zoroastrianism while harshly oppressing those who had different ideas.

He considered his and the official state interpretation of the religion as the one and only true

interpretation and therefore dismissed and fought against the opposing or different interpretations.

Another important contribution of Kerdir that helped with the institutionalization of Zoroastrianism

was founding of seminaries (herbedestan). This was a significant contribution by Kerdir since it

eventually led to creation of a class of priests who will have a critical influence on the way Sasanian

Empire functions in the era to follow. In brief the reforms and changes that Kerdir brought with him

increased the power and influence of priesthood in the Sasanian Empire. Another result of his

actions was creation of Zoroastrianism as an institutionalized and uniform religion.

The increase in power of priesthood class created some instability in the relationship

between kings and priests. As it was mentioned, religion was an integral part of this empire

therefore for this political system to work the religious leaders and the king had to work together.

However this was not the case all the time. At some points serious power struggles between the

two sides caused their relationship to deteriorate. The indications of this problem can be seen early

on in the empire. Following Ardashir I, his son Shapur I came to power in a smooth transition.Despite his closeness to his father his worldview was somewhat different from him particularly with

regard to Zoroastrianism. Despite the fact that it is the religion of his ancestors he keeps an open


2Boyce,Zoroastrians, 103.

3Pourshariati, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, 333.


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mind about other traditions. He is visited by a travelling prophet whose ideology seems very

different from Zoroastrianism. Instead of persecuting him Shapur I allows Mani the prophet of

Manichaeism to travel in his kingdom and spread his message. He went even as far as considering

adopting his faith as the state religion since it appeared to be more universal and popular in areas

outside of Iranian culture. However the great influence of Zoroastrian priesthood defused this

threat under the leadership of Kerdir who eventually managed to convince the next king to capture

Mani and execute him.

This incident is one example of how the Zoroastrian priesthood influenced the politics of

Sasanian Empire. In other instances the priests played a crucial role in persecution of other religious

minorities in the Sasanian lands. For example during the reign of Shapur II Zoroastrian priests and

the ruling class felt threatened by the expansion of Christianity in the region after the acceptance of

Christianity by Byzantine Empire. At this time the priests used their power to put pressure on the

Christian population within the Sasanian lands to denounce any sort of ties with Christians in

Byzantine and declare their independence from them.1 Also the priests played an important role in

implementation of poll tax on religious minorities which caused an increase in conversion of people

to Zoroastrianism.

The distancing of Shapur I from the priests is one of the minor cases of conflicts between

kings and priests. However, there are other more severe instances which result in total breakaways

between these two ruling classes. The most obvious example is perhaps the conflict that occurred

during the reign of Kawad I. He came into power at a time of economical difficulty. The state was

under pressure from famine and heavy taxation which created a hostile social atmosphere. The

radical message of a priest caught the attention of the Kawad I.2Mazdak was a priest who had

socialist ideas in todays terminology. Importantly he did not care much about the strict dogmas

of Zoroastrianism which were rigorously imposed by state priests. He proposed a mixing of classes

and redistribution of wealth so those in need can be saved. Obviously the priesthood and the ruling

class were targets of his message so they tried to prevent him and Kawad I from implementingthese ideas. They managed to arrest and imprison the King. However the King managed to escape

and organized an army with the help of a neighboring state. He comes back and reassumes his

1Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian Iran (224651CE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda, 2008), 56.

2Daryaee, Sasanian Iran, 68.


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power.1Following his return he implements the reforms he had in mind which greatly weakens the

traditional ruling elites and creates new elite of land owners ( dehgans).2This example shows how

severe the conflict between kings and priesthood had been at some points.

In general, priests had more influence on the kings and their decision making. In several

cases it was the priesthood and nobility that decided who the next king will be especially when

there was a dispute between heirs with regard to succession. For instance priests with the help of

nobility deposed Adur-Narse and replaced him with his infant son. This change allowed them to rule

the state until Shabur II reached the age of maturity.3 These examples are all indications of how

powerful the priests were in the Sasanian Empire.

In addition to the influence of religion on domestic politics the religious language and

sentiment can also be found in the foreign relations of Sasanian Empire. The Zoroastrian worldview

affected even the way kings perceived their rivals. For instance on the rock-relief at Naqsh-e

Rustam Shapur I says that Caesar lied, which refers to the binary Zoroastrian worldview of

lie/chaos/darkness versus truth/order/light.4 In another inscription with the exact same message,

the enemies of King Narseh are described as liars and followers of lies.5These examples show how

the doctrinal beliefs of Zoroastrianism influenced the way the kings perceived the world around

them.

It should now be clear how important the role of religion was in the politics of Sasanian

Empire. Just as the founder of Sasanian Empire influenced the fate of Zoroastrianism, this religion

and its priests influenced his dynasty. His decision to make Zoroastrianism the state religion

eventually resulted in ossification of the religion and possibility the reason it has been preserved

until now. However this was a two way relationship. Zoroastrianism and its priests also changed the

fate of Sasanian Empire. Their influences were as powerful as bringing a king to power to

dethroning another. They defined and preserved the hierarchical structure of the society which

benefited them and their allies. These priests were also responsible for persecution of rival

traditions within Sasanian borders. All these points attest to the great cultural and politicalinfluence of Zoroastrian priesthood during the Sasanian era.



3Pourshariati, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, 56.

4Daryaee, Sasanian Iran, 24-25.



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Bibliography

Boyce, Mary.Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.London: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Ltd, 1979.

Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Iran (224 - 651 CE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire.Costa Mesa: Mazda

Publishers, 2008.

. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.London: I.B.Tauris, 2009.

Pourshariati, Parvaneh. Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The SasanianParthian

Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran.London: I.B.Tauris, 2008.

Sasanian Empire and Zoroastrism

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