Recently, news agencies and activists reflected the news of the emergence of newly discovered inscriptions in the Sassanid Pahlavi script around the historic city of Istakhr near the Marvdasht plain in Fars province in the field of cultural heritage. We may have heard this part of the news many times because many inscriptions have been left behind in Marvdasht since the Sassanid period. The importance of this inscription is not only for the Pahlavi script of the Sassanid period, but also the name “Zarathustra,” the only Iranian messenger, has been written on this inscription and has distinguished it. Damages have affected this valuable heritage. Dr Atabaki, an explorer of Sassanid inscriptions, stated that danger is on the lurk of the only inscription that bears the name “Ashu Zarathushtra.”
Dr. Abolhassan Najafzadeh Atabaki, a freelance researcher, said that inscriptions are always more vulnerable to damage because they stay there. They remain there. Therefore, to preserve and protect this valuable inscription, we requested the Parseh-Pasargad research foundation, in an official letter, to immediately remove this inscription, which has not been done so far. Unfortunately, this inscription is damaged by atmospheric factors such as “water fracture” and in an environment that is constantly threatened by illegal diggers and antique dealers. This inscription being located in the grazing passage of cattle, is another danger that may cause severe damage. He added: “We have discovered other newly discovered inscriptions that can be moved.” Therefore, we demand that these works, which are the identity card of Marvdasht plain and national heritage, be transferred to a safe place for stability and maintenance.
Dr. Atabaki, author of “Classical and Documentary Guide to Persepolis,” Pasargad, the city of Cyrus”, “Achamenid World Administration”, and “The City of Istakhr and the Archeological Heritage of Marvdasht Plain” talked about this newly written manuscript: “About a year ago, we found an inscription that was very eroded and mentioned “Holy Dadar” and “Zoroaster.” Due to erosion, we have read and translated this inscription with specialized methods. This inscription was engraved on a rock weighing about 4 tons, in 6 vertical lines from left to right, in Pahlavi written script (this type of vertical writing is called “reposing inscription”) is a joint handwriting script, which is easier to write on hide, and on a rock it cannot be seen easily due to its shallow depth. Due to this shallow depth erosion can affect it more easily and some letters can disappear and then reading it becomes difficult.
Abolhassan Najfazadeh Atabaki, a specialist in ancient languages, in Shiraz University, having Ph.D. in history from University of Tehran (Central), explains about the inscriptions they have found so are: “In the past many years we have found many inscriptions in Marvdasht plain and in the vicinity of the historic Istakhr city, the homeland of Sassanid kings, that are of high archeological and historic value. These inscriptions on the mountain sides are more of the tombstone inscription types. The tombstone inscriptions, which are mostly found on mountain sides, mostly have the following text:
“This catacomb in the month of… in the year… Yazdgerdi… name… girl/boy… ordered this tombstone to be built, May heaven by his/her reward.”
Other inscriptions have been discovered that deal with topics such as advice, which have varied texts. Several inscriptions refer to castle-related structures and mountain seals, and such issues as astronomy and ecology can also be seen (metaphorical language) among them. Dr. Atabaki said that the excavations in this place are still ongoing and expressed hope that these excavations will lead to discovering other works and inscriptions that will open new doors, in future, for researchers.
The inscriptions are a mirror of the past. Inscription have always been written in various historical periods, with more precise knowledge of archaeological information. Inscriptions can be called documents that deal with cultural structures such as history, genealogy, war, religion, politics, etc. They can provide researchers with first-hand sources over the centuries that other types of archeological artifacts cannot give to us such clear and precise information of the past or a particular historic period. On the other hand, inscriptions are of priceless spiritual heritage that are not only important in the interpretation of material information but also should be mentioned as valuable treasures that are always considered the pride of ethnicity or country.
Valuable artifacts have been found in the historic city of Istakhr, highlighting the importance of this historic city in archeological literature, culture, and ancient languages. The ruins of the city of Istakhr, 5 km north of Persepolis and about 12 km from the present-day town of Marvdasht in Fars province, cover various periods from prehistoric Persia to the 8th and 9th centuries AD. This site was registered in the year 1931 as national heritage, under number 18. The excavations of the University of Chicago Oriental Enterprise and the excavations of the Persepolis Scientific Institute show that the city is as old as at least the fourth millennium BC. Historical records also indicate that before the rise of the Sassanid dynasty, the famous fire temple of Anahita in the city of Istakhr was of particular importance. Persepolis inscriptions mention a city called RakkanRaxa (ancient Persian language), which is thought to be the present city of Istakhr. After the Achamenid period and the destruction of the city of Parseh by Alexander, the city of Istakhr gained importance again, and the local Persia kings (Farta daran = guardians of fire) converted this place into a center for those following the Zoroastrian faith. In fact these local rulers caused the first sparks of the Zoroastrian religion on the plateau of Iran. Coins obtained from these rulers depict the first fire temples of the “Behi” religion, the Kiyani flag, and the image of the winged statue. In this same period, the famous anahita temple was built in Istakhr, and Sassanid, the ancestor of Ardeshir Papkan, became the head priest of this fire temple.
Historic texts also indicate that in the Sassanid period, the kings of this dynasty had to come to this religious city for coronation and would hold official ceremonies on this occasion. The city was destroyed several time by the Arab invaders, and by making shiraz as the capital Amr Laith Saffari and Deylman in Persia, the importance of this city was significantly reduced to the point that according to Ibn Balkhi, the author of Farsnameh, it became a village of about one hundred families. In those years extensive artifacts were created in and around the city of Istakhr, which is very important in archeological studies today. Today, the city of Marvdasht has taken the place of the ancient Istakhr in the land of Persia. (Adapted from the book the City of Istakhr by Dr. Atabaki and Najmeh Ebrahimi)
