The Hêrbedestân

The article below by Firoze M. Kotwal on Hêrbedestân is posted in the CAIS (Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies) venue but was originally published in the Encyclopedia Iranica on December 15, 2003 and last updated on March 22, 2012. This article is also available in print in the Encyclopedia Iranica (Vol. XII, Fasc. 3, pp. 227-228).

Kindly note that the pictures and accompanying captions describing these do not appear in the original postings of this article in the Encyclopedia Iranica and the CAIS venues.


Hêrbedestân (school for priests, religious school), is a Middle Persian term designating (1) Zoroastrian priestly studies and (2) an Avestan/Pahlavi text found together with the Nêrangestân manuscripts.

The term hêrbedestân, which derives from Middle Persian hêrbed (q.v.), is generally translated as “courses of (advanced) priestly studies” or “religious studies.” It refers to courses of study offered by a priestly teacher (hêrbed). The evidence of the Zand î Wahman yasn (2.2-4) shows that, at least until the time of Sasanian Khosrow I Anôširavân (r. 531-79), attendance at the hêrbedestân was open to priesthood and laity alike. Advanced Zoroastrian priestly studies focused on the Pahlavi translation and exegesis of Avestan texts (Zand), which future scholar priests were required to study profoundly and in some cases to learn by heart. For lay people, on the other hand, such studies may have consisted essentially of listening to the explanations of the hêrbed (see Kotwal and Kreyenbroek, 1992, p. 17). Perhaps as a result of Mazdak’s revolt, Khosrow I found it necessary to bar the laity from studying the Zand, thus restricting attendance at the hêrbedestân to the priesthood.


Herbedestan Text-KotwalThe Herbedestan and Nerangestan by Firoze M. Kotwal and Philip G. Kreyenbroek published by ISD in 2009 (Source: Strand Books).

The text known as Hêrbedestân deals with the conditions affecting advanced priestly studies. Like the Nêrangestân and Vendidâd, the text appears to represent an ancient Zoroastrian learned, rather than liturgical, tradition. It was originally transmitted orally and committed to writing at an unknown date. Whereas liturgical texts were usually recited by at least two priests, who could check each other’s recitation, learned texts were taught by a single priestly teacher, whose mistakes were not corrected. This could result in a decline in the accuracy of the transmission; many Avestan passages in the Hêrbedestân are obviously corrupt.


2-Darmesteter-Zend Avesta

James Darmesteter’s translation of the Zend-Avesta (Source:





Idem, The Zend Avesta, SBE 4, 2nd ed., New York, 1895. Bamanji Nasarvanji Dhabhar, ed., Pahlavi Yasna and Vispered, Bombay, 1949.

Helmut Humbach (in cooperation with Josef Elfenbein), ed. and tr., Ê, Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, N.S. 15, Munich, 1990.

Firoze M. Kotwal and James W. Boyd, Ê, facs. ed. of the MS TD, Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1980.

Firoze M. Kotwal and Philip G. Kreyenbroek (with contributions by James Russell), eds. and trs., The Hêrbedestân and Nêrangestân I: Hêrbedestân, Studia Iranica, Cahier 10, Paris, 1992; II: Nêrangestân, Fragard 1, Studia Iranica, Cahier 16, Paris, 1995.

D. N. MacKenzie, A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary, London 1971. Darab Peshotan Sanjana, ed., Nirangistan, Photozincographed facs. ofa ms. Belonging to Hoshangjee Jamaspjee of Poona, Bombay, 1984.


Zand î Wahman yasn, ed. and tr. Carlo G. Cereti as The Zand î Wahman Yasn: A Zoroastrian Apocalypse, Instituto italiano per il medio ed estremo orient, Serie orientale 75, Rome, 1995.

An Overview of the History of Mithraism

The article belowA History of the worship of Mithras, and Mithraism as a Mystery Religion” was originally published in the website. Kindly note that the images and accompanying inserted below do not appear in the original article posting in the website.


Mithraism is the worship of the god Mithras, best known as an ancient Roman Mystery Religion. Mithras is the Roman name for the Indo-Iranian deity Mitra or Mithra, and it is by that name that he was known the Persians. Mithra was one of the minor deities under Ahura-Mazda in the Zoroastrian pantheon, from 1,500 BCE onward. Since the beginning, Mithra, or Mithras has been associated with the Light of the Sun, Truthfulness, and Mediation.

