European Journal of Innovation in Nonformal Education (EJINE)
Volume 3 | Issue 4 | Apr - 2023 ISSN: 2795-8612 .
Genesis and Influence of Zoroastrianism on the Architecture of Central Asia
Rasul-Zade, Lobar Ulmasovna
PhD of architecture, Associate Professor, Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Civil
Engineering, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Asatova, Dildora Gulomjon kizi
Master's Degree Student, Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering,
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
ABSTRACT
A RTICLE INFO
The article examines the influence of the ancient religion of
Zoroastrianism on the architecture of Central Asia. Temple complexes Article history:
Received 03 Feb 2023
originate from ancient traditions and develop progressively with the
Received in revised form
development of Zoroastrianism, as one of the religions that originated in 05 Mar 2023
Central Asia in the 1st millennium BC. e. Therefore, the article examines Accepted 18 Apr 2023
in detail all the features of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism,
Islamization and their influence on the architecture of Central Asia.
Keywords: Scythians, temple
architecture, Zoroastrianism,
ossuary, naus, sarcophagus,
gumbez..
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Introduction
The spread of late (Sasanian) Zoroastrianism on the territory of Uzbekistan can be judged by
archaeological finds of ritual items made of baked clay, ossuaries with various symbols, censers with
images of the Avestan-Zoroastrian gods and their attributes. The funeral rite of the Iranian-speaking
Sogdians, Tokharistans and Khorezmians is also Zoroastrian. The Islamic mausoleum (gumbez) also
goes back to the ancient nauses of the Zoroastrians as a repository of remains for future resurrection.
Novruz (Oruzdama), the day of the onset of spring and the beginning of agricultural work, is of
Zoroastrian origin, celebrated in many countries, including Uzbekistan. This holiday was c onnected
with the cult of nature, and with the adoption of Islam, it is celebrated by many Muslims. According to
legend, Nowruz began to be celebrated by the Arabs at the behest of the Prophet Muhammad himself.
Figures and tables.
Before talking about the architecture of Zoroastrianism, it is worth mentioning that this religion is one
of the world's first faiths containing revelation. This means that the main postulates of Zoroastrianism
were born as a result of direct communication between the god Ahura Mazda and the prophet
Zarathustra.
Zarathustra (or Zoroaster in Greek) is the founder of religion and its first priest. Scientists are still
arguing about the place of birth of the prophet and even the time of his life. Although researchers are
sure that Zarathustra was an existing historical figure, the territory of his alleged birthplace is too vast:
some scientists point to Eastern Iran, while others even say that the prophet came from Russia (for
example, the Sintashta settlement in the territory of modern Chelyabinsk areas). Zarathustra preached
in the territories of northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.
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According to legend, it was the legendary king
Vishtaspa who accepted the new faith and began to
help Zarathustra spread his teachings. commissioned to
record the revelation received by Zarathustra from
Ahura Mazda. Thus, the Avesta, the sacred text of the
Zoroastrians, appeared in history (Fig. 1).
The symbolism associated with the constellations is
another element that Zarathustra borrowed from the
Indo-Iranian religions. Some Zoroastrians believe that
the teaching that the prophet spread came to Earth from
other worlds, or rather, from the stars. According to
research, the ancestors of the Iranians - the ancient
Aryans - lived on the territory of modern Russia, in the
Urals. Their cities imitated a map of the starry sky in
structure, hence the associations with Zarathustra as an
Figure 1. Transcription of the prayer Hashem Vohu from the
Avestan language.
astronomer or astrologer appeared. (Fig. 2)
constellations.
Figure 2. Arkaim - a settlement of the Middle
Bronze Age of the 18th century. BC
An important aspect of the new religion preached by
Zarathustra is the role of man in the arrangement of the
world: if in the old religions man was only an
insignificant grain of sand, part of the universe, then in
Zoroastrianism a conscious person becomes an important
ally of Ahura Mazda in the fight against evil, capable of
Figure 3. Fight Ahua Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Relief in
bringing the victory of good forces closer by his own Persepolis (XII-VI centuries BC)
actions , words and thoughts. (fig.3)
Religion suggests that every person in life makes an important choice between good and evil.
Followers of the religion believe that a person, through good deeds, is able to restrain evil and chaos,
which the spirit of destruction Angra Mainyu brings into the material world, and also help to bring the
victory of the forces of good closer. The free will of a person to decide what he wants to do in this
world is an important concept in the teachings of Zoroaster, therefore fanatical adherence to faith, as
well as extreme forms of asceticism and monasticism, are not particularly welcome in his religion. The
Muslim chronicler ibn Nadim wrote in the 10th century. about Sogdiana that “its people are followe rs
of dualism and “Christianity”[1].
