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Adur-Anahid

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Adur-Anahid (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭲𐭲𐭲𐭲 𐭦𐭩 𐭲𐭲𐭲𐭲𐭩𐭲) was a high-ranking 3rd-century Iranian noblewoman from the royal Sasanian family, who wielded the title of Queen of Queens (banbishnan banbishn). She was a daughter of the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran, Shapur I (r. 240–270).

Name

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Her name is most likely a combination of adur ("fire") and the name of the Iranian goddess, Anahita.[1] Originally thought to mean "Fire of Anahita", her name is now agreed to mean "Fire and Anahita".[1]

Biography

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The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, where the inscription of Shapur I is engraved

Adur-Anahid was a daughter of the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran, Shapur I (r. 240–270).[1] She is mentioned twice in an inscription on the wall of the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht at Naqsh-e Rostam near Persepolis in southern Iran, which Shapur I had created in c. 262.[2][1] In the first paragraph, Shapur I claims to have ordered the establishment of fires for his daughter Adur-Anahid and three of his sons, Hormizd, Shapur, and Narseh.[1][3][a] The fire established for Adur-Anahid was named Husraw-Adur-Anahid.[5] In the second paragraph, Shapur I claims to have rewarded Adur-Anahid, along with princes and other high-ranking members of the court by ordering sacrifices in their names.[1][3] Adur-Anahid is mentioned with the title of Queen of Queens (banbishnan banbishn) in the inscription.[6][1]

The German Iranologist Walther Hinz has suggested that Adur-Anahid was the spouse of her father Shapur I, demonstrating the practice in Zoroastrianism of khwedodah, or close-kin marriage.[1] However, this is opposed by other scholars, who have deduced that the title of members of the royal family illustrated their social status rather than family status.[1][3] The title of "Queen" was wielded by all women of the royal Sasanian family, including the king's daughters and sisters, and the spouses of Sasanian princes.[3] The title of Adur-Anahid thus demonstrated her status as the highest ranking woman in the court.[3][1] There is no suggestion that she practiced kwedodah with her father.[1] According to the modern historian Maria Brosius, "Analysis of the written evidence for the Sasanian period does not permit the conclusion that the Sasanian kings favored incestuous marriages."[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ Adur-Anahid also had two other siblings named Shapurdukhtak and Bahram.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gignoux 1983, p. 472.
  2. ^ Rapp 2014, p. 28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Brosius 2000.
  4. ^ Shahbazi 1988, pp. 514–522.
  5. ^ Spawforth 2007, p. 63.
  6. ^ Sundermann 1988, pp. 678–679.

Sources

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  • Brosius, Maria (2000). "Women i. In Pre-Islamic Persia". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  • Gignoux, Ph. (1983). "Ādur-Anāhīd". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume I/5: Adat–Afghanistan. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 472. ISBN 978-0-71009-094-2.
  • Rapp, Stephen H. (2014). The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature. Routledge. ISBN 978-1472425522.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1988). "Bahrām I". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume III/5: Bahai Faith III–Baḵtīārī tribe II. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 514–522. ISBN 978-0-71009-117-8.
  • Spawforth, A. J. S. (2007). The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139466639.
  • Sundermann, W. (1988). "Bānbišn". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume III/7: Banān–Bardesanes. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 678–679. ISBN 978-0-71009-119-2.
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