The Sasanian Empire was one of the greatest world powers in history. It stretched from 220 to 651 AD, and spatially from present-day Kyrgyzstan in the north-east to the Arabian Peninsula in the south-west, and from the eastern border of present-day Pakistan in the south-east to Georgia in the north-west. Not only Zoroastrianism, the ancient Iranian religion, was at home in this geographically broad and long-lasting empire, but also religions that were not formed in the Iranian cultural area, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism. In addition, there is an extremely successful religion, namely Manichaeism, which spread as a world religion during this period.
The course deals with the interplay between three of these religions: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism. It discusses the acculturation processes of the non-Iranian religions in the Sasanian Empire, religious contacts and their effects on the respective religions. In the course, both secondary literature and primary sources in translation will be presented for discussion.
The seminar is aimed at both BA and MA students. Attendance, active participation in the discussions, the study of the literature provided for the sessions, and their presentation in the course are compulsory in order to acquire the corresponding credit points.
- Kursleiter/in: Kianoosh Rezania
- Kursleiter/in: Or Rubin