The main ethical principle of Zoroastrianism is Humata, Huhta, Huveshta: "think well, speak well,
behave well."
Zoroastrians are very often equated with believers who worship fire. Actually it is not. Although
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during various prayers and rituals, the fire is really present. People believe that fire symbolizes the
light and wisdom that their God Agura Mazda sends them.
All these attitudes and rules are described in the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism - these are hymns,
prayers, sayings and legends. In general - a collection of 21 books, which is called the Avesta.
Unlike most world religions, where the dead are cremated or buried in the ground, in this faith, the
burial procedure is slightly different. The dead are placed on the so-called "Towers of Silence", where
the body is eaten by various animals. (fig.4) Why? Supporters of Zoroastrianism believe that
cremation and burial defame fire, earth and water.
According to the canons of the Avesta, when
the end of the world comes, the judgment will
begin. Well, as in Christianity: the righteous
go to heaven, the sinners go to hell. How does
this happen? All people will have to cross the
lava river. Those who lived according to the
laws will pass without pain and suffering, and
sinners will burn in the fire in terrible agony.
To get to heaven, people have to go through
lava.
About Zoroastrianism in Central Asia
Figure 4. Towers of Silence, where dead people are dumped to be eaten by
birds. Persian-speaking Tajiks, still living in
Bukhara and Samarkand, are living evidence of the Iranian presence in the heart of Central Asia. A
presence that goes back to prehistoric times. Before our millennium, the nomadic tribes of the Saks,
whom the Greeks called Scythians, inhabited the Asian steppes to Mongolia, and even in the Islamic
period, the Sogdian merchants of Maverannahr mastered the caravan routes connecting the countries
of the Mediterranean with China.
The Sassanids, like the Achaemenid emperors of the 5th c. BC, were able to include in their
possessions the lands of Central Asia, including profitable trade routes between east and west. In a
certain period, under the influence of the Seleucid Greeks and the Kushans, Bactria was strongly
influenced by Buddhist ideas and practices. But in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. Zoroastrianism
began to spread. Was this the “return” of Central Asia to the old religion, as most Iranologists claim?
According to a common assumption, all the Iranian peoples of "greater Iran" - a cultural area that
stretched from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus to Khorezm, Maverannahr, Bactria and the Pamirs,
including Persians, Medes, Parthians, Sogdians, were all "Zoroastrians" in pre-Islamic times.
There is relatively little information about the religious beliefs and customs of the Iranian peoples of
Central Asia in the early period, in comparison with the extensive data on Sasanian Zoroastrianism.
But what is known about Sasanian Zoroastrianism does not necessarily apply to the religions and
customs of ancient Iran. According to Robert Zechner, “... if we do not carefully clarify our terms, we
will not be able to speak of Zoroastrianism as a single religion in general ...” [2].
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The religions and customs of local societies in the vast Iranian world can only be partially
reconstructed on the basis of written sources: Greek, Arabic, Old Persian, Middle Persian and Avestan
documents. This written material is complemented by archaeological finds, especially from burials,
many of which have been found in the former Soviet Union. These finds testify to the spread of animal
sacrifices: horses, cattle and dogs. It seems that the Indo-Europeans of the steppe were the first to
domesticate the horse, which in early times was exclusively harnessed to a wagon and not used for
riding. According to Iranian religion, the soul departed on a horse-drawn chariot after death. Thus, the
horse was assigned the sacred role of an intermediary between this world and the other world. This is
indicated by the numerous depictions of the horse in Scythian art; this theme is relevant for the
funerary art of the steppes at least as far back as the 6th century AD. [3] (Fig.5)
Figure 5. Bronze overlays of the sarcophagus from Gorgippia with images of the Scythians
The Scythians also had a cult of the sun. Many followers of Zoroastrianism believed that the sun is the
personification of Ahura Mazda, the status of a supreme being ascends to it. The cult of the Moon also
Figure 6. Mosque or Magoki-Attari. Fragment of decor.
existed in the Iranian religious space. The moon is equated with the figure of the celestial bull, which
was widespread in antiquity, especially in Mesopotamia. Evidence of bull worship from the beginning
of the second millennium BC. found in Altyn-tepe on the territory of modern Turkmenistan. It is
known that early Islamic sources mention the Temple of Mah (temple of the moon) in Bukhara. (Fig.6)
It is interesting to note that one aspect of Zoroaster's reformist preaching was his opposition to cattle
sacrifice.
