Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti (Jan 2019)
THE ROCK RELIEF OF GOTARZES II IN SARPOL-E ZOHAB
Abstract
According to accepted opinion, the Parthian rock relief of Sarpol-e Zohab was created by Parthian King Gotarzes I and it represents a scene of investiture of the local governor by the Great King. But a comparative analysis of the iconographical realities of the rock relief (positional and quantitative relations of images, the direction of action in the composition), as well as the chronology of the frontality of the images and the horse’s static position show that this rock relief does not actually belong to ordinary, but to subgenre of divine investiture, and was created not by Gotarzes I, but by Gotarzes II. It was created to mark the victory over Mitridates, the claimant of the Arsacid trone in Holvan River valley in 50 AD, and it was actually intended to show the Iranian society that Gotarzes enjoyed the protection of the gods and therefore his power was legal. It is known that besides Sarpol-e Zohab’s rock relief, earlier Gotarzes II, on the same occasion, created another rock relief on Behistun mount, which was notable by traditional profile style. Hereafter, the rock relief of Gotarzes II of Sarpol-e Zohab should be valued not only for historical value, but also for a proper understanding of the process of establishing the frontal style in Parthian art.
