Wouter F. M. Henkelman and Mark B. Garrison
From Humban to Auramazda – Image and Text. A New Religious Landscape for the Early Persians
Montag, 13. Mai 2013, 15.00 Uhr
The Persepolis Fortification texts, a large economic archive of
sealed claytablets written in Elamite cuneiform and Aramaic alphabetic
script (ca. 500BCE), is rapidly becoming established as the most
important primary source for the early Achaemenid Empire. The
overwhelming richness of the glyptic imagery and the vast potential of
its textual contents are unparalleled among other sources from the
period. And though the preserved timespan (16 years) is rather short,
the archive bears a relevance to a much longer period, notably the
fundamental context of cultural encounters between Elamites and
(Indo-)Iranians in centuries prior to the emergence of the empire. As
such, the archive supports the view that, as in later periods of Iranian
history, Persian identity at the time of the Achaemenids was rather
inclusive. A telling example is that of the religious landscape: whereas
the early Persians were previously viewed as the heralds of an
enlightened new faith (Zoroastrianism) that was believed to have either
emerged in a cultural void or have contrasted markedly with that of the
‘pagan’ Elamites, the Fortification archive now shows us an entirely
different and much more interesting world. Replacing an almost colonist
perspective of cultural dominance, it reveals a variegated divine and
ritual imagery, as well as a surprisingly mixed pantheon served by
priests with Elamite or Iranian titles performing sacrifices with
Elamite or Iranian names. As such, the archive challenges the idea of
religious, Zoroastrian or Mazdaic, orthodoxy and simultaneously
forcefully underlines the importance of Elamite traditions alongside the
Indo-Iranian heritage. In the end, then, the new evidence once more
eloquently demonstrates what may be the most important trait of Persian
culture: the ability to reach synthesis.
Mark B. Garrison is professor of Art and Art History, Art and Art
History at Trinity Uni-versity (San Antonio, Texas) and an expert of
Achaemenid glyptic art. Wouter F. M. Henkelman is Humboldt Research
Fellow at the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut as well as assistant
professor of Elamite and Achaemenid Culture at the École Pratique des
Hautes Études (Paris). Garrison and Henkelman have been collaborating
closely for almost ten years in the edition and study of the Persepolis
Fortification archive.This will be a joined presentation in which the
lecturers will speak alternately. The presentation will be in English,
but it will be supported by a PowerPoint in German; the discussion will
be in English and German.
The event will be followed by a wine reception.
Eventdate
2013-05-13
Eventlocation
Berlin, Topoi-Haus Dahlem, Hittorfstraße 18, 14195 Berlin