Zoroastrians are often characterized as "fire worshippers", especially in Islamic sources. However,
Richard Fry noted that the existence of fire altars or temples containing them "does not confirm that
believers were followers of the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, since fire altars were widespread in
ancient times, and even today they can be found in Hindu temples in India" [ 4].
The worship of fire, for which the Zoroastrians became known, is closely related to the worship of the
sun, a cult characteristic of the Indo-Aryans. Fire and light purify the soul and are used in cremation,
popular with the Indo-Iranians. The influence of these ideas can be found outside of Iranian culture.
So, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim of the VI century. AD Xuanzang, during his travels in Central Asia,
noted: “The Turks worship fire: they do not use wooden seats, because fire is contained in wood [5].
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Xuanzan's chronicles make it possible to draw a conclusion about the decline of Central Asian
Buddhism under the onslaught of Zoroastrianism implanted by the Sassanids.
With the rise of Sasanian influence from Iran, the local form of Buddhism, which was likely
influenced by local Iranian religiosity, increasingly absorbed aspects of the newly institutionalized
Sasanian Zoroastrianism. One example of the influence of Zoroastrianism on the evolution of
Buddhism is the layout of the corridor around Buddhist stupas, as if copied from fire temples [6].
(Fig.7, 8)
Figure 7. Cave monastery Karatepa Figure 8. Fayaztepa Buddhist Monastery
But even in the Muslim chronicles about Central Asia, there are descriptions of some features of the
local culture that do not mix with the canonical Zoroastrianism of Sasanian Iran. Sogdian historian
Narshakhi of the 10th century AD notes that at one time in Bukhara there were doors of mosques with
scraped images of faces. According to the historian, lower-class converts to Islam removed these doors
from the suburban homes of the unconverted rich, which had patron idols painted on the gates.
Funeral customs are another example.
For example, the Central Asian Iranians,
like the Sassanids, exposed the bodies of
the dead to be torn to pieces by vultures,
in contrast to the Zoroastrians of the
Iranian Highlands, who buried bones in
clay ossuaries decorated with ornaments
[7].
As Sogdiana was annexed to the
territory of Islam, the Sogdians
assimilated into Persian culture, adopted
the Persian language and became more
and more identified as Persians. The
revival of the Zoroastrian alphabet in
the ninth century. AD was a reaction to
Figure 9. Zoroastrian ossuary in the museum of Uzbekistan. in Tashkent the mass conversion of Zoroastrians to
Islam in Iran, which probably improved
confessional communication with those peoples of Central Asia who had not yet been converted to
Islam. Zoroastrians were considered a “protected” community in Central Asia and Iran, and in
Samarkand the Zoroastrians were entrusted with maintaining the water supply system [8].
Starting from the 7th century AD, Zoroastrian communities are increasingly mentioned in Chinese
sources. Many Zoroastrians appear to have fled east along the Silk Road after the Muslim conquest of
Iran, following in the footsteps of Firuz, son of the last Sasanian emperor, Yazdegerd III. Firuz was
received at the court of the Tang Dynasty in Chang'an (Xi'an) as the "king of Persia" and became a
general of the imperial guard. Firuz arrived in China accompanied by numerous refugees who were
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allowed to build fire temples and practice their faith. Thriving Zoroastrian communities are mentioned
throughout the following centuries and even during the period of the Mongol Empire. Zoroastrianism
is not a missionary religion, and these communities were not replenished with local converts, but most
likely there were Zoroastrians of Central Asian origin in their ranks, in addition to refugees from Iran
itself. Numerous temples of the Tang period in Chang'an and other cities were probably Zoroastrian.
Among the religious buildings of Central Asia VI-VII centuries. Buddhist complexes are of
considerable architectural interest. They are open in Tokharistan-southeast of Uzbekistan (Adzhina-
tepe, Kalai-Kafarnigan), Ferghana (Kuva), Semirechye (Ak-Beshim).
Figure 10.. Tajikistan. Ajina-tepe Figure 11. Tajikistan. Kalai-Kafarnigan
Figure 13. Seven speeches (Ak-Beshim).
Figure 12. Uzbekistan. Kuva settlement (Buddhist
temple)
In these buildings, the settled architectural type of a Buddhist monastery with one or two courtyards,
surrounded by cells, prayer rooms, and sanctuaries, the interiors of which are saturated with painting and
sculpture, clearly emerges. In Ak-Beshim, a vaulted aivan rose on the axis of an oblong courtyard; in
Ajina-tepe, both courtyards in the bypass of the cells had vaulted aivans on axes. Such a composition
foreshadows the structure of the Muslim madrasahs of Central Asia. The Buddhist stupa of the 6th-7th
centuries, the ruins of which were found in the Shurcha region of Uzbekistan (Surkhandarya), has a
traditional type: a rectangular base and a cylindrical body.
