Ahura Mazda

The Jewish Presence on the Silk Roads

2010-03-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

The archaeological and literary evidence discussed in class readings for this week suggest that Jews did in fact travel, trade, and live along the Silk Roads during the 8th to the 13th centuries. A large number of Jews were living at the Western end of the Silk Roads in both the Byzantine and Persian Empires. Documents also show that Jews had settlements on the Eastern end of the Silk Roads in countries such as India and China. However, exactly when and how Jews entered China is not known. The trade along the Silk Roads was mostly at the hands of Arabs and Persians during this period. And it is in the accounts of the Arab travelers and geographers that we find our earliest evidence for the presence of Jews in China. For instance, in a book written in the 9th century by Ibn Khurdadhbih, there is a reference to Jew merchants called Radhanites. Ibn Khurdadhbih's account shows that Jews travelled via both land and sea along the Silk Roads and carried goods from West to East and East to west. Marco Polo also talks about Jews that he met in China in his 1271 journey to that country. The evidence also shows that Jews had settlements in China in both Hangchow and Kaifeng. Leslie states that there are references to Jews in Chinese resources from the Yuan (Mongol) period (1280-1368). However, he suggests that the Kaifeng community was established way earlier than this, perhaps during the Sung dynasty (960-1279). I enjoyed the readings but I guess it would be interesting to know whether the Jewish faith was altered in any way as a result of its encounter with Chinese culture. i found this interesting picture that is apparently from the Jewish Encyclopedia that I would like to share with you.

Kaifeng Jews. or Chinese Jews.

Silk Road Expeditions

2010-02-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

Western explorers and archaeologists began expeditions to the deserts of Western China and Central Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The trade routes of the Silk Road once passed through this region and early explorers were hoping to find the artistic and archaeological treasures of prosperous civilizations that used to inhabit this area. Some of these men were semi-independent explorers like Sven Hedin, Sir Aurel Stein, Paul Pelliot, and Albert Von Le Coq who crisscrossed the region and made spectacular discoveries along the early trade route. Most of the artifacts collected by these explorers were brought to foreign countries and were used to build museum collections.
This period is also known as the "Great Game." Great Game refers to the nineteenth century power struggle between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. Russians were interested in getting India and Northwest China. They were gradually moving southward towards British India conquering cities on their way. For their military purposes, Russians dispatched explorers such as Nikolai Przhevalsky to map the region and to gather information. Russians were interested in Central Asia not only as a way to get to India and China but also because the area had enormous mineral potential that could be exploited for the purpose of industrialization of European nations. British also sent their own explorers to survey and map the region. During this period, British were mainly concerned with protecting their most important colony, India. Most of the surveyors and spies were disguised as religious pilgrims or explorers.
In addition to British and Russian, there were other European and even American explorers who made expeditions in the Central Asia. What were the pros and cons of such expeditions. Most of the maps, surveys, travel accounts, and discoveries of these early explorers are still valued for their great contributions to our understanding of lands, animals and botanical specimens, cultures, languages, and religions of the Silk Road. Even the accounts of those who aimed solely to gather information for military purposes contain valuable information about the aforemnetioned things. However, there are many political and economical reasons behind these military expeditions that might not be very moral or acceptable.
How about these explorer's archaeological raids? Were they of any good? Did they have a right to remove precious artifacts from their original place? For instance, should we blame scholars such as Stein or Pelliot for depriving the Chinese of their cultural heritage? Should we blame the Chinese for letting these archaeological raids happen? Maybe we should blame the custodian of Tuan-huang. The answers to these questions are not that simple. Early explorers justified their archaeological raids by asserting that artifacts collected from Silk Road sites could be better preserved in Western Museums. Maybe they were right: they were working during a period when the Chinese government or governments of most of the regions in the Central Asia neither had laws against exporting archaeological objects nor cared about protecting such treasures. Moreover, the detailed accounts that these explorers kept of found manuscripts, wall paintings, and similar artifacts is a great source of information. The question of who should possess, care for, study, and interpret artifacts is a controvercial and politically charged topic. Today, we have stricter ethical rules governing archaeological endeavors. For instance, scholars try not to remove artifacts from their original sites if they can be safely preserved there. Considering the example of Tuan-huang manuscripts and wall paintings, regardless of our opinion about the ethics involved in acquiring them, it appears that they likely had a better chance of being preserved in European museums than being stacked in the walled library hidden in the middle of a cave.

