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90-538: Its Old Persian equivalent is arta- . In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ard- . The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius" of "Truth" or "Righteousness". In the Younger Avesta , this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta ( Aṣ̌a Vahišta , Arta Vahišta ), "Best Truth". The Middle Persian descendant

180-554: A chariot burial at Krivoye Lake to about 2000 BC, and a Bactria-Margiana burial that also contains a foal has recently been found, indicating further links with the steppes. Historical linguists broadly estimate that a continuum of Indo-Iranian languages probably began to diverge by 2000 BC, preceding both the Vedic and Iranian cultures which emerged later. The earliest recorded forms of these languages, Vedic Sanskrit and Gathic Avestan , are remarkably similar, descended from

270-685: A voiceless r . Miller suggested that rt was restored when a scribe was aware of the morpheme boundary between the /r/ and /t/ (that is, whether the writer maintained the –ta suffix). Avestan druj , like its Vedic Sanskrit cousin druh , appears to derive from the PIE root * dhreugh , also continued in Persian دروغ / d[o]rūġ "lie", Welsh drwg "evil", and German Trug "fraud, deception". Old Norse draugr and Middle Irish airddrach mean "spectre, spook". The Sanskrit cognate druh means "affliction, afflicting demon". In Avestan, druj- has

360-474: A famous Iranologist and the author of the book Persian Grammar , states: The language known as New Persian, which usually is called at this period (early Islamic times) by the name of Parsi-Dari, can be classified linguistically as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. Unlike

450-615: A group of Indo-European speaking peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages to major parts of Eurasia in waves from the first part of the 2nd millennium BC onwards. They eventually branched out into the Iranian peoples and Indo-Aryan peoples . The term Aryan has long been used to denote the Indo-Iranians , because Ā́rya was the self-designation of the ancient speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages , specifically

540-483: A lost Avestan passage that is only preserved in a later (9th century) Pahlavi text, towards the end of time and the final renovation, Aṣ̌a and Airyaman will together come upon the earth to do battle with the Az, the daeva of greed ( Zatspram 34.38-39). The third Yasht , which is nominally addressed to Asha Vahishta, is in fact mostly devoted to the praise of the airyaman ishya ( airy ә mā īšyo , "Longed-for airyaman "),

630-579: A new "form of writing" being made by himself which is said to be "in Aryan ": King Darius says: By the grace of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I have made. Besides, it was in Aryan (" ariyâ ") script, and it was composed on clay tablets and on parchment. Besides, a sculptured figure of myself I made. Also, the analysis of certain Old Persian inscriptions are "supposed or claimed" to predate Darius

720-432: A secondary derivation, the adjective drəguuaṇt- ( Young Avestan druuaṇt- ), "partisan of deception, deceiver" for which the superlative draojišta- and perhaps the comparative draoj(ii)ah- are attested (Kellens, 2010, pp. 69 ff.). Aṣ̌a "cannot be precisely rendered by some single word in another tongue" but may be summarized as follows: It is, first of all, 'true statement'. This 'true statement', because it

810-759: A similar way. Voices Active, Middle (them. pres. -aiy- , -ataiy- ), Passive ( -ya- ). Mostly the forms of first and third persons are attested. The only preserved Dual form is ajīva tam 'both lived'. Indo-Iranians Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Indo-Iranian peoples , also known as Ā́rya or Aryans from their self-designation, were

900-787: Is Ashawahist or Ardwahisht ; New Persian Ardibehesht or Ordibehesht . In the Gathas —the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism, thought to have been composed by Zoroaster —it is seldom possible to distinguish between moral principle and the divinity. Later texts consistently use the 'Best' epithet when speaking of the Amesha Spenta; only once in the Gathas is 'best' an adjective of aṣ̌a/arta . Avestan aṣ̌a and its Vedic equivalent ṛtá both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ṛtá- "truth", which in turn continues Proto-Indo-European * h 2 r-to- "properly joined, right, true", from

990-723: Is aṣ̌aŋāč "having aṣ̌a following". One of Haoma 's stock epithets is aṣ̌avazah- "furthering aṣ̌a " ( Yasht 20.3; Yasna 8.9, 10.1.14, 11.10 et al.). Atar "possesses strength through aṣ̌a " ( aṣ̌a-ahojah , Yasna 43.4). In the Zoroastrian calendar , the third day of the month and the second month of the year are dedicated to and named after aṣ̌a and Asha Vahishta (calledارديبهشت Ordibehesht in Modern Persian both in Iranian Calendar and Yazdgerdi calendar). A special service to aṣ̌a and Aṣ̌a, known as

