پژوهش های تاریخی (Sep 2020)
Why and How the Relations between the Parsis of India and the Zoroastrians of Iran Were Formed? (Based on the Narrations of Rivāyāt-e Dārāb Hormazdyār)
Abstract
1- Abstract: In 880 AH, with the arrival of Nariman Houshang, one of the Parsis of India, to Iran and his meeting with the High Priests of Turkabad, a special relationship was established between the Parsis of India and the Zoroastrians of Iran, which lasted for nearly three hundred years. The result is a collection of narrations in Persian, each of them is usually called the bearer of that narration. A considerable number of these narrations appear in a collection called Narrations of Darab Hormazdyar (Rivāyāt-e Dārāb Hormazdyār). In addition to clarifying the various aspects of the Zoroastrian religion, the narration also expresses the concerns and challenges that Zoroastrian communities in India and Iran have faced. The present study, which is descriptive-analytical research based on the historical research method, relying on the Narrations of Darab Hormazdyar, seeks to answer thequestion what factors or motives, despite some challenges, caused the beginning and continuation of the relationship between the Parsis of India and the Zoroastrians of Iran in three hundred years. Analyzing the content of these narrations and recognizing the issues and conditions that these two societies faced shows that the beginning of relations between the Parsis and the Zoroastrians of Iran was probably a coincidence and not planned and aimed at gaining religious information from the Zoroastrians of Iran, but there is no doubt that the continuation of such relations is due to a set of religious, social, and economic motives of both societies. 2- Introduction: With the spread of Islam in Iran in the third and fourth centuries AH, some Zoroastrians preferred to leave their homeland and migrate to India. In India, Zoroastrians settled in the western state of Gujarat, where they founded their first settlement, Sanjan, in 324 AH. In order to establish the identity of Sanjan as a Zoroastrian city, they consecrated and established the fire of Bahram in this city. The connection of these immigrants and their descendants (who became known in India as Parsis) with Iran and the Zoroastrians of Iran was cut off for a long time until 1476 AD. In this year, one of the Parsis named Nariman Houshang goes to Iran and meets the Zoroastrian high priests (Dasturān) of Yazd, and on his return brings the letter of the high priests of Yazd to the Parsis. This letter, which contains some religious instructions, is called Narration of Nariman Houshang (Rivāyāt-e Nariman Houshang). These travels and correspondences last for about three hundred years and the result is a collection of 26 narrations in Persian, each of which is usually called the bearer of that narration. In 1692, Darab Hormazdyar collected a collection of the most important of these narrations along with some other Persian Zoroastrian texts called Narrations of Darab Hormazdyar (Rivāyāt-e Dārāb Hormazdyār). 3- Materials and Methods: The present article with a descriptive-analytical approach and based on the historical research method using the Narrations of Darab Hormazdyar aimed to address the question what factors or motives caused the beginning and continuation of the relationship between the Parsis of India and The Zoroastrians of Iran (1478-1773 A.C.). 4- Discussion of Results and Conclusions: It can be said that the first contact of the Parsis of India with their Iranian brothers was probably accidental and unplanned, and despite what seems at first glance, it did not indicate the desire of the Parsis, and especially the high priests of Nosari to seek guidance from the Dasturān of Yazd and Iran. But, immediately after the beginning of the relationship, a series of factors and motives arise that make both parties eager to pursue this relationship. It was while there were serious obstacles and challenges to these relations such as the impossibility of the meeting and confrontation of clerics on both sides for oral transmission of religious teachings, as well as the impossibility of using the Pahlavi language to transmit the religious teachings in writing. One of these motives is the promising beliefs of the Zoroastrians, according to which, with the end of the Yazdgerd millennium and as a prelude to the emergence of Hoshidar, Shah Bahram Varjavand emerges from India and revives the Zoroastrian state, and puts an end to their hardships and the humiliations they saw in the Islamic society. Such beliefs were especially alive and strong among the Zoroastrians of Iran, and this prompted them to be in constant contact with India and to learn of Varjavand, who was expected to appear soon. Another factor in the continuation of these relations was the efforts of some Zoroastrian regions of India to get out of the influence and religious domination of Nosari, who at this time, by hosting the high priests and fire of Bahram of Sanjan, claimed the religious centrality of the Parsis. In fact, some groups tried to equate Iranian priests with Nosari priests in order to reduce Nosari authority. The further we go in terms of time, the more prominent such factor becomes apparent. Itsts culmination comes at a time of controversy among the Parsis of India over the issue of chronology. In addition to such factors, economic incentives were also effective in continuing the relationship. Furthermore, the business interests of the two parties and the benefits they derived from the relationship played an important role in maintaining communication. In fact, many narrations basically are recommendations for Zoroastrian merchants. In addition, the income that the high priests of Yazd received from the Parsis as ‘Dasturi’ also played an important role in the continuation of these relations. Of course, the role of purely religious motives cannot be ignored. That is, on the one hand, the Parsis considered themselves obliged to learn from the Iranians, and on the other hand, the Iranians considered themselves obliged to solve the problems of the Parsis. In general, it seems that the Iranians were more eager to continue the relations than the Parsis.
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