The Fire, the Star and the Cross

Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran

Aptin Khanbaghi

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9780857733054
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Religion

Contemporary political events have generated a strong interest in minorities in the Middle East. Although today the region is mostly identified with Islam, it has been home to many other great cultures, and the civilization of the Islamic world is itself indebted to the various peoples that the Arabs subdued in the 7th and 8th centuries. Far from fading away after the Arab conquest, the inhabitants of the Iranian plateau and of Mesopotamia were central players in the lives of their regions. However, the magnitude of their contribution to the emergence of the early Islamic world has hitherto been neglected. In this fascinating and groundbreaking study, Khanbaghi offers a comprehensive discussion of those groups that resisted assimilation to the new Islamic order yet continued to participate actively in the socio-political life of their homeland. He concentrates on Iran, which due to its complex religious history offers unique opportunities for the study of non-Muslim communities, specifically of Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians.
Aptin Khanbaghi has written an important and fascinating book which aims to present a thorough evaluation of the historical contributions made by religious minorities – Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians – to the societal and cultural physiognomy of the lands of Iran in pre-modern and early modern times. His general perspective and his broad treatment of the topic are quite new, while his use of sources and of the secondary literature is genuinely impressive. The Fire, the Star and the Cross makes a very significant and original contribution to our knowledge and understanding of Iranian history and civilization during an era when the foundations were laid for the emerging modern Iranian state.'
BERT G FRAGNER, Director of the Institute of Iranian Studies,
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

Chapter 1

Religious Minorities under the Sassanians: The Cultural Affirmation of Jews and Christians in Iran

Iran was distinguished from the other lands conquered by the Muslim Arabs, by its religious and political situation. While the majority of the provinces that capitulated to the Islamic army were predominantly Christian and were under the rule of the Byzantine or Roman Empire, Iran was politically independent and was dominated by a Zoroastrian majority.

Indeed, in 224 AD, the Sassanians had instituted Zoroastrianism as the State Religion in Iran.¹² Nonetheless, the enforcement of Zoroastrianism at the political level had not rendered Iran a homogenous land. On the contrary, Iran was home to numerous Jewish, Christian and other religious communities. In Asuristan (Iraq), the Jews and Christians outnumbered even the Zoroastrian population. ‘Iranianhood’, however, was broadly defined. It embraced all the different ethnic groups settled in Iran, who were willing to integrate into Iranian society; it also included the Turks.¹³ Associated solely with Iran, Zoroastrianism did not assign its followers the mission to convert ‘non-Iranians’; however, this did not prevent persecutions. The grounds for these persecutions appear to have been different from those endured by religious minorities under Christianity and Islam. They were guided more by political motives rather than religious zeal. Thus, none of the known anecdotes of persecution prompted any conversions to Zoroastrianism, except perhaps in cases of apostasy. Indeed, the status of the Christians in Iran was dependant on Irano-Roman (Irano-Byzantine) relations, until Nestorianism was established as the Church of Iran in 484.¹⁴ Moreover, Judaism and Christianity flourished at this period. Not only did the number of Christians and Christian dioceses continuously increase, but migration of Jews from the Roman provinces and Armenia had swelled the Jewish population in Iran. Putting Asuristan aside, there were dense Jewish populations in the main cities of the Zagros valley.¹⁵ There must have been Jewish communities in the East of the Iranian Plateau, but they are mentioned on rare occasions, such as in Shahriha i Eran, in which we are told that ‘The capital of Khwarizm was built by Narseh, the son of the Jewess.’¹⁶ Under the Sassanians, the Jews were able to take over the leadership of World-Jewry from the Jews in Palestine, and Iran appears to have had the largest Jewish population in the world, with some towns being populated mainly by Jews.¹⁷

1) The Oldest Living Diaspora: The Jews of Sassanian Iran

The Jews had been living on Iranian soil since at least the 8^th c. B.C.;¹⁸ therefore, they were far from being an alien entity in the region. Throughout the centuries, they had been able to develop cordial relations with the Iranian court; a bond which remained under the Sassanians. Despite their predilection for Zoroastrianism, the Sassanians did not alienate Jews, even though some authors have claimed this.¹⁹ Far from losing their right to ‘govern their own affairs’ as some have alleged;²⁰ the Talmud testifies that the Sassanian government acknowledged the validity of the Jewish courts for cases in which even non-Jews were involved.²¹ The Jewish leaders were only forbidden to implement capital punishment.²²