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1080-555: Is haiθiia- "true". Similarly, the adjective corresponding to Vedic ŗtá- "truth" is sátya- "true". The opposite of both aṣ̌a/arta- and haithya- is druj- "lie" or "false". In contrast, in the Vedas the opposite of both ŗtá- and sátya- is druh- and ánŗta- , also "lie" or "false". However, while the Indo-Iranian concept of truth is attested throughout Zoroastrian tradition, ŗtá- disappears in post-Vedic literature and

1170-421: Is a direct continuation of Old Persian and was used as the written official language of the country. Comparison of the evolution at each stage of the language shows great simplification in grammar and syntax. However, New Persian is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Old Persian "presumably" has a Median language substrate . The Median element is readily identifiable because it did not share in

1260-488: Is a direct descendant of Alanic , and by that the only surviving Sarmatian language of the once wide-ranging East Iranian dialect continuum that stretched from Eastern Europe to the eastern parts of Central Asia. Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian expansion include: Parpola (1999) suggests the following identifications: The Indo-European language spoken by the Proto-Indo-Iranians in

1350-466: Is a protector of aṣ̌a : "when the Evil Spirit assailed the creation of Good Truth, Good Thought and Fire intervened" ( Yasht 13.77) In later Zoroastrian tradition, Asha Vahishta is still at times identified with the fire of the household hearth. In addition to the role of fire as the agent of Truth , fire, among its various other manifestations, is also "the fire of judicial ordeal, prototype of

1440-401: Is active in good thoughts, Sraosha in good words and Aṣ̌a in good deeds. ( Denkard 3.13-14). Aṣ̌a is thus "represented as active and effective." Subject to context, aṣ̌a/arta- is also frequently translated as "right working" or "[that which is] right". The word then ( cf. Bartholomae's and Geldner 's translations as German language " Recht ") has the same range of meaning of "right" as in

1530-545: Is also what was commonly understood by the term as attested in Greek myth of Isis and Osiris 47, Plutarch calls the divinity Αλήθεια Aletheia , "Truth." The adjective corresponding to the noun aṣ̌a/arta , "truth", is Avestan haithya- ( haiθiia- ), "true", the opposite of which is also druj- . Avestan haithya- derives from Indo-Iranian *sātya that in turn derives from Indo-European *h 1 s-ṇt- "being, existing". The Sanskrit cognate sátya - means "true" in

1620-709: Is an archaic offshoot of Indo-European religion . From the various and dispersed Indo-Iranian cultures, a set of common ideas may be reconstructed from which a common, unattested proto-Indo-Iranian source may be deduced. The pre-Islamic religion of the Nuristani people and extant religion of the Kalash people is significantly influenced by the original religion of the Indo-Iranians, infused with accretions developed locally. Michael Witzel theorises that these religions might share some elements with Shinto , one of

1710-402: Is another Old Iranian language related to Old Persian; both are classified as Western Iranian languages , and many Median names appear in Old Persian texts. The group of Old Iranian languages was presumably large; however, knowledge of it is restricted mainly to Old Persian, Avestan , and Median. The first two are the only languages in that group to have left written original texts, while Median

1800-678: Is assumed that this expansion spread from the Proto-Indo-European homeland north of the Caspian Sea south to the Caucasus , Central Asia , the Iranian plateau , and the Indian subcontinent . The Mitanni, a people known in eastern Anatolia from about 1500 BC, were of possibly of mixed origins: An indigenous non Indo-European Hurrian -speaking majority was supposedly dominated by a non-Anatolian, Indo-Aryan elite. There

1890-539: Is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. It is an Iranian language and as such a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family . The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscriptions . Old Persian is one of the oldest Indo-European languages which are attested in original texts. The oldest date of use of Old Persian as a spoken language

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1980-611: Is close to both Avestan and the language of the Rig Veda , the oldest form of the Sanskrit language. All three languages are highly inflected . Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets and seals of the Achaemenid era ( c.  600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran , Romania ( Gherla ), Armenia , Bahrain , Iraq , Turkey and Egypt , with

2070-471: Is established." The synonymy of aṣ̌a and "existence" overlaps with the stock identification of Ahura Mazda as the creator (of existence itself). Truth is existence (creation) inasmuch as falsehood is non-existence (uncreated, anti-created). Also, because aṣ̌a is everything that druj- is not (or vice versa), since aṣ̌a is, druj- is not. This notion is already expressed in the Avesta itself, such as in

