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ii. IN LITERATURE AND MYTHOLOGY
In the literature and mythology of ancient Persia Lake HÄmun occupied, along with the Helmand/Hirmand River, a position of particular importance (Bartholomae, p. 9), especially in Zoroastrian eschatology (Nyberg, pp. 304-5). The HÄmun is mentioned frequently in the Avesta, where it appears with the name KÄ…saoya-. In Yašt 19 (66-69) the ³æáµ›a°ùÉ™²Ô²¹³ó- (see FARR) of the Kavis is mentioned in connection with the “Helmandic"KÄ…saoya (KÄ…saÄ“m haÄ“tumatÉ™m), where nine rivers flow together, and with the mountain UšÄ«.δam (cf. Uši.dam and ±«&²õ³¦²¹°ù´Ç²Ô;¾±.»å²¹°ùÉ™²Ô²¹ in Yašt 1.28, 19.2; cf. Yasna 1.14, 2.14, 22.26), probably to be identified with Kuh-e ḴᵛÄja, the mountain that rises about 150 m above the HÄmun basin. In Yašt 19.92 and in ³Õ¾±»åŧ±¹»åÄå»å 19.5 there are references to the birth of the saošyant- astvaá¹±.É™rÉ™ta from its waters, where, according to tradition, the seed of Zoroaster was preserved in order to impregnate the three virgins mentioned in Yašt 13.142, mothers of the three saošyants (Yašt 13.62, 13.28; ¶Ùŧ²Ô°ì²¹°ù»å 7.8.1 ff.; cf. Boyce, Zoroastrianism I, p. 285).
In the Pahlavi texts the HÄmÅ«n is called KayÄnsÄ«h (Bundahišn 13.16), reflecting the name of the Kayanid dynasty. These texts preserve echoes of the Avestan traditions about the HÄmÅ«n, both in regard to the connection with the birth of the Saošyant (Pahlavi SÅšyans) from the seed of Zoroaster and to the nine rivers that empty into it (Bundahišn [TD2], pp. 220, ll. 6-15, 89, ll. 6-11); they also provide the additional detail that the convergence of the waters at that point was the work of FrÄsiyÄv (Av. FraÅ‹rasyan, New Pers. AfrÄsiÄb, q.v.), a theme that has been studied thoroughly by Josef Markwart (pp. 11 ff.). It should be noted in this connection that the free-flowing waters of SistÄn were considered among the beneficial deeds of ManÅ«šÄihr (DÄdistÄn Ä« MÄ“nÅg Ä« xrad 27.41-44) and one of the signs of the restoration (cf. appendix to AyÄdgÄr Ä« Ç°ÄmÄspÄ«g, in Messina, pp. 80, 123).
In the Pahlavi treatise AbdÄ«h ud sahÄ«gÄ«h Ä« SagestÄn (2) the KayÄnsÄ«h is mentioned as one of the wonders of SistÄn. The sacred character of the HÄmun is certainly extremely ancient (Christensen, p. 5) and continued to survive after the advent of Islam.
Bibliography:
Christian Bartholomae, Zarathuštras Leben und Lehre, Heidelberg, 1924.
Arthur Christensen, Les Kayanides, Copenhagen, 1931.
Wilhelm Geiger, Ostiranische Kultur im Altertum, 2 vols., Erlangen, 1882; repr. Aalen, 1972; tr. Darab Dastur Peshotan Sanjana, Civilization of the Eastern Iranians in Ancient Times I: Ethnography and Social Life, London, 1885; II: The Old Iranian Polity and the Age of Avesta, London, 1887.
Gherardo Gnoli, Ricerche storiche sul SÄ«stÄn antico, Rome, 1967.
Idem, Zoroaster’s Time and Homeland: A Study on the Origins of Mazdeism and Related Problems, Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, 1980.
Idem, The Idea of Iran, Rome, 1989.
Ernst Herzfeld, “Zarathustra Teil V: Awestische Topographie,” AMI 2, 1930, pp. 49-98.
Idem, “Sakastan: Geschichtliche Untersuchungen zu den Ausgrabungen am KÅ«h Ä« KhwÄdja” AMI 4, 1932, pp. 1-116.
Idem, Iran in the Ancient East: Archaeological Studies Presented in the Lowell Lectures at Boston, London and New York, 1941; repr. Tehran, 1976.
Josef Markwart, Wehrot und Arang, ed. Hans Heirich Schaeder, Leiden, 1938.
Giuseppe Messina, Libro apocalitticao persiano AyÄtkÄr i ŽÄmÄspÄ«k, Rome, 1939.
Henrik Samuel Nyberg, Die Religionen des alten Iran, tr. Hans Heinrich Schaeder, Leipzig, 1938.
(Gherardo Gnoli)
Originally Published: December 15, 2003
Last Updated: March 6, 2012
This article is available in print.
Vol. XI, Fasc. 6, pp. 647-648