2010-02-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

Readings for this week were really thought-provoking. It is interesting how, in the recent years, Muslims have turned into new "Blacks"in the United States and in the West in eneral. Islam has turned into a unitary entity that is associated with violence, international terrorism, misogyny, and oppression of women. This blog post goes really well with my last one. By subsuming all Muslims under the rubric of fundamentalism, we, in the West, ignore the fact that Islam, like many religions, is interwoven with mltiple strands of culture, politics, and history. By doing so, we also choose to ignore the fact that Muslims come from many different ethnic backgrounds and, like many of us, might endorse different ideological and sectarian positions.

The article by Saba Mahmood and Charles Hirschkind really opened my eye to our ignorance in the West. The article was about various feminist groups in the US that started a campaign to condemn the Taliban's brutal treatment of women. Well, what can be wrong with a campaign with such good inent. First, these feminist groups were opposing the restrictions that the Taliban had imposed on Afghan women such as forbidding them to go to school or have jobs, and forcing them to wear a burqa, while ignoring the conditions under which such restrictions were imposed.
Second, Western ideals of freedom were used to judge Afghan women's situation under the Taliban. The problem with this approach was that these campaigners totally ignored the fact that such restrictions only affected a minority of urban women in Afghanistan, while making most women entirely safe from rape and violence. The campaigners also closed their eyes to the fact that the US was for the most part responsible for the plight of Afghan women through channeling US arms to the most extreme Muslim group of Mujahedeen as part of a covert operation to harass the Soviet forces that were occupying Afghanistan in 1979.

Where were these campaigners when their government was giving US dollars to a Muslim group that was led by the most fanatic, extremist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar? At that time, US needed these groups to fight its enemies and according to one CIA official in Pakistan, "fanaticts [fought] better." So Afghan women's situation can be seen as a direct result of corrupt US policies. They have turned the region into one of the most heavily armed areas in the world and now these feminist campaigners, instead of worrying about Afghan women's basic needs such as food, safety, shelter and so forth, are fighting for their right to go to school. These campaigners see the veil as a symbol of Muslim women's oppression, but their analysis lacks the understanding that the veil serves different purposes in different contexts. Maybe, it served the purpose of keeping Afghan women safe in the war-torn Afghanistan. Just like not every Muslim is a fanatic, not every woman who chooses to wear the veil is oppressed. What a difficult concept for most of us to understand in the West!!! By banning Muslim girls to wear their headscarves, we are disrespecting their basic right to choose their own clothes. If I have a right to wear my mini skirt, why shouldn't my Muslim sister be able to wear her headscarf? Regarding any group as if all its members are the same leads to ignoring group members' individuality which inevitably leads to discrimination and prejudice.

2010-02-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

After reading the articles for this week, I could not help but wonder how similar the faith of Islam was to that of Buddhism. According to the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad is the seal of the prophets. Thus, Muslims believe that the divine message that was brought by him is intended for all humankind. This belief inevitably led to missionary activities. Under Umar ibn al-Khattab (586-644 CE), the Islamic Empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. Later, Islam spread to Africa, India, and even China. Just like Buddhism, Islam had to accomodate itself to local cultures in order to survive and attract followers. In the process of spreading, Islam, like Buddhism, influenced various cultures and religions and it aslo was influenced by the religions and customs of its host countries. Islam, like Buddhism, is not a unitary entity: it is interwoven with multiple strands of culture and history. Thus, when we talk about Muslims today, we are talking about a bewildering diversity of languages, ethnic groups, and differing ideological and sectarian positions. To illustrate this diversity, I am posting a link to the Niujie Mosque in Beijing, China, which is a beautiful example of a fusion of Islamic and Chinese cultures.
http://www.essential-architecture.com/CHINA/PEKING/PE-041.htm.