2160-671: Is in conformity with the reality' or 'poetic (religious) formula with inherent fulfillment (realization)'". The kinship between Old Iranian aṣ̌a-/arta- and Vedic ŗtá- is evident in numerous formulaic phrases and expressions that appear in both the Avesta and in the RigVeda . For instance, the *ŗtásya path, "path of truth", is attested multiple times in both sources: Y 51.13, 72.11; RV 3.12.7, 7.66.3. Similarly "source of truth," Avestan aṣ̌a khá and Vedic khâm ṛtásya (Y 10.4; RV 2.28.5) The adjective corresponding to Avestan aṣ̌a/arta-

2250-414: Is known mostly from loanwords in Old Persian. By the 4th century BCE, the late Achaemenid period , the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III differ enough from the language of Darius' inscriptions to be called a "pre-Middle Persian," or "post-Old Persian." Old Persian subsequently evolved into Middle Persian , which is in turn the ancestor of New Persian . Professor Gilbert Lazard ,

2340-458: Is likewise preserver of ŗtá- . Asha Vahishta is closely associated with fire . Fire is "grandly conceived as a force informing all the other Amesha Spentas , giving them warmth and the spark of life." In Yasht 17.20, Angra Mainyu clamours that Zoroaster burns him with Asha Vahishta. In Vendidad 4.54-55, speaking against the truth and violating the sanctity of promise is detected by the consumption of "water, blazing, of golden color, having

2430-579: Is linguistic evidence for such a superstrate , in the form of: In particular, Kikkuli's text includes words such as aika "one" (i.e. a cognate of the Indo-Aryan eka ), tera "three" ( tri ), panza "five" ( pancha ), satta "seven", ( sapta ), na "nine" ( nava ), and vartana "turn around", in the context of a horse race (Indo-Aryan vartana ). In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni,

2520-466: Is linguistically and functionally cognate with Avestan *Haraxvaitī Ārəduuī Sūrā Anāhitā . Both are described as world rivers. Vedic Saraswati is described as "Best of Mothers, Best of Rivers, Best of Goddesses". Similarly, in early portions of the Avesta, Iranian *Harahvati is the world-river that flows down from the mythical central Mount Hara. She is blocked by an obstacle (Avestan for obstacle: vərəθra ) placed there by Angra Mainyu . The following

2610-419: Is not far removed from Heraclitus' conception of Logos . Both Avestan aṣ̌a/arta and Vedic ŗtá- are commonly translated as "truth" as this best reflects both the original meaning of the term as well as the opposition to their respective antonyms . The opposite of Avestan aṣ̌a/arta is druj- , "lie." Similarly, the opposites of Vedic ṛtá- are ánṛta- and druh , likewise "lie". That "truth"

2700-554: Is not precisely known. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in Southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by a tribe called Parsuwash , who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province . Their language, Old Persian, became

2790-602: Is not preserved in post-Vedic texts. On the other hand, sátya- and ánrta- both survive in classical Sanskrit. The main theme of the Rig Veda, "the truth and the gods", is not evident in the Gathas. Thematic parallels between aṣ̌a/arta and ŗtá- , however, exist such as in Yasht 10, the Avestan hymn to Mithra . There, Mithra, who is the hypostasis and the preserver of covenant, is the protector of aṣ̌a/arta . RigVedic Mitra

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2880-680: Is repeated again in Yasna 43.4. In Yasna 43.9, Zoroaster, wishing to serve fire, gives his attention to aṣ̌a . In Yasna 37.1, in a list of what are otherwise all physical creations, aṣ̌a takes the place of fire. Asha Vahishta's association with atar is carried forward in the post-Gathic texts, and they are often mentioned together. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, each of the Amesha Spentas represents one aspect of creation and one of seven primordial elements that in Zoroastrian tradition are

2970-415: Is true, corresponds to an objective, material reality that embraces all of existence. Recognized in it is a great cosmic principle since all things happen according to it. "This cosmic [...] force is imbued also with morality, as verbal Truth, 'la parole conforme', and Righteousness, action conforming with the moral order." The correspondence between 'truth', reality and an all-encompassing cosmic principle

3060-826: The Alani (Alans), followed the Scythians westwards into Europe in the late centuries BC and the 1st and 2nd centuries AD (The Age of Migrations ). The populous Sarmatian tribe of the Massagetae , dwelling near the Caspian Sea, were known to the early rulers of Persia in the Achaemenid Period. At their greatest reported extent, around 1st century AD, the Sarmatian tribes ranged from the Vistula River to

3150-636: The Ashvin deities Mitra , Varuna , Indra , and Nasatya are invoked. These loanwords tend to connect the Mitanni superstrate to Indo-Aryan rather than Iranian languages – i.e. the early Iranian word for "one" was aiva . The standard model for the entry of the Indo-European languages into the Indian subcontinent is that this first wave went over the Hindu Kush, either into the headwaters of

