Journal of Archaeological Studies

The Role of the Goddess Anahita in Decorations of the Mosaic Ivan (loggia) in Bishapur

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mahsa Mohammad gholi beik 1
Hamidreza Jayhani 2

1 M.A in Restoration, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch

2 Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Art, University of Kashan

https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2020.250094.142527
Abstract
Due to the written history of urbanization, the City of Bishapur is counted as one of the Sassanid era's valuable examples. Through this city, valuable buildings and monuments were obtained, including the temple of Anahita, hall of Chalipa, eastern and western Ivans (loggias), and related ornaments such as stucco and mosaic. The eastern mosaic Ivan (loggia) is one of the fundamental discoveries and components of the Bishapour royal citadel (Figure5), built in front of Anahita temple, Valerian palace, and hall of Chalipa. This Ivan has the most sets of intact mosaics. It is believed that the Roman prisoners (captured during the battle of Shahpour I and Valerian) were among the first people to teach the Iranians the art of mosaic imagery. May we emphasize that this story cannot be accepted for certain and requires further research. Today, studying the images on mosaics and comparing them with available historical and religious data gives us a new opportunity to interpret them differently than what our ancestors have been telling us for all these years and centuries. Comparing these images with those engraved on Sasanid plates tells us how Anahita (Persian goddess of fertility and wisdom) provides blessings and wisdom for kings and emperors. There is a strong possibility that these mosaics are dated back to Narseh's reign, 7th Sasanid king, and Shahpur I son.
The Bishapur eastern mosaic porch (Ivan) is the precious remnant of the Sassanid era in which the greatest amount and most intact mosaics were obtained. The art of creating images using mosaic was pretty much rare in Iran. It is considered that this art found its way to Iran through Roman captivity after the war of ShapurI and Valerian. The study of the mosaic Ivan ornaments is important because it helps us know more about the city's use and historical interventions in it. Neglecting some of the details in motifs and attribution of making these decorations to Roman captives made it necessary to re-examine mosaics and their details. A review of the mosaic motifs and comparing them with historical and religious documents represent a new interpretation that can lead to a more understanding of the construction time and a clearer view of eastern Ivan's role within the royal palace.
The purpose of this article is to re-read the mosaic motifs of the eastern Ivan to understand the architectural use of the mosaic Ivan, the possible period of construction, and understanding the story told by mosaics. This historical and descriptive study was conducted by comparing the images and motifs. Based on the results and findings of comparing mosaic motifs with reliefs and the same motifs on dishes and containers, the mosaics' images can be considered a glorious ceremony of giving splendor by the goddess Anahita to an important person (Figure 7). But who is this person?
Considering the incompleteness of the mosaic motifs in the northwest and southwest fronts of the Ivan, it is impossible to express the person's identity in question (Figure 9). Still, by reviewing historical events and examining the fundamental changes in the art of this period during different years, perhaps a new hypothesis can be put forward about the possibility of building an Ivan by someone other than Shapur I. The first step is to search among the people who showed the most attention towards the goddess Anahita and showed her their support. The importance of this goddess is evident in the Sassanid Dynasty. But what is the reason for not attributing the mosaics to the Shapur I?