So what led to the equation of Muslims with Arab-terrorists? In his book, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World, Carl W. Ernst, not only describes the spiritual aspects of Islam, but also describes the challenges that Muslims and scholars of Islam face in the contemporary, post-9/11 era. In his non-fundamentalist approach to understanding Islam, Ernst tries to remove Islam and Muslims from the impassioned political debates and international terrorism. He does not deny the fact that the spiritual Islam that he is introducing often has socio-political agendas. However, he explains that politicized Islam (e.g., the use of Islamic religious language against the West) is not a totality of Islam, nor does it represent the most important aspects of Islam as a religion. Being a Muslim means to submit one's life completely to Allah. Thus, the most important issue for Muslims is to live according to the spiritual values taught in the Qur'an and by the Prophet Muhammad. Ernst contends that such violent, politicized reactions of Muslims should be understood as responses to the historical legacies of colonialism. He reminds the reader that it was not long ago that the religious language was used in the same way by the Christian West in its attempt to justify colonialism and domination. I liked Ernst's attempt to remove Islam from the negative post-9/11 stereotypes. However, how can one separate and try to explain Islam, or any religion, apart from the social, political, and economical situations in which the exist. Well, I guess this is not possible and Ernst himself couldn't avoid getting into politics.

Mani's Syncretistic Religion

2010-01-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

What was the doctrine proclaimed by the founder of Manichaeism, Mani? At first glance, Manichaeism seems to be a heretical form of Christianity. After careful examination, however, one realizes that Manichaeism can be considered an independent religion. The Prophet Mani did not begin his mission by preaching Christianity and then begin adopting new beliefs. Nevertheless, Mani's teachings are a fusion of Christian, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist elements.

But, why would the Prophet Mani draw on the diverse resources of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism? Mani grew up in the Sassanian Babylonia of the third century A.D. Various religious traditions prevailed in this area at the time. Thus, Mani was familiar with the teachings of the Jesus, Zoroaster, and Buddha. He deliberately chose the sycretistic method because he realized that the incorporation of the wisdom of all religions and nations would help Manichaeism prevail in the world. Mani likened his religion to "the world ocean, into which all rivers, that is, other religious traditions flow" (Klimkeit 7).

Mani started his missionary activity in the Persian kingdom of Sassanians. Then, he sent missionaries to the east as far as the Kushan kingdom and to the west as far as Alexandria. He himself conducted missionary activitiy in India and the Indus valley. Using the syncretistic method, Mani's mission ensured that in areas dominated by Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, or Christianity, an aspect of Manichaeism was emphasized that was familiar to the audience. The use of familiar concepts, myths, and symbols made the audience more receptive to Mani's new religion and ensured the expansion and survival of his religion. In addition, by accepting the validity of previous revelations, Mani related himself to other prophets that came before him and declared his religion the consummation of that of his predecessors.

Religious Syncretism and the Case of Nestorian Christianity in China during the Tang Dynasty

2010-01-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! This blog entry is about the introduction of Nestorian Christianity to China. What happens to religions after what is known as " syncretism" occurs is very interesting. Religious syncretism occurs when a foreign religion is introduced to an indigenous culture of belief system and the beliefs, principles, and doctrines are mixed. In the process of transmission and establishment, the new religion takes a new shape that might be very different from its initial form. Similar to the process of sinification of Buddhism, Christian theology was progressively indigenized in China.

The government of China had a tolerant and protective attitude toward foreign faiths during the eighth century. Buddhists, Nestorian Christians, and Manicheans, among people from other faiths, could establish their places of worship and perform their own practices and rituals within the cities of China.

Nestorianism is a form of Christianity that was developed by travelers from Syria. They believed that Christ had two natures: One human and one divine. This tradition was introduced to China by the Nestorian traders and monks. The newcomers faced numerous challenges in establishing their faith in China. Foremost among these challenges was the problem of language. The Christian scriptures that were brought to China A-lo-pen and others needed to be translated to Chinese. In order to make the text understandable, translators sometimes had to borrow from local terminology and concepts. According to Flinn and Hendricks, there is evidence showing that there was collaboration between translators of Christian and Buddhist texts. Also, it is apparent that in an effort to express in Chinese their Christian theology, foreigners had to use Buddhist, Manichean, and Chinese classical terminology. Thus, it appears that Christianity interacted with the aforementioned traditions in a way that can be viewed as syncretistic.

