Ashem Vohu Manuscript found in China

Zoroastrian prayer, the Ashem Vohu

          British Library Or. 8212/84 (Ch.00289)

                    Copyright © The British Library Board

 

Ashem Vohu

This ninth- or 10^th-century Sogdian manuscript from Dunhuang, China, contains a version of one of the holiest Zoroastrian prayers:  the Ashem Vohu, composed originally in the Avestan old Iranian) language.

What is Zoroastrianism?

Zoroastrianism, the religion of the ancient Iranians, is named after Zarathushtra (Zoroaster in Greek sources) whose songs (Gathas) are thought to have been composed 1500-1000 BC.  Zoroastrianism teaches the importance of good thoughts, words, and actions, in a world where the forces of the all-knowing lord, Ahura Mazda, are constantly opposed by those of the evil spirit, Angra Mainyu.

Originating in Central Asia, Zoroastrianism spread to Iran where it was the religion of the Achaemenid kings (550-330 BC) and their successors until the Arab conquest in the mid-7^th century AD.  In Central Asia, Zoroastrianism continued alongside Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity until finally supplanted by Islam between the 8^th and 10^th centuries.  In South Asia, Zoroastrian refugees from Iran settled in Gujarat, India, in the 10^th century, and from there Parsi 'Persian' diaspora communities became established worldwide.

What are the Avesta?

The oldest Zoroastrian scriptures are referred to as the Avesta or Zend Avesta.  The Avesta contains the sacred texts in the Avestan language, whereas the Zend refers to their translations and explanations in Pahlavi, the language of Sasanian Iran (c. 224-651 AD).  The Avestan language was probably spoken from the second millennium until the first half of the first millennium BC, but the Avestan scriptures, unlike the Old Testament and the Qur'an, were transmitted orally and were not written down in the form in which they are preserved today – until many centuries later in Iran, in late Sasanian times, when the oral tradition could no longer be completely relied upon

Zoroastrianism in Central Asia

Our knowledge of Zoroastrianism comes mainly from Iran and India where it continued to be a living religion.  Since it was an essentially oral religion, comparatively little is known about Zoroastrianism in Central Asia, its original homeland.  Traces can be found in the Middle Iranian Central Asian languages of Sogdian, Bactrian and Khotanese - where, for example, Ahura Mazda survives as urmaysde, 'sun' in Khotanese, and the day-names in Sogdian and Bactrian are those of the Zoroastrian calendar.

The most extensive evidence, however, comes from archaeological discoveries.  Excavations at Sogdian cities such as Panjikent have revealed frescoes portraying gods and scenes of worship.  More recently several 6^th-century funerary monuments of wealthy Sogdian traders from Central China have come to light depicting specifically Zoroastrian scenes.  For example, the priest wearing the padam (the white mask that Zoroastrian priests wear so as not to defile the sacred flame), with attendant dog before a fire altar, and deceased souls crossing the Chinvat Bridge to the next life.

Who were the Sogdians?

The Sogdians lived in the area around Samarkand in modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Sogdiana is first mentioned in the Avesta as one of the Zoroastrian lands of eastern Iran, and in Old Persian cuneiform inscriptions as a province of the Achaemenid empire.  By the early 4^th century AD the Sogdians were well established as traders travelling the length of the Silk Road as far East as the Chinese capital, Luoyang.  Their commodities included gold, silver, camphor, pepper, musk, wheat, silk, and other kinds of cloth.  Sogdian communities developed at staging posts along the trade route, and in Dunhuang, where this manuscript was found, there is written evidence as early as the fourth century for a Zoroastrian temple, which was still flourishing in the early 10^th century.  The Sogdian language died out some time after the 10^th century AD, but a related dialect, Yagnobi, still survives as a minority language spoken in the Yagnob valley north of Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Why is this manuscript so important?

It is the oldest existing copy of a Zoroastrian scripture, written in Central Asia more than 300 years before any other surviving manuscript.  All the others, such as the Avestan law book, the Videvdad, come from Iran and India and date from the end of the 13^th century.

This short fragment contains one of the very few Sogdian texts which are wholly Zoroastrian in content. The main part, written in normal Sogdian of about the 9^th century, describes Zoroaster addressing an unnamed 'supreme god.'  However, the true significance lies in the first two lines which appear to be a transcription in Sogdian script of one of the holiest Zoroastrian prayers, the Avestan Ashem Vohu , written more than 300 years earlier than any surviving Avestan manuscript.

Whether the text here represents the contemporary Dunhuang pronunciation of the prayer transcribed by someone who did not understand Avestan, or whether it was copied from some older transcription or translation is unclear, but the language seems to preserve features noticeably different from the Avesta as we otherwise know it while at the same time it is substantially different from standard Sogdian.

For example, the word for 'truth' is represented neither by Avestan ashem, nor by a Sogdian equivalent such as *rtu or reshtyak, but by -rtm, a spelling which represents a form identical with Achaemenid Old Persian *rtam.

How was the manuscript discovered?

This manuscript was one of 40,000 or so books and manuscripts hidden in one of the 'Caves of a Thousand Buddhas' – a cliff wall near the city of Dunhuang honeycombed with 492 grottoes cut from the rock from the 4^th century onwards and decorated with religious carvings and paintings. The secret library was sealed up at the beginning of the 11^th century, probably under threat from the Karakhanids who had taken Khotan in 1006.

The cave was discovered in 1900 by the Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu who presented manuscripts and paintings to local officials, hoping in return for financial support to pay for conservation work.  When the archaeologist and explorer Aurel Stein arrived there in 1907, Wang Yuanlu sold him large numbers of manuscripts and paintings which are now in the British Library, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Museum Delhi.  For more details see our feature on the Silk Road.