With Shapur I's arrival, the image of Anahita was removed from coins and was replaced by Ahura Mazda. While even the quality of implementation of motifs is not the same as the similar examples built by the Romans in Antioch (Figure 4), how can solely because of the presence of Roman captives at Bishapur, assign the construction of mosaics to them? Also, Ivan's space in Bishapour is different from the Ivans in other royal buildings in the Sassanid period (Figure 1). Neither of these two porches is located along the principal axes of the Chalipa Hall. This is so obvious that Girshman does not consider the period of construction of the mosaic Ivan and the hall of Chalipa to be simultaneous. Sarfaraz has also found another layer of red mortar under the mosaic layer of the mosaic courtyard (western mosaic Ivan), which was thought to be the oldest flooring layer.
Before examining Anahita's clothing, it is necessary to return to the issue of the dissimilarity of the Ivan with other spaces called Ivan in royal palaces. Lionel Bier believes that the discovered parts are a small part of a larger building. Azarnoush also considers the two buildings of the west and east Ivans along with the Chalipa Hall as a temple for the worship of Anahita. According to this, the Bishapour royal citadel plan was compared with the plan of an important religious complex such as Takht-e Soleiman. The number of similar cases in terms of plan form and the arrangement of spaces and structure is so numerous that the possibility of religious use for Bishapour can be considered probable (Figure 2).
Furthermore, during the first Hormozd, Anahita's dress was different on the coins than the clothes in the mosaics of Bishapur. In the coins related to the second Bahram, her crown lacks a bullet above the head. So, the first similarities in the motifs of mosaics with Anahita are visible from the period of Narseh. According to Girshman, in the third century AD, the Sassanids' woolen and silk fabrics rarely had a pattern. We should consider that the use of patterns on the fabric has probably become common with the construction of weaving centers in Khuzestan by Shapur II (Table1). In terms of clothes, hair, and narrated subjects, mosaics' motifs have tremendous similarities with relief and motifs of coin attributed to the Anahita in the next periods. Also, there are some similarities in the description of the fifth Yasht regarding Anahita's appearance with a piece of the mosaic decorated with the woman lying on the pillow. Therefore, it should be studied in the history between 276 to 379 AD from Bahram II to Shapur II. Finally, by comparing the motifs of Mosaic Ivan with other remaining motifs of the goddess Anahita on the coins of the Sassanid period, the motifs attributed to Anahita on the carvings and sculptures discovered from the Arbabi mansion of Hajiabad, it was concluded that the motifs implemented on the mosaics are completely Iranian in terms of faces, clothes, and sitting posture. The weakness in the implementation of the motifs and the method of preparing the Bishapour mosaics is probably due to the implementation of those who learned this art from Roman captives in the past and later performed it at the request of the king. During these 100 years, one of the people who explicitly mentions the goddess Anahita is Narseh, Shapur I's son. Since his monarchy has been taken away, he clearly turns to Anahita and receives the ring of power from her (Figure 6). Narseh owes this victory to the goddess Anahita's support, so he wants to show the power, glory, and support of Anahita. The best place for this is his hometown, which was established by the order of the powerful Sassanid king, Shapur I. According to the issues mentioned above, it is more likely that the mosaics were made by order of Narseh to thank the goddess Anahita and to show her support in a city that is probably a collection for the worship of this goddess.
 