3240-794: The Caucasus ( Ossetian , Tat and Talysh ), down to Mesopotamia ( Kurdish languages , Zaza–Gorani and Kurmanji Dialect continuum ) and Iran ( Persian ), eastward to Xinjiang ( Sarikoli ) and Assam ( Assamese ), and south to Sri Lanka ( Sinhala ) and the Maldives ( Maldivian ), with branches stretching as far out as Oceania and the Caribbean for Fiji Hindi and Caribbean Hindustani respectively. Furthermore, there are large diaspora communities of Indo-Iranian speakers in northwestern Europe (the United Kingdom ), North America ( United States , Canada ), Australia , South Africa , and

3330-693: The Indus and later the Ganges . The earliest stratum of Vedic Sanskrit , preserved only in the Rigveda , is assigned to roughly 1500 BC. From the Indus, the Indo-Aryan languages spread from c.  1500 BC  – c.  500 BC , over the northern and central parts of the subcontinent, sparing the extreme south. The Indo-Aryans in these areas established several powerful kingdoms and principalities in

3420-418: The Iranian and the Indo-Aryan peoples , collectively known as the Indo-Iranians. Despite this, some scholars use the term Indo-Iranian to refer to this group, though the term "Aryan" remains widely used by most scholars, such as Josef Wiesehofer , Will Durant , and Jaakko Häkkinen. Population geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza , in his 1994 book The History and Geography of Human Genes , also uses

3510-792: The Maldives . The second wave is interpreted as the Iranian wave. The first Iranians to reach the Black Sea 'may' have been the Cimmerians in the 8th century BC, although their linguistic affiliation to Iranians is uncertain. They were followed by the Scythians , who are considered a western branch of the Central Asian Sakas . Sarmatian tribes, of whom the best known are the Roxolani (Rhoxolani), Iazyges (Jazyges) and

3600-519: The "perfect" time, at which instant the world was created and at which instant time will stop on the day of the final renovation of the world. Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan ) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire ). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ariya (Iranian). Old Persian

3690-458: The ' Jashan of Ardavisht', is held on the day on which month-name and day-name dedications intersect. In the Fasli and Bastani variants of the Zoroastrian calendar , this falls on April 22. Rapithwin, one of the five gah s (watches) of the day, under the protection of Aṣ̌a. ( Bundahishn 3.22) This implies that all prayers recited between noon and three invoke Aṣ̌a. Noon is considered to be

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3780-487: The English language: truth, righteousness, rightfulness, lawfullness, conformity, accord, order (cosmic order, social order, moral order). These various meanings of "right" are frequently combined, such as "the inexorable law of righteousness," or as "the eternal fitness of things that are in accord with the divine order." As (the hypostasis of) regularity and "right working", aṣ̌a/arta- is present when Ahura Mazda fixed

3870-542: The Gathas and is in turn reflected in Zoroastrian tradition. In Bundahishn 26.8, Vohu Manah stands at the left hand of God, while Aṣ̌a stands at the right. Yasht 1, the hymn dedicated to Ahura Mazda, provides a list of 74 "names" by which the Creator is invoked. In the numbered list of Yasht 1.7, 'Asha Vahishta' "Best Truth" is the fourth name. A later verse, Yasht 1.12, includes 'Aṣ̌avan' "Possessing Truth" and 'Aṣ̌avastəma' "Most Righteous". In Yasna 40.3, Ahura Mazda

3960-557: The Gathas—is only systematically described in Zoroastrian tradition (e.g. Bundahishn 3.12), aṣ̌a is the second (cf. Yasna 47.1) of the six primeval creations realized ("created by His thought") by Ahura Mazda. It is through these six, the Amesha Spentas that all subsequent creation was accomplished. In addition to Asha Vahishta's role as an Amesha Spenta and hence one of the primordial creations through which all other creation

4050-522: The Great. Although it is true that the oldest attested Old Persian inscriptions are found on the Behistun monument from Darius, the creation of this "new type of writing" seems, according to Schmitt, "to have begun already under Cyrus the Great ". The script shows a few changes in the shape of characters during the period it was used. This can be seen as a standardization of the heights of wedges, which in

4140-759: The Iranians were eventually decisively assimilated (e.g. Slavicisation ) and absorbed by the Proto-Slavic population of the region, while in Central Asia, the Turkic languages marginalized the Iranian languages as a result of the Turkic expansion of the early centuries AD. Extant major Iranian languages are Persian , Pashto , Kurdish , and Balochi besides numerous smaller ones. Ossetian , primarily spoken in North Ossetia and South Ossetia ,

