Hunara: Journal of Ancient Iranian Arts and History

Abstract

Abstract Throughout their long and rich history, the Iranian people have created marvellous monuments of material and spiritual culture and made a big contribution to the progress of world civilization.
A very important place in Iran’s history belongs to the Achaemenid period, when, after the establishment of the Achaemenid State 25 centuries ago, firm foundations of Iranian statehood and culture were laid. This period played an important role in the historical and cultural development of many other countries, which were part of the Achaemenid State.

Abstract This article examines the historical ties between ancient Iran and the Caucasus in martial culture and military history from the Mede era to the late Sassanian period. Initial phases of Caucasus-Iranian Plateau contacts are traced from the bronze ages up to military interactions between the Saka Paradraya (Scythians) of the south Russia-Ukraine regions arriving through the Caucasus to invade the Mede realms in western Iran and the Near East. Military and martial links between the Caucasus and Iran during the Teispid-Achaemenid era progressed considerably, as evidenced with the presence of Armenian contingents in the Teispid-Achaemenid Kingdom’s spāda (army), the Caucasian Albanians appearing later in 4^th century CE, with Caucasian Iberians not reported among the spāda’s contingents, while sharing military systems with the wider Iranian realms, notably the Scythians and their Sarmatian successors. Armenian, Caucasian Albanian and Iberian/ancient Georgian links in shared martial traditions, military lexica, military systems (notably cavalry warfare) of the ensuing Arsacid Kingdom’s spād (army) and Sassanian Kingdom’s spāh (army) are examined up to the final years of pre-Islamic (Sassanian) Iran in the 7^th century CE.

Abstract The history of Armenia during the destruction of the Achaemenid Kingdom is fragmentarily presented in extant sources, which do not allow forming a complete picture of the history of Armenia. In this regard, Arrian’s account of the 2nd century AD refers to the participation of Armenians in the Battle of Gaugamela, which took place in 331 BC. This data has sparked controversy in Armenology, and it is not an isolated exception. The mention of Armenian involvement in the Battle of Gaugamela is important in the sense that after two hundred years of Achaemenid rule, Armenia regained its independence and conducted independent politics in international relations. The Arrian’s account is also important in identifying Orontes and Mithraustes, who led the Armenians.

Abstract Finger rings with an engraved bezel made of gold, silver, and bronze were highly popular in Georgia during the 5^th to 2^nd centuries BCE. Most of these rings were found during the archaeological excavations of various cemeteries and burial complexes across the country.
Finger rings with an engraved bezel were usually used not only as jewelry, but also as a seal. Therefore, production and distribution of the finger rings were closely associated with the development of the society, its needs and private property.
These types of rings are considered to be of local production. However, the influence of Achaemenid glyptic is evident in the style of ornamentation and depictions. Some of the motifs are known from Graeco-Persian gems such as Persian women seated or standing holding various objects, Persian men with a stick, etc. Rings with depictions of a human, probably a priest, holding a barsom above a fine altar; double-protome animals; rhyta with a representation of a horses and ibex(?) protomes; fantastic creatures; animals; were common motifs in the Achaemenid art.
These materials confirm the significant influence of Achaemenid art across the entire territory of Georgia (East, West, and South) during the Late Achaemenid and Post-Achaemenid periods (4^th and 3^rd century BCE).

Abstract In Late Antiquity, the political and cultural influence of Sasanian Iran on Kartli (the pre-modern Georgian state known to classical and Byzantine authors as Iberia) was considerable. Hence, it is not astonishing at all that Georgian sources preserve a great amount of evidence concerning Iran and the Iranians. Though this body of evidence has long been a topic of lively interest among scholars, many aspects have yet to be studied in depth.
This paper investigates the data provided by the 11^th-century Georgian historian Leonti Mroveli, whose work, The Life of Georgian Kings and Their Progeny, serves as a primary source within the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historiography, Kartlis Tskhovreba (Life of Kartli), which is conventionally referred to in English as the Georgian Royal Annals or Georgian Chronicles.
According to Leonti Mroveli, the first Christian king of Kartli, Mirian, was the illegitimate son of a Sasanian shahanshah, identified by name as Ardashir. Some researchers, however, reject this claim, arguing that Leonti Mroveli fabricated this information to glorify the kings of Kartli.
In this paper, I will argue that the “Persian king” Ardashir mentioned by Leonti Mroveli should be identified with Hormizd I, the third ruler of the Sasanian dynasty, who is also referred to as Hormizd-Ardashir.

Abstract The arrival of Sasanian gems in the Kingdom of Kartli mainly starts from the 4^th century, and their intensive spread begins from the second half of the 5^th century and continues throughout the Sasanian period. Archaeological excavations have confirmed the presence of distinctive Sasanian glyptic motifs during this time, including the crescent moon with eight-pointed star, the pomegranate flower, the Zoroastrian fire altar (ātaš-dān), birds, gazelles, etc. This article examines the glyptic monuments featuring the Zoroastrian symbols of the ātaš-dān and the pomegranate flower found in Georgia. The study of these motifs is of great importance for analyzing the cultural, religious and political interactions of Kartli in the late antique and pre-feudal periods.
The Zoroastrian fire altar, i.e. ātaš-dān, in which the sacred fire was kept, is one of the symbols of Zoroastrianism. The ātaš-dān was considered a pillar of the Sasanian throne. Impressions depicting ātaš-dān (three instances) have been found in the regions of Samtvro, Pikrisgora and Karsniskhevi, dating back to the 4^th to 6^th centuries. Moreover, in Sasanian glyptic art, the pomegranate flower is associated with the triad of the three main deities of the Zoroastrian pantheon: Ahuramazda, Mithra and Anahita. Impressions featuring the pomegranate flower (two instances) have been found in the cemeteries of Samtvoro and Pikrisgora, dated to the 4^th-5^th centuries.
The research has established that the studied glyptic monuments are an integral part of Sasanian art, which reflected the political and religious processes in the region. Symbols related to the Zoroastrian religion brought from Sasanian Iran date back to the 4^th-6^th centuries. They are not recorded in large numbers on the territory of the Kingdom of Kartli. Accordingly, the distribution of seals with Zoroastrian symbols in the Kingdom of Kartli is not regarded intensive.

Abstract Throughout its history, Georgia was actively involved in the cultural life of the contemporary civilized world. Early  medieval Georgian art was formed and based on ancient local artistic traditions. At the same time, close relations with Eastern Christian and Byzantine cultural-religious centers contributed to the creation of the artistic language of the medieval Georgian church art. In its initial stage Georgian Christian art was also nourished by the Sasanian artistic tradition.
This paper discusses the Sasanian artistic influence on the Georgian reliefs of the early Middle Ages. I will demonstrate how some themes and motifs originating from Iran were interpreted and assimilated on the local ground. Special attention will be paid to the symbols of power and ornamentation motives. The oriental elements are also pronounced in dresses of noblemen. The examples of early medieval Georgian reliefs will be discussed within a vast cultural-political context to understand mentioned “borrowings” from the non-Christian visual vocabulary.