What does this fragment show?

This manuscript fragment appears to be the top 10 lines of a scroll.  Traces of where the next sheet was attached are still visible at the bottom.        The text has been written with some care in a large and calligraphic hand, with a ruled margin on the right hand side.  To judge from the paper and style of calligraphy, our scribe may also have copied another similar Sogdian fragment preserved in the British Library which tells the story of the Iranian national hero Rustam.

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/ashem.html

basic beliefs of Zoroastrians

Basic beliefs
There is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is ultimately directed.
Ahura Mazda's creation - evident as asha, truth and order - is the antithesis of chaos, evident as dorugh, falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict (see #3 below).
Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will, and Zoroastrianism rejects all forms of monasticism.
Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end (cf: Zoroastrian eschatology). In the final renovation, all of creation - even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness" - will be (re)united in God.
In Zoroastrian tradition, the malevolent is represented by Angra Mainyu, the "Destructive Principle", while the benevolent is represented through Ahura Mazda's Spenta Mainyu, the instrument or "Bounteous Principle" of the act of creation. It is through Spenta Mainyu that Ahura Mazda is immanent in humankind, and through which the Creator interacts with the world. According to Zoroastrian cosmology, in articulating the Ahuna Vairya formula, Ahura Mazda made his ultimate triumph evident to Angra Mainyu.
As expressions and aspects of Creation, Ahura Mazda emanated six "sparks", the Amesha Spentas, "Bounteous Immortals" that are each the hypostasis and representative of one aspect of that Creation. These Amesha Spenta are in turn assisted by a league of lesser principles, the Yazatas, each "Worthy of Worship" and each again a hypostasis of a moral or physical aspect of Creation.

[edit] History
Although older (see Zoroaster for a date), Zoroastrianism only enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE. Herodotus's The Histories (completed c. 440 BCE) includes a description of Greater Iranian society with what may be recognizably Zoroastrian features, including exposure of the dead. (See Towers of Silence).
Perhaps more importantly, The Histories is a primary source of information on the early period of the Achaemenid era (648–330 BCE), in particular with respect to the role of the Magi. According to Herodotus i.101, the "Magi" were the sixth tribe of the Medians (until the unification of the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great, all Iranians were referred to as Mede or Mada by the peoples of the Ancient World), who appear to have been the priestly caste of the Mesopotamian-influenced branch of Zoroastrianism today known as "Zurvanism", and who wielded considerable influence at the courts of the Median emperors.
Following the unification of the Median and Persian empires in 550 BCE, Cyrus II and later his son Cambyses II curtailed the powers of the "Magi" after these had attempted to seed dissent following their loss of influence. In 522 BCE, the "Magi" revolted and set up a rival claimant to the throne. The usurper, pretending to be Cyrus' younger son Smerdis, took power shortly thereafter. Owing to the despotic rule of Cambyses and his long absence in Egypt, "the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years (Herodotus iii. 68).

The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius' conquests, with the names of twenty-three provinces subject to him. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance.
According to the Behistun Inscription, pseudo-Smerdis ruled for seven months before being overthrown by Darius I in 521 BCE. The "Magi", though persecuted, continued to exist, and a year following the death of the first pseudo-Smerdis (named Gaumata), had a second pseudo-Smerdis (named Vahyazdāta) attempt a coup. The coup, though initially successful, failed.
Whether Cyrus II was a Zoroastrian is subject to debate. It did however influence him to the extent that it became the non-imposing religion of his empire, and its beliefs would later allow Cyrus to free the Jews from captivity (and allow them to return to Judea) when the emperor took Babylon in 539 BCE. Whether Darius I, though certainly a devotee of Ahura Mazda (as attested to several times in the Behistun inscription), was a follower of Zoroaster has not been conclusively established, since a devotion to Ahura Mazda was (at the time) not necessarily an indication of an adherence to Zoroaster's teaching.
Darius I and later Achaemenid emperors, though acknowledging their devotion to Ahura Mazda in inscriptions, appear to have permitted religions to coexist. Nonetheless, it was during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism gained momentum, and a number of the Zoroastrian texts (that today are part of the greater compendium of the Avesta) have been attributed to that period. It was also during the (later) Achaemenid era that many of the divinities and divine concepts of proto-Indo-Iranian religion(s) were incorporated in Zoroastrianism, in particular, those to whom the days of the month of the Zoroastrian calendar are dedicated. That religious calendar, which is still in use today, is itself (to some extent) an Achaemenid-era development. Those divinities, the yazatas, are present-day Zoroastrianism's angels. (Dhalla, 1938).
Almost nothing is known of the status of Zoroastrianism under the Seleucids and Parthians who ruled over Persia following Alexander the Great's invasion in 330 BCE. According to later Zoroastrian legend (Denkard, Book of Arda Viraf), many of the Zoroastrian sacred texts were lost when Alexander's troops destroyed the royal library at Persepolis subsequent to the taking of the city. Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historia (completed c. 60 BCE), which is to a great extent an encapsulation of earlier works, appears to substantiate Zoroastrian legend (Diod. 17.72.2–17.72.6). According to one archaeological examination, the ruins of the palace of Xerxes bear traces of having been subjected to fire (Stolze, 1882). Whether a vast collection of (semi-)religious texts "written on parchment in gold ink" as suggested by the Denkard actually existed remains a matter of speculation, but is in all likelihood untrue. Given that many of the Denkards statements-as-fact have since been established as untrue, among scholars, the tale of the library is widely accepted to be a fiction. (Kellens, 2002)