FARR(AH), XᵛARƎNAH, literally, “glory,” according to the most likely etymology and the semantic function reconstructed from its occurrence in various…

ĒRĪČ MOUNTAIN, mentioned in a chapter of the Bundahišn devoted to mountains (TD2, p. 76, l. 15; p. 78, ll….

ĒR, ĒR MAZDĒSN (Inscr. Mid. Pers. ēr [ʾyly], plur. ērān [ʾylʾn, ʾyrʾn]), an ethnonym, like Old Persian ariya- and Avestan…

DUALISM, feature peculiar to Iranian religion in ancient and medieval times. There is general agreement on this point, though some…

DAIVADĀNA (lit., “temple of the daivas,”), Old Persian term that appears in the “daiva inscrip­tion” of Xerxes (486-65 b.c.e.) at…

DĀITYĀ, (VAŊHVĪ) (lit., “the (good) Dāityā”; Mid. Pers. Weh Dāitī), the name of a river connected with the religious “law”…

DAHYU (OIr. dahyu-), attested in Avestan dax́iiu-, daŋ́hu- “country” (often with reference to the people inhabiting it; cf. AirWb., cot….

DAHAN-E ḠOLĀMĀN or, according to Walther Hinz (p. 374 n. 1), Dahana-ye Ḡolāmān “Gateway of the slaves,” site located 2…

IRANIAN IDENTITY ii. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD The idea of Iran as a religious, cultural, and ethnic reality goes back as far…

INDO-IRANIAN RELIGION. Indo-Iranian comparative studies enable us to distinguish a fund of religious concepts, beliefs, and practices that are common…

HELMAND RIVER ii. IN ZOROASTRIAN TRADITION According to Avestan geography, the region of the Haētumant River extends in a southwest…

HĀMUN, DARYĀČA-YE (Lake Hāmun, lit. “lake of the plain, lowland”), also called Hāmun-e Helmand (Av. Haētumant- “provided with banks,” AirWb.,…

HĀMUN ii. IN LITERATURE AND MYTHOLOGY In the literature and mythology of ancient Persia Lake Hāmun occupied, along with the…

SOCIETAS IRANOLOGICA EUROPAEA (SIE), international association in the field of Iranian studies. On the 1st and 2nd of October 1981…

CONVERSION i. Of Iranians to the Zoroastrian faith Although modern Zoroastrians question whether their religion even allows conversion (see vii,…