Keywords

Bishapur
mosaic Ivan
Goddess Anahita
Shapur I
Narseh traditions
آذرنوش، مسعود، (1987)، «آتشکده و معبد آناهیتا: بحثی پیرامون برخی پرستشگاه‌های ایرانی»، ترجمۀ ع. هژبری (1392)، باستان پژوه، 15، 20، 85-92.
افخمی، بهروز، فرج­زاده، صبا، حسینی­نیا، مهدی، (1395)، «بازنمایی الهه آناهیتا در شواهد باستانشناختی»، زن در فرهنگ و هنر، 8، 2، 225-248.
اکبری، امیر، (1386)، «کعبه زرتشت و اهمیت تاریخی کتیبه شاپور اول ساسانی»، پژوهش­نامة تاریخ، 3، 11، 70-28.
امیری، مصیب، (1391)، «طبقه بندی و گونه شناسی سفالی های ساسانی اسلامی بیشاپور مطالعه موردی سفال های فصل نهم»، مطالعات باستان­شناسی، 4، 1، 1-22.
باستانی پاریزی، محمد ابراهیم، (1344)، خاتون هفت قلعه، تهران، دهخدا.
بهرمان، علیرضا، (1393)، «مطالعه بازشناسی مصالح و تکنیک ساخت موزائیک­های تزئینی ساسانی (کاخ بیشاپور)»، هنرهای زیبا- هنرهای تجسمی، 19، 2، 37-48.
بیرونی، ابوریحان، (1386)، ترجمه آثارالباقیه عن القرون الخالیه، ترجمۀ ا. داناسرشت، تهران، امیرکبیر.
بی­یر، لیونل، (1381)، «کاخ­های ساسانیان و تاثیر آنها بر معماری اوایل دوره اسلامی»، ترجمۀ ک. افجه­ای، باستان پژوهی، 9، 64-70.
بی­یر، لیونل، (1383)، «دورنمایی از کاخهای ساسانیان»، ترجمۀ زرین فخار، اثر، 36 و37، 270-278.
پوپ، آرتوراپهام، (1386)، معماری ایران، ترجمۀ غ. صدری افشار، تهران، اختران.
پوپ، آرتوراپهام، اکرمن، فیلیس، (1387)، سیری در هنر ایران از دوران پیشازتاریخ تا امروز، فلزکاری دوره ساسانی و آغاز دوره اسلامی، ترجمۀ ع. حصوری، جلد دوم، تهران، علمی فرهنگی.
پورداود، ابراهیم، (1377)، یشت­ها – جلد اول، تهران، اساطیر.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
پورداود، ابراهیم، (1394)، یشت­ها دوره دو جلدی – جلد دوم، تهران، اساطیر.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
دریایی، تورج، (1392)، ناگفته­های امپراتوری ساسانیان، ترجمۀ آ. حقانی، و م. فاضلی بیرجندی، تهران، پارسه.
دهخدا، علی­اکبر، (1377)، لغت نامه دهخدا، جلد 7، 2، تهران، دانشگاه تهران.
سرفراز، علی­اکبر، تیموری، محمد، (1386)، «سازمان فضایی بیشاپور»، باغ نظر، 8، 91-102.
سرفراز، عای­اکبر، (1354)، «نقش­برجسته­هایی که دوباره ظاهر شدند»، هنر و مردم، 155، 26-41.       
سرفراز، علی­اکبر، (1393)، شهر باستانی بیشاپور، تهران، سمت.
سودآور، ابوالعلاء، (1383)، فرة ایزدی در آیین پادشاهی ایران باستان، هیوستون: انتشارات میرک.
Top of Form
طهماسبی، احسان، (1392)، «بررسی تطبیقی معماری کاخ­ها و خانه­های اشرافی ساسانی»، پژوهشهای باستان­شناسی ایران، 3، 4، 153-168.
طاهری، رضا، (1392)، آناهیتا و ایزدبانوان دیگر در اسطوره­ها و باورهای ایرانیان، تهران، فروهر.
فردوسی، ابوالقاسم، (1380)، شاهنامه، تهران، انعامی.
کیانی، محمدیوسف، (1368)، شهرهای ایران، تخت سلیمان، جلد سوم، تهران، جهاد دانشگاهی.
گرگانی، فخرالدین، (1338)، ویس و رامین، تهران، ایده­ها.
گیرشمن، رومن، (1956)، بیشاپور، ترجمۀ ا. کریمی (1378)، جلد دوم، تهران، پژوهشگاه میراث فرهنگی.
گیرشمن، رومن، (1962)، ه‍ن‍ر ای‍ران‌ در دوران‌ پ‍ارت‍ی‌ و س‍اس‍ان‍ی‌، ترجمۀ ب. فره­وشی (1391)، تهران، علمی و فرهنگی.
لسترنج، گای، (1905)، جغرافیای تاریخی سرزمین­های خلافت شرق، ترجمۀ م. عرفان (1390)، علمی فرهنگی، تهران.
مولایی، چنگیز، (1392)، آبان یشت، تهران، مرکز دائرة المعارف بزرگ اسلامی (مرکز پژوهشهای ایرانی اسلامی).
میری، نگین، جلالی، مریم، (1395)، «جلوه­های کودک و کودکی در متن پهلوی و هنر ایران ساسانی»، تاریخ ایران، 20، 147-174.
وندائی، میلاد، (1390)، «بازشناسی نرسه در نقوش برجسته ساسانی»، نامه ایران باستان، 20، 147-174.
 