The question becomes whether Christianity remained faithful to its origin or was transformed and changed by the sinitic culture. I think it is fair to say that, like many traditions, we cannot assume an unchanging core to Christianity. Christianity had to change and adapt to its host culture in order to survive. After all its syncretistic transformation over time, can we still call "Chinese Christianity" Christianity? Well, I do not know. As scholars, we are only interested in changes that occur in traditions in different contexts over time. It is safe to leave this sort of judgment to people practicing the faith. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

Singular Buddhism or multiple Buddhisms?

2009-11-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

This blog entry will be an extension of my last blog post. Since the assigned readings for this week are about the "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas," I will continue the topic of the diversity of the Buddhist practices and rituals by exploring the artifacts found at this site. I am also fascinated by the changes that occur in Buddhism as it moves along the Silk Road.

The diversity and range of Buddhist practices and rituals that exist among the members of different Buddhist communities are quite remarkable. The question then becomes what links all these communities together. Is it their scripture? Or perhaps what links them together is their shared goal of achieving enlightenment. It appears that we cannot assume a single, unchanging core for Buddhism. Buddhism, like many other traditions, has unfolded in the context over time. It spread from India to many different countries. In the process of spreading along the trade routes of the Silk Road, Buddhism influences various cultures and religions and it also is influenced by the religions and customs of its host countries. Even though all Budhhists seek enlightenment, each community has developed new practices and rituals for achieving this end. Thus, since Buddhism is not a simple abstraction or a series of rigid prescribed practices, it seems more appropriate to talk about Buddhism as a tradition rather than a religion.

The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas near Dunhuang (in China) are home to precious and ancient Buddhist art. Historically, Dunhuang was a large oasis settlement that was located near the junction of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads. Animals, plants, valuable stones, art works, clothing and fashion, along with customs and religions travelled in both directions between Western countries and China. Buddhism was introduced to China in the first half of the first century BC through the Silk Road. Buddhist texts (a confusing mix of Mahayana and Hinayana sutras), monastic rules, Buddhist paintings, spells, and talismans were brought to China by foreigners. These texts needed to be translated into Chinese. Later on, Chinese Buddhist monks also travelled along the Silk Road to Central Asia and India to collect Buddhist scripture for translation into Chinese. Since the Buddha's teachings were written down years after he passed away, and because of the existence of many Chinese translations of these texts, doubts have arisen as to whether these texts have remained faithful to the initial teachings of the Buddha.

The Buddhist art in the caves of the Thousand Buddhas includes statues and painted walls. Buddhist texts and paintings were also discovered in cave 16 at Dunhuang. Most of the material discovered in this cave were Buddhist in content and were mostly in Chinese. However, texts belonging to religions other than Buddhism as well as secular texts were found in this cave. Dunhuang, in the first millennium, was a very important military town. It was initially part of the Chinese empire. However, this town fell under control of different empires of the regions among them were Tibetans and Mongols. Each rulling power contributed to this Buddhist cave art by painting the walls of the caves according to their own belief and artistic style. In addition, Dunhuang, because of its important location, was primarily occupied at this time by Tibetan and Chinese soldiers, along with merchants, monks, and others passing along the Silk Road. This diversity of languages and cultures is reflected in the languages and styles of paintings of the manuscripts and inscriptions found in the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.

What accounts for the remarkable range of practices described as "Buddhist"?

