Relief of Mithras, Shapur II and Ardashir II

TNMM 555

In this scene, Mihr watches over the transition of power from Shapur II to Ardashir II, which took place in AD 379, symbolically represented by the passing over of a ribboned wreath. The ribboned wreath or ring is a common motif in Sasanian art, and in Parthian reliefs before that, used to show the bestowal of divine glory (Middle Persian farr, Avestan khwarneh) when given by gods, or of legitimacy, approval and honour when passed between mortals.

Shapur and Ardashir stand on the fallen figure of the Roman emperor Julian, who died in 363 after a defeat by Shapur near Ctesiphon. Mihr stands on a lotus flower, which may once have appeared as if it were rising out of the water that springs from the ground nearby. He holds the barsom, a bundle of rods held during Zoroastrian ritual and still used today, although metal rods are used instead of wooden.

The image of Mihr at Tāq-e Bostān was re-identified over the centuries as the prophet Zoroaster and in local Kurdish tradition as the legendary sculptor Farhād, who features in the 10th-century Iranian epic by Ferdowsi, Shāhnāmeh. This tale links the first and third Sasanian monuments at Tāq-e Bostān together, since Farhād was in love with the intended wife of Khosro II, Shirin. Farhād is said to have killed himself at nearby Bisitun upon hearing the false information (sent by Khosro) of Shirin’s death. Alternatively, the radiate figure has been identified as Ahura Mazda (in Middle Persian, Ohrmazd) the central divinity of Zoroastrianism who is embodied by light, or Verethragna (Vahrām) the yazata of victory, and Ādur (Ātaš) – fire.

Zardosht (Zoroaster) at the Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk, Kermânšâh, Iran.

The identification of this depiction of Mithra with Zoroaster became so strong that it is this Sasanian image that was the basis for modern representations of the prophet worldwide. In the nearby city of Kermānshāh, is a tekiye (a Shi’a sacred place to commemorate the death of Imām Husayn at the Battle of Karbala in AD 680 – see Fuschia Hart’s blog post) built in 1897 and extensively renovated in 1912. On the high walls of the pristine courtyard, hundreds of glazed tiles bring together images of Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian kings from ancient rock reliefs, to sit alongside images of more modern Persian rulers – of Safavids and Qājārs – as well as mythical Iranian heroes such as Rostam, who features prominently in the Shāhnāmeh. One of the figures is labelled Zardosht (Zoroaster).