Roman worship of Mithras began sometime during the 1st century CE and continued to the end of the 4th Century CE.  During this time the worship of Mithras spread throughout the ancient world. Mithraeums, Roman temples of the Mithraic Mysteries, are found in almost every ancient European country; Britain, Spain, Germany and the rest of Western and Eastern Europe, and even into Aftrica.    It is believed that the Romans first encountered the worship of Mithras  within the religion of Zoroastrianism in the Eastern provinces of the Empire, near the Persian border.  There are various theories as to the beginnings of Roman Mithraism, and exactly how much Persian information was incorporated in the Roman Mysteries.  Today most of what is known about Mithrasim comes from archaeological remains from Mithraeums, dedicatory inscriptions, iconography, and a small amount of literary evidence from the Classical world. 

Aspects of Mithras the God

Mitra, or Mithra  is the Indo-Iranian name for the Roman god Mithras. Mitra is known from the ancient  Hindu pantheon, and Mithra is a name known from the Zoroastrian pantheon. In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is one of the “yazatas”, or minor deities under Ahura-Mazda. In Zoroastrianism Mithra is a god of Light that mediates between heaven and earth. Mithra also presides over honorable contracts and mediation.



Mithras is mentioned both in the Vedas, the ancient holy books of Hindusim, and he is also named in the hymns of the Zoroastrian Avesta, which was written between 224-640 CE as a compilation of older religious oral traditions.

The Mysteries of Mithras

The Roman cult of Mithras is known as a “mystery cult.” A Mystery Cult is  an organized,  secret system of learning and worship through which participants undergo ritual  ritual initiations to confirm various stages of knowledge and inner development. Worship took place in a temple, called a mithraeum, which was made to resemble a natural cave. Sometimes temples were built specifically for the purpose, but often they were single rooms in larger buildings which usually had another purpose (for example, a bath house, or a private home). There are over a hundred mithraea preserved in the empire. Mithraea were longer than they were wide, usually around 10-12m long and 4-6m wide, and were entered from one of the short sides. Roman dining couches, called klinai or podia, lined the long sides of the mithraeum, leaving a narrow aisle in between. At the end of this aisle, opposite the entrance, was the Tauroctony,  the cult image showing Mithras sacrificing a bull. The ceiling of the mithraeum was often painted with stars to symbolize the dome of heaven, or the cosmos.


A reconstruction of a Mithraeum (Darb-e Mehr) depicting the stages of ascension on the floor as alluded to in the previous photo this posting (Source:Wolfgang Sauber for Public Domain). Note the placing of grapes (right side); grapes continue to signify vitality and renewal in Iran, Italy, Anatolia and the Caucasus.

Very little Mithraic liturgical text has survived, but much is known from temple imagery and inscription. It is known that in certain rites mithraists gathered for a common meal, initiation of members, and other ceremonies. It is also known that the  structure of Mithraism was hierarchical. Members went through a series of seven grades, each of which had a special symbol and a ruling planet. From lowest to highest these grades were Corax (raven, under Mercury), Nymphus (a made-up word meaning male bride, under Venus), Miles (the soldier, under Mars), Leo (the lion, under Jupiter), Perses (the Persian, under Luna, the moon), Heliodromus (Sun-Runner, under the sun), and finally Pater (father, under Saturn). Those who reached the highest grade, Pater, could become the head of a congregation. Because mithraea were so small, new congregations were probably founded on a regular basis when one or more members reached the highest grade. It is known that it was possible for Mithraic initiates to be members of more than one cult, as inscriptions from various Mithraists have shown.


Mithraic Iconography

There is a rich and cohesive body of iconography which has survived within the various Mithraeum temples. Central to each mithraeum there was the tauroctony, the image of the bull slaying which was shown at the main altar.  In the tauroctony Mithras is clad in a tunic, trousers, cloak, and a pointed cap usually called a Phrygian cap. He looks away from the bull while  half-straddling its back, and pulling  the bull’s head back by its nostrils with his left hand. Mithras is plunging a dagger into the bull’s shoulder with his right hand.  Various figures surround this dramatic event. Under the bull a dog laps at the blood dripping from the wound and a scorpion attacks the bull’s testicles. Often the bull’s tail ends in wheat ears and a raven is perched on the bull’s back. The scene is bracketed at the sides by the two smaller figures of Cautes and Cautopates, both of whom wear costume similar to that of Mithras. Cautes is to the right, holding an upraised and burning torch. Above him, in the upper left corner, is the sun god, Sol, in his chariot. On the viewer’s left there is  Cautopates, who holds a torch that points downards and is sometimes, but not always, burning. Above Cautopates in the upper right corner is the moon, Luna. This group of figures is almost always present, but there are variations, of which the most common is an added line of the signs of the zodiac over the top of the bull-sacrificing scene.