2009-11-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

The diversity and range of Buddhist practices and rituals that exists among the members of different Buddhist communities are quite remarkable. This diversity can have two main reasons. One is the flexibility of the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha had the ability to adapt his message to the situation in order to teach what was appropriate for a particular disciple. He also left his teachings (dharma) as his successor. One cannot help but wonder how his flexible style of teaching could be transmitted from one generation to the other. If adopted by the Buddha's followers, could this flexible style of teaching gradually change the true content of the Buddha's teachings? The Lotus Sutra was the first original Buddhist text that I read. I have studied Buddhism in my other courses but I just scratched my head after each story without knowing what exactly its point was. These short stories are related by the Buddha's disciples and can have many different meanings. TheBuddha's teachings were written down by his disciples centuries after he passed away. These texts, however, were accepted by the devoted Buddhists as sutras (as teachings attributed to the Buddha). But, how much of these sutras are actual teachings of the Buddha? And do we have a way of verifying this?

The other thing that can account for the remarkable range of practices described as "Buddhist" is the fact that Buddhism spread beyond the boundaries of its native culture (India). Buddhism was introduced to China via the Silk Road. It also spread to Japan, Korea, Tibet, Mongolia and many other countries. Each of these countries then adapted Buddhism to their own culture and made it distinctively their own. During this period of adaptation, not only local deities were incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon but also they were influenced by the Buddhist pantheon. As a result of this interchange of cultures, new Buddhist schools, practices, and rituals developed that differed from the Indian Buddhism. Despite all this, however, there is evidence of often surprising similarities between practices of these Buddhist cultures widely separated by topography and history. How can this be? How can the Buddha's teachings not be affected first by the oral transmission and then by the customs of the new communities that adopted Buddhism. One cannot help but wonder is it possible that the Buddha did not aim to teach a fixed set of ideas but a way of life (an aspiration to seek and discover liberation) that could survive the influence of time and other cultures. One thing is clear and that is Buddhism has changed and evolved according to the needs and demands of the communities that adopted it but its essence seems to be unaffected.

The importance of studying religious texts

2009-11-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

I am very interested that I finally got an opportunity to study the ancient religion of my beautiful country, Iran. After reading the section on the Avesta and Achamenid inscriptions, I developed an appreciation for a role that a textual scholar plays in increasing our understanding of the ancient religions. Before these readings our professor's scholarly work seemed very foreign to me. Whether we consider religious documents as revealed texts or simply as historical documents, one thing is clear and that is texts play a very important role in most world religions. Studying them can tell us a lot not only about the doctrine, practices, and rituals of a particular religion but also they can answer many questions such as why a person at a particular time in history have made such claims. In addition, they can give us great deal of information on how religions change and evolve in response to social and/or political demands. Religions developed within a particular culture and their texts are also reflections of that culture. Thus, the objective study of religious texts can reveal great deal of information about the pattern of living and framework of values within which people lived their lives in the particular time in history.

As mentioned in class, the aim of scholars in studying religious texts is not to determine the accuracy or the truth of a particular religion. The goal is to find answers to the aforementioned questions. I also developed an appreciation for the comparative model. The comparative model can be a very useful paradigm in studying religious texts. It was also very interesting how even some Zoroastrian priests today do not fully understand the meaning of their own texts. This makes us appreciate the efforts of textual scholars in putting together the pieces of the puzzle trying to construct ancient texts and translate and interpret them in an objective way. It is interesting how in order to understand the meaning of religious texts, scholars have to first understand and be familiar with the culture , myths, and practices of that specific culture. For instance, in reading "the two spirits," the scholar goes back to the mythology of the Twins which was apparently a well-known myth among Zarathustra's audience. Assuming that his audience knew what he was talking about, Zarathustra did not take the time to explain the myth. He simply reinterprets this well-known myth. This example tells us how difficult it is to decipher the meaning of some obscure lines in ancient texts considering the fact that scholars today do not have enough evidence and knowledge of the culture within which these texts were originated.

Scholars studying the ancient Gathas face all the above-mentioned challenges. As mentioned in the article, the difficulty of understanding the Gatha lies in the complexity of its dialogues. Sometimes it is really difficult to decide who the speaker is and who is being addressed. Another problem lies in the subtleties of the language of these texts. In English we only have three tenses (past, present, and future). However, the audience of the Zarathustra was aware of an atemporal dimension that would cut across temporality. In other words, whatever occured or was true in the past occurs and is true even today. How should scholars put this understanding into English words?

