This paper focuses on three operatic works, produced consecutively over the course of the 18th century, which feature a re-imagining of 'the Persian Mage' as protagonist.
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This paper expands the discussion concerning the origin of the Central Asian ‘bird-man’ or ‘priest-bird' motif and introduces other early figurative representations of Zoroastrian entities, which originated in the region.
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Region: Chang'an, Kachan/Liangzhou, and Kish Region tags: China, Northern Zhou These regions are all mentioned in the epitaph. Chang'an at this time was part of the Northern Zhou. Chang'an is located in modern-day Xi'an and Kish is... more
Region: Chang'an, Kachan/Liangzhou, and Kish Region tags: China, Northern Zhou These regions are all mentioned in the epitaph. Chang'an at this time was part of the Northern Zhou. Chang'an is located in modern-day Xi'an and Kish is located in modern-day Shakhrisabz in Uzbekistan.
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Recent archaeological and textual discoveries have increased our knowledge of the articulation of the Zoroastrian religion in Central Asia during the early centuries of the Common Era. This paper considers the contributions of some of... more
Recent archaeological and textual discoveries have increased our knowledge of the articulation of the Zoroastrian religion in Central Asia during the early centuries of the Common Era. This paper considers the contributions of some of these ‘new’ materials to our understanding of the interplay of Iranian (‘Zoroastrian’) and Indian (‘Hindu’ and ‘Buddhist’) concepts and iconographies from the time of the Kushan rulers in Gandhara to the late 6th century CE. As Iranian and Indian culture reconnected at both an ideological and aesthetic level during this period, dynamic new art forms were generated that traveled along the Silk Roads into China.
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In The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition, eds. Alan Williams, Sarah Stewart, and Almut Hintze (London: I.B Tauris, 2016): 295-320
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This illustrated presentation focuses on the interaction between the three successive Iranian world empires and contemporary regimes in India. At Behistun in northwestern Iran, a remarkable rock-cut inscription proclaims that the... more
This illustrated presentation focuses on the interaction between the three successive Iranian world empires and contemporary regimes in India. At Behistun in northwestern Iran, a remarkable rock-cut inscription proclaims that the Achaemenid king
Darius I came to the throne ‘with the aid of Ahura Mazda.’ The same relief mentions three subject countries to the east of Iran, which later formed part of the Mauryan Empire. Beginning with depictions of various tribute-bearers from India at the Ancient Persian capital of Persepolis, Dr. Rose traces the interplay of Iranian (‘Zoroastrian’) and Indian (‘Hindu’ and Buddhist) concepts and iconographies through Ashoka Maurya’s Arameo-Iranian edicts, the coinage of Indo-Parthian and Kushan rulers in Gandhara, to the Sasanian period, when Zoroastrian merchants from Iran established trading posts on the northwest coast of India, and those from Sogdiana inscribed graffiti alongside Indian Hindus and Buddhists on the Karakorum highway.
Darius I came to the throne ‘with the aid of Ahura Mazda.’ The same relief mentions three subject countries to the east of Iran, which later formed part of the Mauryan Empire. Beginning with depictions of various tribute-bearers from India at the Ancient Persian capital of Persepolis, Dr. Rose traces the interplay of Iranian (‘Zoroastrian’) and Indian (‘Hindu’ and Buddhist) concepts and iconographies through Ashoka Maurya’s Arameo-Iranian edicts, the coinage of Indo-Parthian and Kushan rulers in Gandhara, to the Sasanian period, when Zoroastrian merchants from Iran established trading posts on the northwest coast of India, and those from Sogdiana inscribed graffiti alongside Indian Hindus and Buddhists on the Karakorum highway.
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An illustrated presentation at the Morse Auditorium of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA., relating to my research as a Frances E. Malamy Research Fellow at the Phillips Library, Peabody. The talk introduces documents and artifacts that... more
An illustrated presentation at the Morse Auditorium of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA., relating to my research as a Frances E. Malamy Research Fellow at the Phillips Library, Peabody. The talk introduces documents and artifacts that illustrate the commercial and social interaction of the two groups from the late 18th to the mid-19th century.
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This illustrated talk provides an introduction to the development and impact of the Zoroastrian religious tradition, from its early origins in what is now Central Asia, through its various expressions during the three great Iranian... more
This illustrated talk provides an introduction to the development and impact of the Zoroastrian religious tradition, from its early origins in what is now Central Asia, through its various expressions during the three great Iranian Empires. Dr. Rose focuses on the material culture relating to this influential religion, including important stone reliefs and inscriptions, frescoes and funerary monuments from as far apart as Anatolia and northern China, alongside smaller, but equally significant, clay tablets, coins, seals, letters and ritual artifacts.