The purpose here is not to discuss persecutions of Jews or the tolerance of Zoroastrians, but it is important to state that Ardashir Papakan (226-241), the founder of the dynasty, did not launch a persecution of Jews or any other non-Zoroastrian group. The Syriac author Mshiha-zkha says that Ardashir had many pyres erected and strove to propagate Zoroastrianism, but neither Jews nor Christians appear to have been the objects of his proselytization.²³ The Jews were able to maintain their official positions even during Ardashir’s reign.²⁴

Ardashir and his successor, Shapur I (241-272), wished primarily to be assured of the loyalty of their subjects. The Babylonian Talmud informs us that the head of the Jews, Mar Samuel of Nehardia (d. 254), demonstrated his full loyalty to Shapur by supporting his campaigns against the Romans and by recognizing officially the Law decreed by the Shah as valid for the Jews. This strategy enabled Samuel to secure for the Jews the same privileges they had enjoyed under the Parthians, and in practice they conducted their own legal affairs independently from the Sassanians.²⁵ The Exilarch (Resh Galuta) was recognized as the head of the Jewish community. He was in charge of collecting taxes and dispensing justice, and had a function similar to that of a king’s vassal. His office was maintained long after the fall of the Sassanians, until the mid 11^th century.²⁶

Apart from the Exilarch, the Jews had other influential allies at the court. The disciple of a certain Samuel Mar Judah (d. 299) regularly visited Shapur I, and even spent the night at the court.²⁷ So close were the ties between the Sassanian court and the leaders of the Iranian Jewry that the Christian sources blame the anti-Christian persecutions launched by Shapur I on the Jews.²⁸ The influence of the chief rabbis is not less evident under Shapur II (309-379). They had the Shapur’s mother, Ifra Hormizd, as their patron. The Jewish official, Raba, was able to elude the death penalty despite having violated the imperial law, thanks to the intervention of the Queen mother on his behalf. Ifra Hormizd even bestowed monetary gifts upon the Jews.²⁹ A Pahlavi source reports that Yazdgird I (399-420) had a Jewish wife by the name of Shushandukht, and that the latter was the daughter of the Resh Galuta.³⁰ The presence of a Jewish Queen at the court had enhanced the position of Jews, as at their request, they were allowed to settle in Isfahan, occupying in fact half of the city, called in the early Islamic period al-Yahudiyya.³¹ The same Pahlavi source mentions that Queen Shushandukht established Jewish colonies in the towns of Shush and Shushtar, and that she gave birth to Bahram Gur, who occupied the throne from 420 to 438 A.D..³² During this period, the Jewish exilarchs had a regular audience with the Shahanshah, and one of them received from Yazdgird I a belt (kamar), which represented then the highest sign of distinction.³³

After nearly one thousand years of good relations between the Jews and the Iranian rulers, Yazdgird II (438-457) launched a persecution against the Jews, which was continued by Peroz (457-484). Their malevolence towards this community was unprecedented in Iranian history.³⁴ The factors that prompted the persecutions are unknown; however, the messianic movements at the time among both Christians and Jews, and the belief in the end of Zoroastrianism, had prompted apparently both groups to ignore the ruling power. The Jews and the Christians were numerically strong enough, especially in Asuristan to oppose the Sassanian government.³⁵

The importance of the Jews (and the Nestorians) in the Persian army is evinced from the request of Kavad I (498-531), who asked the Byzantine general for a cease-fire for their sake: ‘Let us respect the Festival because of the Nasraye and Jews who are with me, and because of you (other) Christians.’³⁶ Just as in the army, the Jews were employed in the government as officials, and their function ranged from tax officers to prison wardens.³⁷ The Talmud hints that the Jews who acted as government officials, were unpopular in the Jewish community, as their major duty was to collect taxes.³⁸ Jewish scholars in the Academies, like the Zoroastrian clergy, were exempted from these taxes.³⁹ All other subjects, no matter what their religion, had to pay the poll-tax (kraga).⁴⁰ The Jewish councils decided who would be exempt by granting them the status of scholar.⁴¹