The other important thing is how teachings of the Zarathustra have been discovered through studying the Gathas: teachings such as the superiority of the Truth and the mission against the Lie and the forces of the evil.

Beliefs are a problematic category in the study of anthropology of religion.

2009-11-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

In our reading for last week what grabbed my attention was the problem of studying faith or belief. Dimension of belief is indeed very problematic in the anthropology of religion. There are questions that need to be addressed. For instance, are our beliefs signs of converting? Does believing the same as belief? Is belief an internal property of a person? How can anthropologists access people’s beliefs? Can we be religious without having a defined set of beliefs? Does faith and belief have the same meaning?
The value of “belief” as a concept for the anthropology of religion has been questioned by Malcolm Ruel and Talal Asad. In “Christians as Believers,”[1] Ruel questions the value of belief by tracing the genealogy of the term “believing” in Christian history and demonstrating that it has held very different meanings during different historical periods. He draws attention to the fact that “belief” is defined at different times by the context of its use. The problem with using the concept of belief in anthropology is that this word and its meaning is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and therefore might carry its Christian connotations when used in different contexts or when applied to other traditions. Ruel describe four fallacies of using the term “belief” in contexts other than Christian. First, he believes that it is misleading to think that belief is a central concept in all religions just as it is to Christianity. We need to realize that people can be religious without necessarily having a defined set of beliefs. Second, he suggests that it is erroneous to think that people’s beliefs shape their behaviour and thus are enough explanation for them. Third, he claims that it is misleading to think of belief as an interior state or a psychological condition. Forth, Ruel also claims that it is a fallacy to consider determination of belief as being more important than determination of the content of the belief.
In answering the question of whether the faith is the same as belief, we first need to describe what faith means? Faith can refer to a belief in a body of doctrines. In mystic traditions it can also refer to the deliberate engagement with the unknown. Used in the latter sense, faith is not the same as belief and doesn’t require a belief in a body of doctrines. Thus, we, as anthropologists, might be cautious in using the term “belief” to religions other than Christianity.
The other problem is how anthropologists can access people’s beliefs. Isn’t what we know about people’s beliefs what they tell us and how objective this approach to studying individual’s beliefs can be. How do we know someone is converted? Should anthropologists convert to a particular religion in order to understand what the adherents of that religion believe? In her article “Convicted by the Holy Spirit: The Rhetoric of Fundamental Baptist Convention,” Susan Harding[2] focuses on the role of language and verbal communication in religion and particularly in the process of conversion. She suggests that conversion entails learning to listen and ultimately speak in a new fashion. I don’t want to get into her argument here but what I want to get at is the subjectivity of her ethnographic work. At the end of her fieldwork she seems to be a believer herself. This can be another problem with using the category belief in anthropology. Can we ultimately be objective in studying other people’s beliefs or should we necessarily turn into “natives” in the process of our fieldwork. Sorry guys I really like this topic and can go on and on forever. Please give me some feedback about this topic.

[1] Malcolm Ruel, “Christians as believers,” in John Davis, ed., Religious Organization and Religious Experience (London: Academic Press, 1982), pp.9-31.
[2] Susan F. Harding, “Convicted by the Holy Spirit: The Rhetoric of Fundamental Baptist Conversion,” American Ethnologist 14:167-81 (1987).

Interchange of cultures along the Silk Road

2009-10-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Trade routes of the Silk Road brought different people with different languages, costumes, and religions together. We can find the evidence for this mixing of cultures in the works of art that have been discovered in the major sites along the Silk Road. Since our readings for this week were about Sogdians, I will focus on the works of art that were found in Sogdian towns. Of special interest to me are the mural paintings that decorated the inner walls of private houses in these sites.
Sugdians played an important role as intermediaries in trades between the Eastern and Western ends of the Silk Road. Sogdian’s familiarity with the arts and crafts of different cultures had manifested itself in their artwork. As mentioned by Marshak and Negmatov, Sogdian art reflects “motifs of foreign origin” (250). In other words, Sogdian art reflects the influence of Chinese and Iranian cultures among many others. The mural paintings that decorated the Sogdian private houses are very similar to those found in the middle parts of modern Iran. Some of these houses has been well preserved and are open to tourists. I am posting a link to one of these residences. It is called Tabatabaei House. This private house is decorated with wall paintings very similar to those found in Sogdian houses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabatabaei_House