4230-629: The Persian Gulf Region ( United Arab Emirates , Saudi Arabia ). Despite the introduction of later Vedic and Zoroastrian scriptures, Indo-Iranians shared a common inheritance of concepts including the universal force *Hṛta- ( Sanskrit rta , Avestan asha ), the sacred plant and drink *sawHma- (Sanskrit Soma , Avestan Haoma ) and gods of social order such as * mitra - (Sanskrit Mitra , Avestan and Old Persian Mithra , Miθra ) and *bʰaga- (Sanskrit Bhaga , Avestan and Old Persian Baga ). Proto-Indo-Iranian religion

4320-498: The Zoroastrian calendar , below. Although there are numerous eschatological parallels between Aṣ̌a and Aši "recompense, reward" (most notably their respective associations with Sraosha and Vohu Manah), and are on occasion even mentioned together ( Yasna 51.10), the two are not etymologically related. The feminine abstract noun aši/arti derives from ar- , "to allot, to grant." Aši also has no Vedic equivalent. In Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology , which—though alluded to in

4410-674: The area occupied by the earlier Afanasevo culture ), and Transoxiana and the Hindu Kush on the south. Based on its use by Indo-Aryans in Mitanni and Vedic India, its prior absence in the Near East and Harappan India, and its 19th–20th century BC attestation at the Andronovo site of Sintashta , Kuzmina (1994) argues that the chariot corroborates the identification of Andronovo as Indo-Iranian. Anthony & Vinogradov (1995) dated

4500-495: The area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III . The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian pārsa itself coming directly from the older word *pārćwa . Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median , according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before

4590-412: The basis of that creation. In this matrix, aṣ̌a/arta is the origin of fire, Avestan atar , which permeates through all Creation. The correspondence then is that aṣ̌a/arta "penetrates all ethical life, as fire penetrates all physical being." In the liturgy Asha Vahishta is frequently invoked together with fire. ( Yasna l.4, 2.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.6, 17.3, 22.6, 59.3, 62.3 etc.). In one passage, fire

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4680-622: The beginning (i.e. in DB ) took only half the height of a line. The following phonemes are expressed in the Old Persian script: Notes: Lycian 𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Kizzaprñna ~ 𐊈𐊆𐊖𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Zisaprñna for (genuine) Old Persian *Ciçafarnā (besides the Median form *Ciθrafarnah ) = Tissaphernes suggests /t͡s/ as the pronunciation of ç (compare [1] and Kloekhorst 2008, p. 125 in [2] for this example, who, however, mistakenly writes Çiçafarnā , which contradicts

4770-413: The common Proto-Indo-Iranian language . The origin and earliest relationship between the Nuristani languages and that of the Iranian and Indo-Aryan groups is not completely clear. Two-wave models of Indo-Iranian expansion have been proposed by Burrow (1973) and Parpola (1999) . The Indo-Iranians and their expansion are strongly associated with the Proto-Indo-European invention of the chariot . It

4860-630: The course of the sun, the moon and the stars ( Yasna 44.3), and it is through aṣ̌a that plants grow ( Yasna 48.6). "Right working" also overlaps with both Indo-European *ár- "to (properly) join together" and with the notion of existence and realization (to make real). The word for "established", ar ə ta- , also means "proper". The antonymic anar ə ta- (or anar ə θa- ) means "improper". In Zoroastrian tradition, prayers must be enunciated with care for them to be effective. The Indo-Iranian formula *sātyas mantras ( Yasna 31.6: haiθīm mathrem ) "does not simply mean 'true Word' but formulated thought which

4950-510: The developments that were peculiar to Old Persian. Median forms "are found only in personal or geographical names [...] and some are typically from religious vocabulary and so could in principle also be influenced by Avestan ." "Sometimes, both Median and Old Persian forms are found, which gave Old Persian a somewhat confusing and inconsistent look: 'horse,' for instance, is [attested in Old Persian as] both asa (OPers.) and aspa (Med.)." Old Persian texts were written from left to right in

5040-408: The epenthetic vowel mentioned above), where it became /ɡ/ . This suggests that it was really pronounced as [w] . Old Persian has 3 types of grammatical number: singular, dual and plural. Old Persian has three grammatical genders : masculine, feminine and neuter. In contrast, Modern Persian (as well as Middle Persian ) is a genderless language . Old Persian stems: Adjectives are declined in