Another depiction of Mithras with Persian dress slaying the sacred bull at the Vatican Museum in Rome (Source: Note the dog and serpent heading towards the gushing blood pouring down from the bull’s neck as the the scorpion heads towards the dying bull’s testicles.


Mithraism and the Ancient World

The archaeological evidence for Mithraism, consisting mostly of monuments, inscribed dedications, and the remains of mithraea, indicates that the cult was widely practiced among the Roman Legions legions stationed in frontier areas. The Danube and Rhine river frontier has the highest concentration of evidence, but a significant quantity of evidence amply demonstrates that Mithraism was also popular among the troops stationed in the province of Numidia in North Africa and along Hadrian’s wall in England. The inscriptions on dedications found in all these areas show s Mithraism was most popular among legionaries (of all ranks), government officials, and even also merchants and even slaves.

-Mithraeum Rome San Clemente

The Mithraeum located under Rome’s Basilica of San Clemente (Source: Public Domain).


Entrance to the Temple of Hatra in Iraq, possibly dedicated to Mithras (Source: Public Domain).

As the cult in Rome became more popular, it seems to have “trickled up” the social ladder, with the result that Mithraism could count several senators from prominent aristocratic families among its adherents by the fourth century CE. Some of these men were initiates in several cults imported from the eastern empire (including those of Magna Mater and Attis, Isis, Serapis, Jupiter Dolichenus, Hecate, and Liber Pater, among others), and most had held priesthoods in official Roman cults. The devotion of these men to Mithraism reflects a fourth-century “resurgence of paganism,” when many of these imported cults and even official Roman state religion experienced a surge in popularity although, and perhaps because, their very existence was increasingly threatened by the rapid spread of Christianity after the conversion of the emperor Constantine in 313 CE.


Kurdish man engaged in the worship of Mithras in a Pir’s (mystical leader/master) sanctuary which acts as a Mithraic temple (Source: Kasraian & Arshi, 1993, Plate 80). Note how he stands below an opening allowing for the “shining of the light”, almost exactly as seen with the statue in Ostia, Italy. These particular Kurds are said to pay homage to Mithras three times a day.

Mithraism had a wide following from the middle of the second century to the late fourth century CE.  Although Christianity and Mithraism were rival cults Mithraism was at a serious disadvantage right from the start because it allowed only male initiates. What is more, Mithraism was only one of several cults imported from the eastern empire that enjoyed a large membership in Rome and elsewhere. It was these groups as a combined whole that were the greatest competition to Christianity.

The End of Ancient Mithraism

Mithraism as an organized religion seems to have been in trouble almost immediately after about 313 CE, when the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. The power centers of Mithraism were in Rome, the area closest to the newly Christian state. A great number of its adherents were part of the government and the Legions. In order to maintain the good graces of the Emperor many Mithraists seem to have left or even turned against the worship of Mithras. From this time onward there is archaeological evidence of Mithraeums being abandoned and even desecrated and destroyed. This was certainly encouraged by the early Church.  Christians saw Mithraism as a devilish imitation of what they believed to be the one true religion, and they frequently broke into and destroyed Mithraic temples with “official” approval.

Mithradates as Magus

An interesting relief at the ruins of Arsameia, the capital of the kingdom of Commagene in 1st century BC. King Mithradates I Kallinikos of Commagene (100–70 BC) dressed as the Zoroastrian Magi (left) shakes hands with the Greek god Hercules (Source:Kaveh Farrokh’s lectures at The University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division; Photo originally by Mani Moradi). Note that Hercules in Commagene also represented the Persian god Artagnes. Commagene like the Pontus was a small post-Achaemenid Iranian kingdom in Anatolia situated squeezed between Parthia to its east and the expanding Roman Empire to its west. Various versions of Mithradates’ crown continue to appear among various mystical sects of Western Iran, notably Kurdistan.

