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: Iran : Naqš-i Rustam : Sasanian rock reliefs : photos by Marco Prins ; text Jona Lendering © |
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Naqš-i Rustam (2) |
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otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona
Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes,
but you have to acknowledge Livius.
The first page of pictures can be found here. |
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The investiture of king Ardašir I (224?-241). To the right, the relief of Bahram II. Ardašir was the son of a Zoroastrian high priest from Istakhr, immediately north of Persepolis, where the ancient cults of the Achaemenid Empire were continued. Now, when Ardašir revolted against his Parthian overlord, he developed a new royal ideology. He more or less admitted that he had been rebel and had betrayed his master Artabanus V, but he had done so because the supreme god Ahuramazda had wanted him to do so. The relief of Ardašir is, therefore, the legitimization of the new, Sasanian dynasty. The site is logical: close to the ancient capital of the Achaemenids. |
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To the right, we see Ahuramazda, who hands over a ring to Ardašir, on the left. This ring, called cydaris, is the symbol of power. Both men are seated on horses and crush defeated enemies. To the left is an attendant with a fly-whisk; this man is also seen on other reliefs of Ardašir (e.g., at Naqš-e Rajab). | |
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Ardašir, taking the ring with his right hand and saluting the god with
his left fist and pointed index finger. This gesture can be seen on many
Sasanian
rock reliefs. His crown has a rather unusual globe, which is called
korymbos.
This relief is very important, because it marks the beginning of the Sasanian royal art. Comparable reliefs by Ardašir are found at nearby Naqš-i Radjab and faraway Firuzabad. Later kings ordered identical reliefs to be made. |
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Ahuramazda. From the holy book of Zoroastrianism, the Avesta, we know that the bundle of sacred twigs in his left hand is called the barsom. When this relief was cut, this symbol of religious power already had a very long history; they are already depicted on Achaemenid reliefs (e.g., Dascylium). Behind Ahuramazda's head is a ribbon, usually called diadem, a symbol of power. | |
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The two crushed enemies. The horse of Ahuramazda, right, tramples on the evil spirit, Ahriman (the Zoroastrian devil); Ardašir has defeated the last Parthian king, Artabanus V. His former dignity is indicated by the fact that he still wears his diadem. | |
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The triumph relief of Shapur I (241-272), the most famous Sasanian rock relief, very close to the tomb of Darius I the Great. It shows how he has defeated two Roman emperors. (A more elaborate version of this relief is at Bishapur.) In 244, the Romans invaded Mesopotamia and besieged the important city Ctesiphon, but the war lasted long, and the Roman emperor Gordian III was replaced by Philippus Arabs, who concluded a peace treaty with Shapur. | |
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Philip paid a ransom and was happy to return alive, and Shapur could present this as if Philip owed the throne to him. The new emperor is kneeling in front of the king's horse. The standing man is the emperor Valerian, who was taken captive in 260. Shapur takes him by the hand to show that he has been seized. | |
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Behind the king is his high priest, Kartir, saluting the king with the gesture of the fist and index finger. This relief is an addition from the reign of Bahram II (276-293). | |
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Kartir was able to make Zoroastrianism the state religion of the empire and was responsible for the persecution of Christians, Jews, and Buddhists, and instigated the death of the prophet Mani, thus giving Manichaeism its first martyr. The scissor-shaped emblem on his cap allows us to identify Kartir. | |
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The two emperors again. Valerian, standing, was not the only one to be taken captive. His soldiers, many of them belonging to the Sixth legion Ferrata, were sent to Shushtar, where they built a bridge. They may have also been employed at Bishapur. | |
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The glorious great Sasanian king of kings. | |
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And another picture, a cameo, showing the same triumph: the king (right) seizes the emperor (left). |
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