5130-653: The etymology [ PIIr. *Čitra-swarnas- ] and the Middle Persian form Čehrfar [ ç gives Middle Persian s ]). The phoneme /l/ does not occur in native Iranian vocabulary, only in borrowings from Akkadian (a new /l/ develops in Middle Persian from Old Persian /rd/ and the change of /rθ/ to /hl/ ). The phoneme /r/ can also form a syllable peak; both the way Persian names with syllabic /r/ (such as Brdiya ) are rendered in Elamite and its further development in Middle Persian suggest that before

5220-418: The fiery torrent of judgement day, when all will receive their just deserts 'by fire and by Aṣ̌a' ( Y 31.3)." In the Avesta, the "radiant quarters" of aṣ̌a is "the best existence", i.e. Paradise (cf. Vendidad 19.36), entry to which is restricted to those who are recognized as "possessing truth" ( aṣ̌avan ). The key to this doctrine is Yasna 16.7: "We worship the radiant quarters of Aṣ̌a in which dwell

5310-509: The final renovation of the world. The standing epithet of these saviour figures is ' astvat ә r ә ta ', which likewise has arta as an element of the name. These saviours are those who follow Ahura Mazda's teaching "with acts inspired by aṣ̌a" ( Yasna 48.12). Both Airyaman and Asha Vahishta (as also Atar ) are closely associated with Sraosha "[Voice of] Conscience" and guardian of the Chinvat bridge across which souls must pass. According to

5400-421: The first Yasht , dedicated to Ahura Mazda , in which the "fifth name is the whole good existence of Mazda, the seed of Asha" ( Yasht 1.7). Similarly, in the mythology of Gandar ə βa , the 'yellow-heeled' dragon of the druj- that emerges from the deep to destroy the "living world (creation) of Aṣ̌a" ( Yasht 19.41) In the ethical goals of Zoroastrianism ("good thoughts, good words, good deeds"), Vohu Manah

5490-511: The formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Old Persian belongs to the Iranian language family , a branch of the Indo-Iranian language family, itself within the large family of Indo-European languages . The common ancestors of Indo-Iranians came from Central Asia sometime in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE . The extinct and unattested Median language

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5580-424: The fourth of the four great Gathic prayers. In present-day Zoroastrianism it is considered to invoke Airyaman just as the Ashem Vohu , is the second of the four great Gathic prayers, is dedicated to Aṣ̌a. All four prayers (the first is the Ahuna Vairya , the third is the Yenghe Hatam ) have judgement and/or salvation as a theme, and all four call on the Truth. It is Airyaman that – together with fire – will "melt

5670-571: The healer of all spiritual ills and Airyaman then only retains the role of healer of corporeal ills. Although Airyaman has no dedication in the Siroza, the invocations to the divinities of the Zoroastrian calendar , Airyaman is twice invoked together with Aṣ̌a. ( Siroza 1.3 and 2.3) Aogemadaecha 41-47 prototypes death as a journey that has to be properly prepared for: As mortals acquires material goods as they go through life, so also should they furnish themselves with spiritual stores of righteousness. They will then be well provisioned when they embark on

5760-399: The journey from which they will not return. Aṣ̌a's role is not limited to judgement: In Bundahishn 26.35, Aṣ̌a prevents daevas from exacting too great a punishment to souls consigned to the House of Lies. Here, Aṣ̌a occupies the position that other texts assign to Mithra , who is traditionally identified with fairness. For the relationship between Aṣ̌a, eschatology and Nowruz , see in

5850-508: The late 3rd millennium BC was a Satem language still not removed very far from the Proto-Indo-European language , and in turn only removed by a few centuries from Vedic Sanskrit of the Rigveda . The main phonological change separating Proto-Indo-Iranian from Proto–Indo-European is the collapse of the ablauting vowels *e, *o, *a into a single vowel, Proto–Indo-Iranian *a (but see Brugmann's law ). Grassmann's law and Bartholomae's law were also complete in Proto-Indo-Iranian, as well as

5940-486: The loss of the labiovelars (kw, etc.) to k, and the Eastern Indo-European (Satem) shift from palatized k' to ć, as in Proto–Indo-European *k'ṃto- > Indo-Iran. *ćata- > Sanskrit śata-, Old Iran. sata "100". Among the sound changes from Proto-Indo-Iranian to Indo-Aryan is the loss of the voiced sibilant *z , among those to Iranian is the de-aspiration of the PIE voiced aspirates. The regions where Indo-Iranian languages are spoken extend from Europe ( Romani ) and

6030-414: The metal in the hills and mountains, and it will be upon the earth like a river" ( Bundahishn 34.18). In Zoroastrian tradition, metal is the domain of Xshathra [Vairya] , the Amesha Spenta of "[Desirable] Dominion", with whom Aṣ̌a is again frequently identified. Dominion is moreover "a form of truth and results from truth." In Denkard 8.37.13, Asha Vahishta actually takes over Airyaman's healer role as

