The Place and Role of Friendship In Creating a Desirable Ahurai World (Case Study: Avestan texts and Achaemenid Inscriptions(

Abstract

An examination of the remnants of ancient Iranian texts demonstrates the importance of friendship in the beliefs of ancient Iranians. According to the teachings presented in these texts, achieving the desired Ahurai world depends on a correct understanding of the concept of friendship in teachings of Zoroaster. This descriptive-analytical study examines the various aspects of the concept of friendship in surviving texts of ancient Iran and seeks to answer the question of how the types of friendship appeared in the Achaemenid inscriptions and the texts of the old and new Avesta. The findings of this study show that In Gathas, the levels of friendship are expressed through friendship with Zarathustra and attribution to the Ahuraian attributes (six Amshaspandans). Zarathustra has provided a hierarchy according to which the Zoroastrian person at each stage is characterized by various manifestations of friendship and eventually achieves the friendship of Ahuramazda. With the spread of instances of doctrine, expressions of friendship have increased in the late Avesta. The Yazatas and Fravahr of good people are those who’ve joined the friends of Ahuramazda and mediate achieving friendship with Ahuramazda. Sushyants are also mentioned in the explanation of the end of the world; friends of Ahuramazda who will determine the fate of the great battle.The concept of friendship in Achaemenid inscriptions is based on creating a bond of friendship with Mazda effects. The consequences of friendship with truth and friendship with untruth and their impact on the fate of the kingdom are expressed.

Keywords

• friendship
• avestan texts (old and new)
• achaemenid inscriptions
• ancient iran