I will focus on the influence of Iranian culture on Sughds and vice versa. It appears that there was a cultural and artistic interchange between these two cultures. In the hills around the city of Samarkand there is a site called Afrasiab site. According to Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”), which is a great epic story written by great Iranian poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was one of the mythical kings of Turan. He is the son of one of the mythical kings of Iran, Fereydun. According to Shahnameh, he is considered an agent of Ahriman (“Evil”) which is the opposite of Ahura Mazda (The God of Zoroastrians). There are also paintings of “the feast of Mani” Mani, the founder of Maneicheism, is thought to be of Persian descent. Just to clarify, when I am using the term “Persian”, I am referring to the Persian Empire which also included modern Iran. Also, it was mentioned that some evidence of the “Epic of Rustam” was found in Sogdian sites. Rustam is a mythological Iranian hero. I am now posting a link for those of you interested in learning more about Afrasiab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrasiab

Following last week’s discussion, I also want to add few sentences in order to answer what history means to me. I think history is a construction of “real” events in a narrative form. I think production or revision of historical accounts has a purpose. According to psychological principles our goals, emotions, and motivations affect not only how we encode information in the fist place, but also how we remember these material in the future. Since history is produced in a narrative form, there is no doubt in my mind that it should also be affected by these biases. Modern anthropologists who study historical artifacts and historical accounts of early historian strive to attend to goals and purposes that motivated the production, revision, or interpretation of these texts. All I am trying to say is that there is no doubt that these texts, artifacts, and so on are a great source of information but scholars need to also take them with the grain of salt. I think similarities and associations that exist between many texts can help scholars in their objective endeavor.

Heavenly horse!

2009-10-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and happy thanksgiving.

After doing my readings for this week I got curious to know how the heavenly horses that caused wars between the Chinese and their neighbors looked like. I found some artworks of Ferghana horse that I would like to share with you:

http://www.persiancarpetguide.com/sw-asia/Rugs/Horse_Covers.htm
http://www.superstock.co.uk/stock-photography/Fereghan

I also found a short article about the introduction of heavenly horse to China that I think is interesting. Here is the link:
http://www.akhalteke.org/web/KaraKum.nsf/PermaLinks/TNKH-7E9K24

I found it interesting how passion for new and exotic things led the Chinese to establish relationships with their non-Chinese neighbors. Marriage alliances and tributary relationships were developed to facilitate these foreign affairs. These policies made it possible for trading to occur along the Silk Road. The other thing about our reading that cut my attention was how the Chinese emperor justified his cruelty and greed for heavenly horses by attaching spiritual significance to them. It reminded me of some of today’s world leaders who justify their brutality in the name of religion.

2009-09-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

After reading the first three chapters of Frances Wood’s The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia, I realized how important it is for us to familiarize ourselves with the map of the Silk Road. Even though we have heard about Marco Polo and his epic journey to Central Asia and perhaps know the name of few cities along the Silk Road, most of us are not familiar with the name of most cities, deserts, mountains, and sees in this region. Studying the map before reading the chapters helped me to better follow the story that the author was relating. I could actually follow the journey across the Silk Road form China to Rome.

I really liked the way that Wood incorporated the early explorers’ accounts into her writing. The early explorers’ accounts not only tell the story of the development of commerce between Europe and Asia, but also is a story about interaction of different civilizations and the consequent cultural borrowings that happen as a result of it. Most of these stories are fascinating. They contain detailed accounts of people’s clothes, languages, religions, and so forth. However, judging some of these accounts with today’s standards we realize that most of them are not factual information collected by unbiased fieldworkers. They are rife with stereotypical views and a sense of European superiority. Such a biased description can be found on page 25. Overall, I enjoyed the book’s beautiful illustrations.