6120-415: The most important attestation by far being the contents of the Behistun Inscription (dated to 525 BCE). In 2007, research into the vast Persepolis Fortification Archive at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago unearthed Old Persian tablets, which suggest Old Persian was a written language in use for practical recording and not only for royal display. As a written language , Old Persian

6210-435: The most powerful of the Asuras, does not directly correspond to Ahura Mazda but shares several traits in common with him, particularly in terms of his role as king among the lesser gods and arbiter of law and morality among mortals. Even as Ahura Mazda rules by and upholds asha, the cosmic moral order, in the Avesta, so too do Varuna and the Asuras uphold the analogous concept of rta in the Vedas . The Rig-Vedic Sarasvati

6300-427: The mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga , bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. In the east, the Saka occupied several areas in Xinjiang, from Khotan to Tumshuq. The Medians , Persians and Parthians begin to appear on the Iranian plateau from c.  800 BC , and the Achaemenids replaced the language isolate speaking Elamites rule over

6390-508: The national religions of Japan , which according to him may contain some Indo-Iranian influence owing to contact presumably in the steppes of Central Asia at around 2000 BC. In Shinto, traces of these can be seen in the myth of the storm god Susanoo slaying a serpent Yamata-no-Orochi and in the myth of the dawn goddess Ame-no-Uzume . Most Indo-Iranians today follow Abrahamic and Indian religions. Some beliefs developed in different ways as cultures separated and evolved. For example,

6480-550: The official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give a good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, Parsuwash (along with Matai , presumably Medians) are first mentioned in

6570-498: The ordeal, of justice and of truth at the same time." In Yasna 31.19, "the man who thinks of aṣ̌a , [...] who uses his tongue in order to speak correctly, [does so] with the aid of brilliant fire". In Yasna 34-44 devotees "ardently desire [Mazda's] mighty fire, through aṣ̌a." In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda "shall come to [Zoroaster] through the splendour of [Mazda's] fire, possessing the strength of (through) aṣ̌a and good mind (=Vohu Manah)." That fire "possesses strength through aṣ̌a "

6660-421: The other concepts, only Vohu Manah "Good Purpose" appears nearly as often (136 occurrences). In comparison, the remaining four of the great sextet appear only 121 times altogether. Although a formal hierarchy is not evident in the Gathas, the group of six "divides naturally into three dyads ." In this arrangement, Aṣ̌a is paired with Vohu Manah. This reflects the frequency in which the two appear (together) in

6750-508: The other languages and dialects, ancient and modern, of the Iranian group such as Avestan , Parthian , Soghdian , Kurdish , Pashto , etc., Old, Middle and New Persian represent one and the same language at three states of its history. It had its origin in Fars and is differentiated by dialectical features, still easily recognizable from the dialect prevailing in north-western and eastern Iran. Middle Persian , also sometimes called Pahlavi,

6840-418: The post- Sassanid Dadestan i denig (I.31.10), at the final judgement a river of molten metal will cover the earth. The righteous, as they wade through this river, will perceive the molten metal as a bath of warm milk. The wicked will be scorched. For details on aṣ̌a's role in personal and final judgement, see aṣ̌a in eschatology , below. Fire is moreover the "auxiliary of the truth," "and not only, as in

6930-699: The power to detect guilt." This analogy of truth that burns and detecting truth through fire is already attested in the very earliest texts, that is, in the Gathas and in the Yasna Haptanghaiti . In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda dispenses justice through radiance of His fire and the strength of aṣ̌a. Fire "detects" sinners "by hand-grasping" ( Yasna 34.4). An individual who has passed the fiery test ( garmo-varah , ordeal by heat ), has attained physical and spiritual strength, wisdom, truth and love with serenity ( Yasna 30.7). Altogether, "there are said to have been some 30 kinds of fiery tests in all." According to

7020-510: The region from 559 BC, although the Iranic peoples were largely subject to the Semitic speaking Assyrian Empire until the 6th century BC. Around the first millennium AD, Iranian groups began to settle on the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau, on the mountainous frontier of northwestern and western Indian subcontinent , displacing the earlier Indo-Aryans from the area. In Eastern Europe ,

7110-623: The region, from south eastern Afghanistan to the doorstep of Bengal . The most powerful of these kingdoms were the post-Rigvedic Kuru (in Kurukshetra and the Delhi area) and their allies the Pañcālas further east, as well as Gandhara and later on, about the time of the Buddha , the kingdom of Kosala and the quickly expanding realm of Magadha . The latter lasted until the 4th century BC, when it

