Ahura Mazda and Ardashir I is a

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...

from

Sasanian Persia The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

. It is also known as The inscription of Ardashir-e Babakan and Hormozd or Coronation of Ardashir-e Babakan. This relief was carved around 235 which makes it one of the oldest Sasanian rock reliefs. The relief is well-preserved and is mostly unharmed. It is located in the east corner of

Naqsh-e Rostam Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the ...

and was carved 2 meters above the ground. The relief has 6.65m width and 2.40m height. The inscription shows

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...

's coronation ceremony in which he receives his kingship seal from

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...

(or Hormozd) and Ahura Mazda appoints him as the

Shahanshah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Ērānshahr The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

and

Ahuramazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...

are both on horseback, facing each other. In this scene, Ardashir receives the kingship ring from Ahuramazda. The man behind Ahuramazda on the left side of the relief is the high priest

Kartir Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...

. Ardashir's horse is trampling Artabanus V, the last king of

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

also Ahura Mazda horse is trampling the devil's dead body.

Inscription

There's an inscription on Ardashir's horse in three languages:

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. The inscription reads as "This is the figure of Mazdaworshiper, the lord Ardashir, Shahanshah of Iran, whose lineage is from Gods, the son of the lord Papak, the king". There's also another inscription on Ahuramazda's horse in aforementioned languages. The Greek version of this inscription reads as "This is the figure of the God Zeus", whereas the Middle Persian version reads as "This is the figure of the God Ahuramazda". Inscription of Ardeshir Babakan's horse in Naghsh-e Rostam

Inscription of Ardeshir Babakan's horse in Naghsh-e Rostam

This inscription seems to be the oldest inscription from the Sasanian period. Above the Ahura Mazda's figure, there's another three small inscriptions in the aforementioned languages with same content, which reads as "This is Ahura Mazda's (bagh) figure".The history of pre-Islamic literature of Persia, Ahmad Tafazzoli and Zhale Amoozgar, p 84, Sokhan publications, Tehran,

References

Sources

Persian wikipedia
{{Naqsh-e Rustam Archaeological sites in Iran Sasanian inscriptions Ardashir I Greek inscriptions Rock reliefs in Iran Parthian language