Although evidence is not conclusive it is thought that Mithraism may have lacked a clear and cohesive organization and hierarchy between individual groups, as Christianity was to have later. If this is the case,  then an already depleted Mithraic cult must have found it difficult indeed to stem a rising tide of official opposition. Individual Mithraeums and groups seem to have fallen one by one without a system of mutual support.

The last known archaeological dating from a Mithraeum is from 408 CE. It is entirely possible that pockets of Mithraism survived later than that, but it is certain that there was in essence no public Mithraic cult in the Roman world after that time.

The Modern Rediscovery of Mithraism

Very little popular knowledge of Mithraism survived the ancient world until the 20th century. There were a few literary references to a cult known as Mithraism which survived through the Middle Ages in literature, and there were even a very few bits of iconography to attest that the cult did indeed exist. However, no in-depth study of Mithraism was attempted until the work of Franz Cumont, (1868-1947). Cumont participated in a great amount of new archaeology and research into Mithraism, and formulated the theory that that Roman Mithraism had its roots in Zoroastrianism. He wrote two books, ” Textes et monuments figurés relatifs aux mystères de Mithra” in 1896 and 1899. Cumont compiled a catalogue of every known mithraic temple, monument, inscription, and literary passage relating to Mithras and claimed on the basis of his study of this body of evidence that Roman Mithras was, ultimately, Zoroastrian Mithra. Cumont argued by extension that if Roman Mithras had Iranian roots, the cult of Mithraism must have originated in the eastern provinces of the Roman empire and spread westward with legionaries in the Roman army, merchants from eastern provinces (often lumped under the broad misnomer “Syrians”), freedmen in the imperial bureaucracy, and slaves.



Cumont’s large scholarly corpus and his opinions dominated Mithraic studies for decades. A series of conferences on Mithraism beginning in 1970 and an enormous quantity of scholarship by numerous individuals in the last quarter century has demonstrated that many of Cumont’s theories were incorrect (see especially Hinnells 1975 and Beck 1984). At the same time this recent work has greatly increased modern understanding of Mithraism, and it has opened up new areas of inquiry. Many questions, particularly those concerning the origins of the Roman cult of Mithras, are still unresolved and may always remain so. Even so, recent studies such as Mary Boyce’s and Frantz Grenet’s History of Zoroastrianism (1991) approach the relationship between Zoroastrianism and Mithraism in an entirely new light. Iconographic studies, especially those focused on the astrological aspects of the cult, abound, while other scholars examine the philosophical and soteriological nature of the cult (Turcan 1975 and Bianchi 1982). The field of mithraic studies is one which remains active and dynamic and one for which serious attention to the recent work greatly repays the effort to tackle this vast body of exciting new work.

Mithraism as a Modern Religion

As modern scholars have continued to research and rebuild the basics of Mithraism, there has been a corresponding rise of contemporary active Religious interest in the Mithraic Mysteries. In the last two decades the number of people actively aspiring to worship Mithras, (and to become initiated in his Mysteries) has grown exponentially. Mithraism has come from being a forgotten, dead ancient cult remembered only by specialized academics to a path often mentioned among modern Pagans, occultists, reconstructionists and reenactors.

Modern scholarship has made more Mithraic knowledge available to the world than has been available for many centuries. Such information is crucial, yet it is perhaps not the entire reason why the idea of Mithraism as a living path has been gaining popular interest.


The Mithraeum of Seven Gates, Ostia (Source: Philip Coppens). As noted by Philip Coppens: “The Cult of Mithras, rather than Christianity, almost became the religion that dominated Western Europe. It failed, but intriguingly, we now hardly know anything about it”.

The rediscovery of Mithraism has shown the Mithraic Mysteries to be a religious path amazingly well suited to the modern world. It is an organized, honorable path of Virtue, yet one that accepts and even incorporates other religions. It is a path presided over by a guiding Savior God – but yet one that demands that practitioners learn, grow and become powerful spiritual beings in their own right. It is a path where belief is honored . Yet it is also a path where knowledge and direct experience are considered to be crucial to spiritual understanding.

Mithraism may well become a much-needed bridge between various religions and faiths that exist in the world of today. To those from Christian and other monotheistic backgrounds, Mithraism offers a positive religion of the Light that is presided over by a strong Savior God. To those practicing various Pagan or New Age paths, Mithraism offers organization, systematic knowledge and growth, and a path that historically respects a wide variety of other religious paths and world cultures.

