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The religious, scientific, social and political position of Zorostrian priests in the first centuries after the advent of Islam in Iran
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Leila Khosravi *   , Mohsen Masomi |
| , mlk.tehrani@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (2803 Views) |
Priests had a lofty status in Sasanian government and as a class in society; But by the arrival of Islam and the gradual fading of Zorostrianism in Iran, what role did they have? How did they play their role in various religious, scientific, political and social fields? By referring to the few remaining sources of the early conquests, it is clear that the political and social positions of the priests was seriously injured in those days, but they stayed as the religious authority of the society for a long time. Umayyads didn’t insist on religious conversion; so the fire temples were set up and the priests were answering the Juridical questions of the Behdins; but in the dominance of Abbasid the fire temples were gradually converted into mosques, thus they lost their base. However due to the proximity of the Abbasids to the Iranians and the delegation of high positions to new Iranian Muslims and due to tolerance, particularly in the first period of the Abbasid rule, the priests had the opportunity to get close to the government leaders. They were also present at the court of Ma`mun, Moatasem and Mutawakkil and sometimes their views influenced the Caliphs. At the same time, they were responsible for the preservation of religious rituals and cultural heritage of Iranians. Muslim historians and scholars such as Masudi(345), Ibn-Nadim(390), Miskawayh(421) and Maqdisi (late century 4) have met them and have narrated from them. However, due to the spread of Islam among the Zoroastrians, especially since the third century their position sharply declined. So that, some of them were forced to deal with other matters than religious authority for earning their living and some of them even forbade their children from continuing their way. In this article, according to written sources left by Muslim historians of the first century and subsequent studie (Western or Muslim), this issue has been studied historically.
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| Keywords: Zoroastrian priests, Iran – lst century after Islam |
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Full-Text [PDF 392 kb]
(786 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Islamic History
Received: 2017/09/13 | Revised: 2020/10/11 | Accepted: 2017/09/13 | Published: 2017/09/13 | ePublished: 2017/09/13
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