Was Zoroastrian Art Invented in Chorasmia?

Abstract

Before the recent discoveries of the Karakalpak-Australian Expedition to Ancient Chorasmia (KAE) evidence for Zoroastrianism in Chorasmia was scant, coming only from the official use of the Zoroastrian calendar, the onomastics, and the archaeologically documented funerary practices of the region, while the interpretation of remains of temples or fire chapels is subject to discussion. During the last seasons of work on the material of the KAE excavations at Akchakhan-kala, the royal seat of Chorasmia in the 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD, substantial fragments of wall paintings from the rear wall of the main columned hall of the “Ceremonial Complex” were cleaned and reassembled. It appeared at once that they belong to oversized standing figures, most probably deities. The best preserved image has been identified as Srōsh, god of prayer and protector of the soul after death. The second figure is probably to be identified as a personification of the group of the Fravashis, pre-created souls of the ancestors and protectors of “Aryan people” in battles, also worshipped as deities. A third figure, very partly preserved, perhaps represents Zam-Spandarmad, goddess of the Earth. If these identifications are valid, these deities appear to have been chosen because of their association with the turn of the year. This would be consistent with the possibility that the already known “portrait gallery” of Akchakhan-kala was related to the commemoration of royal and clanic ancestors at the end of the year. Notwithstanding much still needs to be elucidated, it appears already certain that these paintings, dating about the beginning of the 1st century AD, are the earliest documented attempt to create a Zoroastrian art directly inspired by the Avesta. The identification of some figures in the Toprak-kala “High Palace” (2nd-3rd centuries AD) can perhaps be reconsidered in the light of this new evidence.