Afkhami, B. 2016. Representation of Anahita in Archeological Documents. Journal OF Women in Culture and Art’s. 8 )2:( 225-248 [in Persian].
Akbari, A. 2007. Zoroa Cube and the Historical Importance of Shapur I Rock Relief. Journal of History Research. 3 )11:( 28-70 [in Persian].
Amiri, M. 2012. Classification and Typological Study of Sasanian-Islamic Potteries of Bishapour, Case study: Materials from the 9th Season of Excavation. Journal of Archaeological Studies. 4 (1): 1-22 [in Persian].
Azarnoush, M. 1994. The Sasanian Manor House at Hajiabad, Iran. Italy: East and West.
Azarnoush, M. 1987. Fire Temple and Anahita Temple: A Discussion on Some Iranian Places of Worship. Translated by A. Hozhabri 2013. Journal of Bastanpazhouh. 15 (20): 85-92 [in Persian].
Bahreman, A. 2014. Recognition Study of Materials and Techniques Construction Decorative Sassanian Mosaics (Bishapour Palace). Journal of Honar-ha-ye Ziba Honar-ha-ye Tajassomi, 19 (2): 37-48 [in Persian].
Bastani P. 1965. Khatoun-e Haft Qaleh-e. Tehran: Dehkhoda [in Persian].
Bier, L. 1993. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam. Ars Orientalis. 23: 57-66.
Bier, L. 1993. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam, Translated by K. Afjehie 2002. Journal of Bastanpazhuhi. 9 (17): 64-70 [in Persian].
Bier, L. 1982. Sasanian Palaces in Perspective. Translated by Z. Fakhar (2004), Journal of Athar. 36 & 37: 270-278 [in Persian].
Biruni, A. 2007. Asar al-Baqiyah an al-Qorun al-Khaliyah. Translated by A. Danaseresht (2007). Tehran: Amirkabir Publication [in Persian].
Daryaee, T. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. translated by A. Haghani, & M. Fazeli Birjand (2013). Tehran: Parseh Publication [in Persian].
Dehkhoda, A. 1998. Dehkhoda Dictionary (edited by M. Moien & J. Shahidi). Tehran: University of Tehran [In Persian].
Ferdowsi, A. 2002. Shahnameh. Tehran: Anami [in Persian].
Goldman, B. 1997. Women’s Robing the Sasanian Era. Iranica Antiqua. 32: 233-300.
Grishman, R. 1956. Bishapour. Translated by A. Karimi (2000). Vol II. Tehran: Research Institute of Cultural Heritage & Tourism [in Persian].
Grishman, R. 1962. Persian art, Parthian and Sassanian Dynasties. translated by B. Farahvashi (2011). Tehran: Elmi Va Farhangi Publication [in Persian].
Gurgani, F. 1960. Vis Va Ramin. Tehran: Ideh-ha [in Persian].
Kiani, M. 1989. Iranian Cities, Takti Suleiman. Vol 3. Tehran: Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research [in Persian].
Le Strange, G. 1905. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate. Translated by M. Erfan (2012). Tehran: Elmi Va Farhangi Publication [in Persian].
Miri, N., Jalali, M. 2016. Representations of Children and Childhood in Pahlavi Literature and Sasanian Art. Journal of Tarikhe Iran, 20: 147-174 [in Persian].
Mowlaie, C. 2013. Aban Yasht. Tehran: Center for The Great Islamic Encyclopedia [in Persian].
Pourdavoud, E. 1998. Yasht-ha. Vol I. Tehran: Asatir Publication [in Persian].
Pourdavoud, E. 2015. Yasht-ha. Vol II. Tehran: Asatir Publication [in Persian].
Sarfaraz, A, Teymouri, M. 2007. Spatial Organization of Sasanian Bishapur City. Journal of Bagh-e Nazar. 8: 91-102. [in Persian].
Sarfaraz, A. 1975. Naghsh Barjasteh-haie Ke Dobareh Zaher Shodand (Reliefs that reappeared). Journal of Honar-O-Mardom. 155: 26-41. [in Persian].
Sarfaraz, A. 2014. The Ancient City of Bishapur. Tehran: Samt Publication. [in Persian].Top of Form
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
 
Soudavar, A. 2003. The aura of kings: Legitimacy and divine sanction in Iranian kingship. Costa Mesa (Calif.: Mazda Publ.Tahmasebi, E. (2013). The Comparative Study of the Sassanian Palaces and Manor Houses Architecture. Journal of Pazhohesh-ha-ye Bastanshenasi Iran. 4: 153-168. [in Persian].
Taheri, R. 2013. Anahita and other Goddesses in Iranian Myths and Beliefs. Tehran Faravahar Publication. [in Persian]
Upham Pope, A. Ackerman, Ph. (2008). Survey ofpersian art,A Review of Sasanian and Islamic Metalwork. translated by A. Hasouri (2008) Tehran: Elmi va Farhangi Publication. [in Persian].
Upham Pope, A. 2007. Persian Architecture. Translated by G. Sadri-Afshar. Tehran: Akhtaran Publication. [in Persian].
Vandaee, M. 2011. Overview Narseh in Rock Reliefs Sasanian. Journal of Nam-e Iran Bastan. 11 (1-2): 1-54 [in Persian].
 
 
 

  • Receive Date 13 January 2018
  • Revise Date 24 December 2019
  • Accept Date 16 February 2020

Home

Contact Us