The Fire Cult During the Achaemenid Period

Year 2025, Issue: 32, 120 - 137, 25.07.2025

Elif Hatice İlkkurşun

https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1575766

Abstract

This study examines the sacredness of fire, temple structures, cult, and the relationship between fire temples and the cult of Anāhitā during the Achaemenid Kingdom period. While fire is considered sacred in Zoroastrianism, debates continue today about whether the Achaemenids were Zoroastrian, and it is argued that defining the concept of Achaemenid religion is difficult. This study, which does not ignore these debates, attempts to examine classical sources and modern research together while also taking into account royal inscriptions. In sources, it is noted that the Persians performed their rituals in the open-air areas and did not have temples, while the concept of sacred place emerging in Pasargadae and the controversial term “āyadanā” are noteworthy. In modern research, two different views emerge: one suggesting that the Persians did not have temples before the Achaemenid period and those who oppose this in light of the excavation findings. Structures uncovered both in the East and the West, such as Ka’ba-yı Zerdust, Naqsh-e Rustam, Tepe Nush-e Jan, and Dahan-e Ghulaman, have been included. The depiction of fire altars in Achaemenid seals and royal tombs has been examined. Additionally, the research addresses the impossibility of a singular cult and culture in the Iranian geography.

Keywords

Achaemenids , Cult of Fire , Temples , Fire Temples , Cult of Anāhitā

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