The Future of Mithraism

While the future of Mithraism is of course uncertain, it is still possible to focus on specific facts that are likely to continue. Firstly, it is very unlikely that Mithraism will “slip back into the shadows” to become obscure once again. Mithraic information recovered over the past several decades will continue to be available, and new Mithraic sites, artifacts and inscriptions will continue to be recovered.

It is also likely that a general religious interest in Mithraism will continue to rise. One by one the religions of the ancient world are being reclaimed. It is impossible to say if Mithraism will ever again regain the world position it held during the Roman Empire, it is possible to say that from this point onward there will always be at least a few people who honor Mithras in a religious manner.

Whether organized groups take hold and and organized group Mysteries are rebuilt in the future will be very much determined by what takes place in the present and near future. Mithraeum has been formed to help this possibility become reality.



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Newly-found Petroglyph in Western Iran may have link to Mithraism

The article “Newly-found petroglyph in western Iran may have link to Mithraism” was published in Payvand News of Iran on October 1, 2019 (this was first reported in the Tehran Times). The version printed below has been slightly edited and provided with hyperlinks. Kindly note that excepting one photo, all other images and accompanying captions do not appear in the original Payvand News and Tehran Times postings.


A newly-discovered rock-carving in western Iran could have a link to Mithraism, a prehistorical religion inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian god Mithra. Some Iranian archaeologists suggest that the carving was created by a follower of Mithraism as it depicts a simple portrayal of a human with his right hand raised and an object in his hand. But, experts say it needs much more study in order to date the petroglyph.

A rock carving in western Iran (Source: Payvand News).

The petroglyph was found in western Kermanshah province on a mountainside near Taq-e Bostan, an archaeological complex, which consists of a series of properties from prehistoric to historical periods such as imposing Sassanid-era bas-reliefs, Morad-Hassel Tepe, an ancient village, a Parthian graveyard and a Sassanid hunting ground.

It was found upstream of a spring, inside a niche measuring about two meters by two meters, carved some 50 centimeters deep into the mountainside, archaeologist Keyvan Moumivand told IRNA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a local tourism official has said that various archaeologists and teams of experts must conduct researches on the rock-carving in order to determine its origins and to make a definitive comment on it.


Some experts say that existence of some Mithraism symbols in parts of the historical zone, including one nearby the bas-relief of Ardashir II, reinforces a possibility that the petroglyph being associated with Mithraism, IRNA reported.

Mithraism, was the worship of Mithra, an Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, this deity, according to Britannica Encyclopedia, was honored as the patron of loyalty to the emperor. After the acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, Mithraism rapidly declined.


Taq-e Bostan is known for its bas-reliefs of Sassanian origin (3rd to 7th century CE). The carvings, some of the finest and best-preserved examples of Persian sculpture under the Sassanians, include representations of the investitures of Ardashir II (reigned 379-383 CE) and of Shapur III (383-388), the latter in a man-made cave carved in the form of an iwan (three-sided, barrel-vaulted hall, open at one end).

The Ancient Site of Takhte Sulaiman

The article “The Ancient Site of Takhte Soleyman [Suleiman]” below written by Ḏḥwty was originally posted on the Ancient Origins website on May 24, 2015.

The version produced below has been slightly edited. Kindly note that excepting one photo, all other images and accompanying captions did not appear in the original Ancient Origins posting.


Between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE, Iran was part of the Sassanian Empire, Rome’s great rival in the East. Under this empire, Zoroastrianism was recognized as the state religion, and numerous Zoroastrian sanctuaries were built by the Sassanian rulers as a sign of their piety. One of the most important of these sanctuaries is found at a site known as Takht-e-Soleyman (or Takhte Suleiman).

An excellent overview of the site of the site of Ādur-Gushnasp or Shiz (modern-day Takhte Suleiman) (Picture Source: Iran Atlas). The Ādur-Gushnasp sacred fire was dedicated to the Arteshtaran (Elite warriors) of the Sassanian Spah (Modern Persian: Sepah = Army).

