Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

214 7 Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism
between the Sasanian king and the ‘fire’. In the ˇ Sāpūr inscription at Naqˇs-i
Rustam the king thanks the gods for supporting his campaigns by referring
to the dedication of fires marking his victories.
The ˇ Sāpūr Inscription on the Kaba-i Zarduˇst at Naqˇs-i Rustam ( ˇ SKZ) § 51
The Parthian text
Just as we take great care now for the affairs and worship of the gods and are the
‘dastgerd ’ 23 of the gods and with the help of the gods sought and took possession
of all these countries, and in addition became famous and brave, (in this way) the
one, who will come after us and will be successful, shall take great care for the
affairs and worship of the gods, so that the gods will help him and make him their
own ‘dastgerd’.
ˇSāpūr I points to his numerous fire dedications, to his support of the fire
cult and the priesthood, and he thereby emphasises his close relationship
with the gods. Just like the Zoroastrian priest Kartēr, the Sasanian king
also explicitly states that he owed his military success in the West to the
goodwill of the gods. Both texts illustrate a close link between politics
and religion at this point. By furthering Zoroastrianism the Persian ruler
attempts to unite his ‘nation’ – possibly with an eye to the battle against
the opponent in the West. 24 In the end, strengthening and spreading the
Zoroastrian religion also served to legitimate and enhance royal power.
These and further activities of ˇ Sāpūr I were therefore part of a ‘religious
policy’. At the end of the inscription the king encourages his successor
to follow his zeal with regard to religion. All rulers should appease the
gods, become the protégés of the gods, look after religious matters and,
just like ˇ Sāpūr I himself, endorse the Zoroastrian religion. In accord with
the support received by Zoroastrianism in general, over the course of time
Zoroastrian priests gained considerable power. The fact that Zoroastrianism
became the official religion of the empire facilitated the emergence of a fixed
hierarchy and differentiation within the priestly cast. The religious titles
attested by Kartēr’s inscriptions reveal an increasing significance of their
holders during the third century. 25 Comparable to the realm of politics,
where a few noble families occupied the high civil and military ranks, the
Zoroastrian religious community was based on a hereditary priesthood
that was kept within one family. However, a Zoroastrian ‘state church’ and
a corresponding ‘religious administration’ did not exist before the fourth
or – more developed – fifth century. 26 This development was facilitated by
23 The term ‘dastgerd ’ refers to the close relationship between the ruler and the gods; cf. Huyse 1999:
180–1 (vol. ii); Henning 1958: 96 translates the term as ‘Schützling’ (= protégé); cf. also Back 1978:
504 n. 199.
24 Decret 1979: 130–1. 25 Grenet 1990: 87–94. 26 Gignoux 1983: 253–66.