7200-542: The root * h 2 ar . The word is attested in Old Persian as arta . It is unclear whether the Avestan variation between aṣ̌a and arta is merely orthographical. Benveniste suggested š was only a convenient way of writing rt and should not be considered phonetically relevant. According to Gray, ṣ̌ is a misreading, representing – not /ʃ/ - but /rr/, of uncertain phonetic value but "probably" representing

7290-445: The sense of "really existing." This meaning is also preserved in Avestan, for instance in the expression haiθīm var ə z , "to make true" as in "to bring to realization." Another meaning of "reality" may be inferred from the component parts of the aṣ̌a/arta : from (root) ŗ with a substantivizing -ta suffix. The root ŗ corresponds to Old Avestan ar ə ta- and Younger Avestan ə r ə ta- "established", hence aṣ̌a/arta "that which

7380-474: The souls of the dead, the Fravašis of the aṣ̌avan s; the best existence (=Paradise) of the aṣ̌avan s we worship, (which is) light and according all comforts." 'Aṣ̌a' derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root as ' Airyaman ', the divinity of healing who is closely associated with Asha Vahishta. At the last judgement, the common noun airyaman is an epithet of the saoshyans , the saviours that bring about

7470-747: The syllabic /r/ , an epenthetic vowel [i] had developed already in the Old Persian period, which later became [u] after labials. For example, Old Persian Vᵃ-rᵃ-kᵃ-a-nᵃ /wr̩kaːna/ is rendered in Elamite as Mirkānu- , rendering transcriptions such as V(a)rakāna , Varkāna or even Vurkāna questionable and making Vrkāna or Virkāna much more realistic (and equally for vrka- "wolf", Brdiya and other Old Persian words and names with syllabic /r/ ). While v usually became /v/ in Middle Persian, it became /b/ word-initially in New Persian, except before [u] (including

7560-425: The syllabic Old Persian cuneiform script and had 36 phonetic characters and 8 logograms . The usage of logograms is not obligatory. The script was surprisingly not a result of evolution of the script used in the nearby civilisation of Mesopotamia . Despite the fact that Old Persian was written in cuneiform script, the script was not a direct continuation of Mesopotamian tradition and in fact, according to Schmitt,

7650-703: The term Aryan to describe the Indo-Iranians. The Proto-Indo-Iranians are commonly identified with the descendants of the Indo-Europeans known as the Sintashta culture and the subsequent Andronovo culture within the broader Andronovo horizon, and their homeland with an area of the Eurasian steppe that borders the Ural River on the west, the Tian Shan on the east (where the Indo-Iranians took over

7740-406: The traditional Zoroastrian confession of faith as recorded in the Avesta , the rejection of the daevas is one of the most significant qualifiers for a follower of the tradition, alongside worshipping Ahura Mazda and following the teachings of Zarathustra . Similarly, the parallels between the malevolent Vedic Asuras and benevolent Zoroastrian Ahuras are particularly obvious and striking. Varuna ,

7830-492: The word ' daeva ,' which appears in the Avesta, also bears a linguistic relationship to the Sanskrit word ' deva ,' referring to one of the principal classes of gods, as well as other related words throughout the Indo-European traditions. Indeed, Indra , the greatest of the devas from Vedic literature, is often listed in Zoroastrian texts as one of the greatest of the evil forces, sometimes second only to Angra Mainyu himself. In

7920-403: Was a "deliberate creation of the sixth century BCE". The origin of the Old Persian cuneiform script and the identification of the date and process of introduction are a matter of debate among Iranian scholars with no general agreement having been reached. The factors making the consensus difficult are, among others, the difficult passage DB (IV lines 88–92) from Darius the Great who speaks of

8010-571: Was conquered by Chandragupta Maurya and formed the center of the Maurya Empire . In eastern Afghanistan and some western regions of Pakistan , Indo-Aryan languages were eventually replaced by Eastern Iranian languages . Most Indo-Aryan languages, however, were and still are prominent in the rest of the Indian subcontinent . Today, Indo-Aryan languages are spoken in India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Nepal , Sri Lanka , Fiji, Suriname and

8100-505: Was realized, Truth is one of the "organs, aspects or emanations" of Ahura Mazda through which the Creator acts and is immanent in the world. Although Vohu Manah regularly stands first in the list of the Amesha Spenta (and of Ahura Mazda's creations), in the Gathas Asha Vahishta is the most evident of the six, and also the most commonly associated with Wisdom (Mazda). In the 238 verses of these hymns, Aṣ̌a appears 157 times. Of

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