Takht-e-Soleyman (meaning ‘The Throne of Solomon’) is located in West Azarbaijan province, in the north-west Iran. The site is located in a valley about 2000m (6500ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains. In the middle of the valley is an oval platform rising about 60m above the surrounding plain that measures about 350m by 550m (1150ft by 1800ft). Located on the platform is a lake fed by springs hidden beneath the surface. Saturated with minerals, the water of this lake is neither drinkable nor able to support any life. An ancient volcano, known as Zendan-e-Soleyman (meaning ‘The Prison of Solomon’) is located about 3km to the west of the site. According to folk legend, King Solomon used to imprison monsters inside the 100m deep crater. Given its stunning natural landscape, it is little wonder that Takht-e-Soleyman was perceived as a mystical site by the ancients.


A reconstruction of the late Sassanians at Ādur Gušnasp or Shiz (Takht e Suleiman in Azarbaijan, northwest Iran) by Kaveh Farrokh (painting by the late Angus Mcbride) in Elite Sassanian Cavalry-اسواران ساسانی-. To the left rides a chief Mobed (a top-ranking Zoroastrian priest or Magus), General Shahrbaraz (lit. “Boar of the realm”) is situated in the center and Queen Boran (Poorandokht) leads to the right.

The region of Takht-e-Soleyman was considered sacred, worship was conducted there even prior to the arrival of the Sassanians. Around the Zendan-e-Soleyman area, the remains of temples and shrines have been discovered. These traces of structures have been dated to the 1st millennium BCE, and are associated with the Manneans, rulers of the region between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE. The volcanic crater was once full of water (but later dried out), a feature that probably attracted the Manneans to build their temples and shrines there.

The ruins and crater at Takht-e-Soleyman Throne of Soloman, Iran in 2006 (Source: Ḏḥwty in Ancient Origins).

With the arrival of the Sassanians in that region in the 5th century CE, Zendan-e-Soleyman lost its importance to Takht-e-Soleyman. During the middle of the same century, during the reign of Peroz, construction began at the site. In the following century, Takht-e-Soleyman became a royal Zoroastrian sanctuary during the reigns of Khosrow I and Khosrow II. This site became one of the most important sanctuaries in Zoroastrianism as its temple housed the Ādur Gušnasp. This was a sacred fire of the highest order, and one of the three great fires of Zoroastrianism believed to have existed since the dawn of creation. The Sassanians also built a temple to the cult of Anahita, a goddess strongly associated with water, at Takht-e-Soleyman. To defend this important religious site, the Sassanians enclosed the area with a wall 13m (42ft) high, with 38 towers and two entrances – one in the north and another in the south. These defenses were not enough, however, to withstand the Byzantine army that attacked the site in retaliation against Sassanian incursion into their territory. As a result, Takht-e-Soleyman was destroyed in 627 CE. The following centuries were uneventful for Takht-e-Soleyman, and it was inhabited by a peasant population. It was only in the 13th century that the site regained some of its past glory and importance for a brief period.

A photograph from the site of ancient Kahib in Daghestan of the Caucasus forwarded by Guseyn Guseynov to on March 1, 2015. Note that the above archway at Kahib bears an almost exact resemblance to one of the archways at the ancient Ādur-Gushnasp or Shiz (modern-day Takhte Suleiman) Fire-Temple in Iran’s Azarbaijan province. For more on Kahib see here …

By then, the Sassanian Empire was already long gone, and the region was now under the control of the Ilkhanate, a part of the Mongol Empire but would later form a state of its own. During the reign of Abaqa Khan, the second Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate, the peasants residing in Takht-e-Soleyman were chased out, and a palace was built for the Khan on the foundations of the ancient sanctuary. In addition to new structures, some ancient ones were also reconstructed. Nevertheless, the site was once again abandoned in the middle of the 14th century, following the demise of the Ilkhanate and the subsequent Timurid invasion. The site fell into ruins, and was only rediscovered in the 19th century. In the 20th century, archaeological work was conducted at the site and in 2003 Takht-e-Soleyman was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Gahanbar ceremony at the Azargoshasb Fire Temple. After the prayers are concluded, a “Damavaz” (a ceremony participants) holds aloft the censer containing fire and incense in his hand to pass around the congregation. As this is done, the Damavaz repeats the Avesta term “Hamazour” (translation: Let us unite in good deeds). Participants first move their hands over the fire and then over their faces: this symbolizes their ambition to unite in good works and the spread of righteousness (Photo Source: Sima Mehrazar).