Renaming Mithraism Shrines to Solomon-Attributed Monuments (Case Study: Persepolis and Masjed-Soleyman)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. in Art Research, Nazar Research Center, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Advance Studies of Art, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Problem statement: The long ancient history of Iranian culture and civilization has witnessed the transformation of pre-Islamic holy figures and places associated with Mithraism, which later turned into sacred places and figures in new beliefs. Many historical Iranian monuments have remained from the Islamic era, associated with Solomon or other Jewish saints and prophets. The question is“what are the historical factors and similarities among these myths that associate these memorials to Jamshid, the mythical Persian king, and Jewish saints such as Solomon, the prophet?”
Research objective: The present research attemptsto study why Mithraism shrines have been renamed to monuments attributed to Solomon following the Arab conquest of Sassanid.
Research method: This descriptive and analyticalqualitative research is applied research. The study was conducted using bibliographicsearch and examining historical references. Mythology-based approach was used to analyzetwo case studies of Persepolis and a historical shrine in Masjed-Soleyman.
Conclusion: After the conquest of Iran by Arabs and forcing Iranians to join and obey the new religion, pre-Islamic Iranian ideological foundations trembled. Survival of ancient Iranian beliefs relied upon the legitimacy that could only be attained through connecting Iranian theology to the saints cited in Islamic traditions and holy books. Hence, the Iranian intelligent mind effectively tried to keep its own cultural identity and protect them from the flood of destruction by attributing its religious temples to the Jewish prophets (also honored by Muslims). This tremendous intellectual movement and historical ingenuity have led Persian myths associated with sacrednesssuch as the Prophet Solomon. Given this analysis, the reason why many ancient Iranian monuments have been attributed to Solomon, his mother, or other Jewish prophets was uncovered.

Keywords

References

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The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar
Volume 19, Issue 110
August 2022
Pages 93-100

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