Figure 14. 15. Architectural type of a Buddhist monastery.
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During the period under review, when Christian communities existed in Central Asia, Christian buildings
appeared here. The ruins of the church in the form of an oblong hall with a transept (altar niche) on the
eastern side still rise in the Merv oasis (Kharoba-Koshuk), and in Merv itself in the 5th century. was
erected on the slopes of the former Parthian building and a Christian monastery functioned for a long
time.
There are only mentions of Zoroastrian buildings of that time (for example, historians write about the
temple of fire in Merv, where Ezdigerd, who fled, brought the Great sacred fire). But their architecture is
still unknown.
The rite of preservation of the remains (bones) of
the dead in clay coffins-ossuaries, which were
placed in family nauses (rooms for storing
ossuaries), was associated with the local variety of
this religion. In Sogd (Penjikent, Paikend) and
Khorezm, they were sub-square in terms of
construction, in Shash they were round; they all
had vaulted or domed ceilings. And the ossuaries
themselves often imitate the forms of real
buildings, most likely, it is nauses, conveying a
number of their architectural details that have not
survived in nature, such as a dome and a vaulted
portal topped with a jagged parapet (Merv) or a
hipped ceiling (Khorezm, Seven speeches).
In essence, both nauses and "architectural" Figure 16. "Kharaba-keshk" - a Christian church on the territory
ossuaries are prototypes of future Muslim of Ancient Merv
mausoleums in Central Asia.
Conclusion / Recommendations
Central Asia, being at the crossroads of the most important trade, economic and military-diplomatic
routes connecting East and West, has always been in the sphere of influence of world cultures and
religions. Therefore, in pre-Islamic times, various world religions were spread among the population
of this region, such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism (Hinayanism), Christianity (Nestorian), Judaism,
Manichaeism, etc.
A number of works of historians, archaeologists, philologists who studied written sources, material
culture and funeral rites are devoted to the issues of the ideology of Sogd and other areas of ancient
and early medieval Central Asia.
The early medieval city temples involved in the study provide an opportunity to resolve the issue of
the pre-Muslim religion of Sogd. In this area, a chronological systematization of previously discovered
rearrangements is necessary. All this will make it possible to reconstruct the construction history of
temples in general terms and to reveal changes in their architecture over the course of three centuries.
References:
1. Ibn al-Nadim, Fihrist al- ulum, tr. B. Dodge, The Fihrist of al-Nadim, 2 vols., New York, 1970, i,
33.
2. R. C. Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, New York: G. P. Putnam, 1961, 22.
3. Report by S.A. Yatsenko read at the XVII Moscow Conference 3.2021 Richard Frye, “The Fate of
Zoroastrians in Eastern Iran,” in Rika Gyselen, ed., Au Carrefour des Réligions: Mélanges offerts à
Philippe Gignoux, Bures-sur-Yvette: Groupe pour l’Etude de la Civilisation du Moyen-Orient,
1995, 67
4. Hui Li, Life of Hiuen-tsang, tr. Samuel Beal, (reprint) Westport CT, 1973, 43.
5. B.A. Litvinskii, “Buddhism in Central Asia,” Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 50.
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6. Trinkhaus, “Mortuary Ritual”, 676
7. V.V. Bartold, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, Leiden, 1959, i, 16.
8. Adilov Z., Matniyozov Z., "The Proposals of Landscape Solutions For Highways Environment."
International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research (IJSTR) ISSN (2020): 2277-8616.
9. Adilov, Z., Matniyazov, Z., Tojiboev, J., Daminova, U., Saidkhonova U., (2020) Improvement of the
environmental situation of the aral region through landscape design / International Journal of
Scientific and Technology Researchthis 9 (4), 3450–3455
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Internet resources
1. https://iranicaonline.org/articles/darvis
2. https://24tv.ua/ru/zoroastrizm_interesnye_i_strannye_fakty_o_maloizvestnoj_religii_n1158375
3. https://24tv.ua/ru/zoroastrizm_interesnye_i_strannye_fakty_o_maloizvestnoj_religii_n1158375
4. https://24tv.ua/ru/zoroastrizm_interesnye_i_strannye_fakty_o_maloizvestnoj_religii_n1158375
5. https://24tv.ua/ru/zoroastrizm_interesnye_i_strannye_fakty_o_maloizvestnoj_religii_n1158375
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