About This Project
This project began with my interest in the Silk Road. I was not satisfied with what I had learned about it in History class, so I decided to use my independent study to look more into it. The subject of the Silk Road is a vast one due to its long history and the numerous roles it played. Scholars will spend their whole careers on it, so I decided to narrow down the scope of my research for this project. I began by focusing on the religions and how geography affected their spread, then on faiths in specific areas, such as Islam and Zoroastrianism in Iran, or Buddhism and Christianity in China. Zoroastrianism, in particular, caught my attention since I had read about it previously, but not in much detail. I was interested in its role in the history of Iran and Persia when I came across a scholar, Richard Foltz, who spoke of the "cross-pollination" of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Iranian mythology. This subject interested me greatly, so I decided to look into some of the specifics of this cross-pollination and how the religions and their cultures had influenced each other.
The Movement of Religions on the Silk Road
Remember when examining religions in history, such as Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam, that they will often be very different from what we are familiar with today. Religions will adapt over time to fit a new environment and its influences. Sometimes they will split off and form new sects. The growth and development of religions over time is where the importance of cultural exchanges along the Silk Road will come in. The movement of religion from west to east on the Silk Road was quite common. Manichaeism, driven out of the west due to a fear of corrupting other religions, worked its way through the Silk Road. It found its home in the east and started taking on characteristics of the local cultures before eventually fading into the Nestorian version of Christianity that dominated China at the time. Islam was carried with the Arabian military as they swept across the Silk Road, becoming the religion sponsored by the government in most areas. It is a similar story for most religions on the Silk Road, including the spread and shared mythology of Iran, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism.
The Silk RoadThe Silk Road first came into existence due to the people in the central Asian steppes, one of the most extreme in Eurasia. The people, who called themselves the Aryans, which translated into "the noble ones," were not given a good climate for agriculture but did have access to horses and cattle. The horses gave the Aryans the ability to leave the harsh environment of the steppe and travel long distances to make contact with civilizations. Traveling long distances at this time was quite dangerous, so when traveling, the best bet was to stick close to the water sources that formed at the bottom of mountain ranges. The route at the base of the mountains developed into what is the Silk Road today. It was established as early as 130 B.C.E. It gained popularity when Zhang Qian was sent by the emperor of China in 139 B.C.E. to form alliances in the east. The Silk Road was a collection of roads whose routes stretched from the middle east to the west, reaching as far as China. It had branches stretching north and south into Iran, the Hindu Kush, the Eurasian steppe, and the subcontinent of India. The existence of the Silk Road was key to the globalization of Eurasia and a chance for trade and cultural exchange.
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A Brief History of The Persian and Iranian Empires
Above: The Victory Monument of Ardashīr I, the founder of Sasanian Empire, with his son Shapur I after wining against the Parthian Empire
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The Persian and Iranian Empires were quite active along the Silk Road from very early on. For this project, there are two empires on which I focused, the Achaemenid Empire and the Sasanian dynasty, for their involvement with Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
The Achaemenid Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire, lasted from 559 to 330 BC, with rulers such as Cyrus (II) the Great, Darius I, and Xerses I. The Empire had made an impact before it fell under the rule of Darius III, eventually dying out after his defeat by Alexander the Great. Xerses I and Darius I were responsible for expanding the Empire. The Empire stretched from Macedonia and Libya in the west to the Aral Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. Cyrus II ruled for thirty years before he died in 529, during which he established the Achaemenid Empire and was responsible for the introduction of Judaism to Persia. In 539 BC, Persian forces serving under Cyrus the Great freed enslaved people from Babylon, including Judaeans. Many of the Jewish people chose to remain in Babylon, thus falling under the rule of the Persians. The Sasanian Empire was also known as the Iranian Empire or the Neo-Persian Empire. It was the last pre-Islamic Empire before the Muslims began invading in the 7th and 8th centuries CE. The Sasanian Empire began with Ardashīr I rising to power in 224 CE before eventually falling in 651 CE to Arabian invasions. The name Sasanian came from the Persian king Sāsān, who was an ancestor of Ardashīr I. It was during Ardashīr I's reign that the territory of the Empire expanded rapidly, stretching Ibera and Sogdiana to the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys. Under the Sasanian empire was a period of great Iranian nationalism and the development of Zoroastrianism became the religion of the state. Today, the presence of Zoroasrtrians remains strong in Iran, though it has been replaced as the religion of the state by Islam. |