The wealth of the Jewish community is also testified in the Talmud. Pumbedita was famous for its mansions, while Mehuza was famous for the exuberance of its inhabitants’ garments and exquisite tables. The majority of these people were ordinary subjects.⁴² Mehuza was the wealthiest Jewish town in Iran, and most of its inhabitants were involved in trade. They saved their money and invested it when possible in the purchase of land.⁴³ The number of wealthy Jews outside these towns was relatively important as the Talmud refers to many of them. In the 3^rd century a certain Hisda and in the 4^th century Papa had accumulated wealth in the brewery business.⁴⁴ The Exilarch’s wealth was comparable to that of princes. He lived in a palace and often invited more than hundred people to dine at his table. The members of his family were also affluent and could benefit from prerogatives reserved to the Exilarch by being carried in gilded sedan chairs.⁴⁵ Some wealthy Jewish families abused their prerogatives. They were attached to the Persian court, and would impose their will on poorer Jews. Those who were in debt, had to pay their dues promptly or else would have had to bear the consequences.⁴⁶ The Jewish Judges were in some cases powerless and could not bring the Jewish magnates before the law.⁴⁷ However, there were also philanthropists among wealthy Jews,⁴⁸ and even more important was the well-organized system of the Persian Jewry for collecting alms through taxation of the Jewish community.⁴⁹ The Jewish magnates in Asuristan possessed a large number of slaves.⁵⁰ Their financial support of Bahram Chubin (590-591),⁵¹ although a strategic mistake, is also good evidence of their economic power within the Empire.

The Jews were not only politically and financially influential, they were also culturally very active. The Jewish academic centres of Sura and Pumbedita flourished under the Sassanians and the Babylonian Talmud was completed during this period (circa 220–500 A.D.).⁵² The destruction of the Academy of Nehardia in 250 A.D. by Odenarth, the prince of Palmyra, prompted the foundation of a rabbinical Academy at Pumbedita by Judah b. Ezekiel in 259.⁵³ It was led thereafter by the best Amoraim (rabbinical scholars from 3^rd to 6^th century) of the time.⁵⁴ The rabbinical schools of Sura gained a reputation after 219. Thenceforth the Academy of Sura attracted hundreds of students from the rest of the Sassanian Empire, but it was not until 352 that Sura overtook Pumbedita as the leading academic school and remained the repository of Jewish science for another seven centuries.⁵⁵ The Amoraim or the heads of the Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, also acted as judges and were influential dignitaries.⁵⁶ It is important to mention that the Babylonian Talmud produced in Iran is more complete than the Palestinian Talmud produced in the Roman/Byzantine Empire. The Jewish Academies in Iran had a longer and more glorious history. Scholars from the Roman Empire found refuge in these Academies and contributed to their success.⁵⁷ Iran offered a better environment for Jewish scholastic efforts, as despite sporadic persecutions, the Talmud testifies that they were never harassed as much as in the Roman Empire.⁵⁸ This element explains the Jews’ betrayal of the Byzantines by siding with the Persians, when Khusraw II undertook the invasion of the Byzantine Empire.

2) From Traitors to Loyal Subjects: Iranian Christians under the Sassanians

If the adherence of the Byzantine Empire to Christianity had at times reinforced good relations between the Jews and the Sassanian state, it had on the contrary alienated the Christian inhabitants of Iran from the rulers.⁵⁹ Indeed, after the Emperor Constantine had proclaimed Chris...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• A Note on the Transliterations and the Names
• Map
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Religious Minorities under the Sassanians: The Cultural Affirmation of Jews and Christians in Iran
• Chapter 2: Iran under Foreign Creed: The Domination of Islam over Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians
• Chapter 3: New Hope and Bitter Deception: Iranian non-Muslims under the Mongols (1256-1336)
• Chapter 4: The Post-Mongol and Pre-Safavid Period: A Brief View of Iran under the Timurids and the Aq Qoyunlu
• Chapter 5: The Safavid Period
• Section 2: Minority Cultures in Safavid Iran
• Conclusion
• Notes on the Text
• Appendix
• Selected Bibliography