Adur Burzen-Mihr (Middle Iranian) or Azar Barzin (Persian: آذر برزین) was an Atash Behram (a Zoroastrian fire temple of the highest grade) located in Parthia. In the Sasanian period, it was one of the three Great Fires and was associated with the farmer class; the other two were Adur Farnbag in Persis which was associated with the priest class, and Adur Gushnasp in Media, which was associated with the warrior class.[1] Its establishment can be dated to the late 5th or early 4th century BC. Adur means "Holy Fire", and Burzēn-Mihr is a Parthian given name which literally means "Exalted is Mihr" and is probably the name of the temple's founder.
This Fire is described in Bundahishn. Its location is given as Mount Rēvand (in Avestan: Raēvant), probably a spur of the Nishapur mountains in the district formerly known as Rēvand in Khurasan.[2][3] An element of the name is preserved in the name of the nearby village Borzinan may. Another identification is Mount Mehr, five miles from the village Mehr on the Shahrud–Sabzevar Highway. Some identify it with the Fire of Asaak.[4]
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Khaneh Div fire temple near the Mehr village, identified as the Azur Burzen-Mihr -
Adur Burzen-Mihr purported location in Atashgah Castle, Kashmar
The Fire is mentioned several times in Shahnameh as Mehr-Barzīn (مهر برزین), Mehr (مهر), and Barzīn (برزین), and is used also as a simile for fiery fierceness.
The Fire is thought to have been a major center of pilgrimage, even after the Arsacids' fall. In the Sasanian period, although its name was always placed third in texts and the fire was associated with the lowliest class of the society, (farmers; the other two being warriors and priests), it still maintained its importance. Its history in the Islamic period is not known.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Canepa, Matthew P. (2020). IRANIAN EXPANSE : transforming royal identity through architecture, landscape, and the built ... environment, 550 bce-642 ce. University of California Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780520379206.
- ^ Boyce, Mary (2001). Zoroastrians : their religious beliefs and practices. London: Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 9780415239028.
- ^ The Oxford dictionary of late Antiquity (First ed.). OUP Oxford. 19 April 2018. p. 600. ISBN 9780192562463.
- ^ Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten (in German). De Gruyter. 1971. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-11-001879-0.
- M. Boyce, “ĀDUR BURZĒN-MIHR,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/5, pp. 472–473; an updated version is available online at Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica (accessed on 28 February 2014).