The proposed study aims to illustrate the position of Iranian gods in the Achaemenid pantheon and will serve as a basis for the ongoing research on that Pantheon, which up to now has been mainly focused on its Elamite divinities.

Using the Persepolis Fortification Archive as the main source for research, this project will contribute to a more dynamic and less one-si­ded understanding of Achaemenid religion: not a monolithic development with the Avesta as prime reference, but a synthesis that is truly Persian in its genesis and significance and that, in turn, has connections with the Zoroastrian, ancient Iranian, Indo-Iranian and Ancient Near Eastern traditions such as those of Elam and Mesopotamia.

In pursuing this approach, I also hope to contribute to the understanding of the religious and cultural pragmatism of the Achaemenid kings. The meaningful synthesis that resulted from acculturation between various traditions is, as a historical fact, of great value and deserves more attention than it has thus far received. Finally, I hope that detailed work on individual dossiers in the Fortification archive will advance its usability by other scholars.

 

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum (Freie Universität Berlin) and Dr. Wouter F. M. Henkelman (École Pratique des Hautes Études (PSL), Paris)