R. N. Frye

Bio: R. N. Frye is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Zoroastrianism & Persecution of Christians. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 154 citations.

The political history of iran under the sasanians

Abstract: The rise of the Sasanian dynasty can be understood as the successful struggle of a minor ruler of Persis not only against his Parthian overlord, but also against a multitude of neighbouring rulers. The main adversary of the Persians was the Roman empire, and the ambitions of the first Sasanian ruler were soon countered by Rome. It was during the reign of Yazdgard that the Christians of the Sasanian empire held a council in the city of Seleucia in the year 410. Shortly after Bahrāam accession in 421 the persecution of Christians in the Sasanian empire was resumed, probably at the instigation of Zoroastrian priests. The Sasanians inherited from the Parthians a legacy of over two centuries of conflict with the western power. With a Sasanian belief in the destiny of Iran to rule over the territories once held by the Achaemenians, it was inevitable that wars between the two great powers would continue.

The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State

Abstract: 1. Elam: what, when, where? 2. Environment, climate, and resources 3. The immediate precursors of Elam 4. Elam and Awan 5. The dynasty of Shimashki 6. The grand regents of Elam and Susa 7. The kingdom of Susa and Anshan 8. The Neo-Elamite period 9. Elam in the Achaemenid empire 10. Elymais 11. Elam under the Sasanians and beyond 12. Conclusion.

Networks, Territories, and the Cartography of Ancient States

Abstract: With broad lines and dark shading, the cartographic depictions of ancient states and empires convey the impression of comprehensive political entities having firm boundaries and uniform territorial control. These depictions oversimplify the complexities of early state growth, as well as overstating the capacity of central governments to control large territories. Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that ancient states are better understood through network models rather than bounded-territory models. Network approaches enable us to depict competition within and among polities as they grow, the efficient use of nodal points as a focus for political leaders, and the realities of nonoverlapping ritual, social, and economic activities that have an impact on political cohesion. Network maps and bounded-territory representations are compared for the Inka, Mauryan, and Sassanian polities.

Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran

Abstract: (ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.)(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)ONLY in recent years have the interrelationships of Babylonian, Greek, and Indian astronomy and astrology become a subject which can be studied meaningfully. This development is due to several factors: our greatly increased understanding of cuneiform material made possible by the scholarship of Professor O. Neugebauer; 1 the discovery of Babylonian parameters and techniques not only in the standard Greek astronomical texts,2 but in papyri and astrological treatises as well; and the finding of Mesopotamian material in Sanskrit works and in the traditions of South India. Unfortunately, a lack of familiarity with the Sanskrit sources and a failure to consider the transmission of scientific ideas in the context of a broad historical perspective have recently led one scholar to the erroneous conclusion that Sasanian Iran played a crucial role in the introduction of Greek and Babylonian astronomy and astrology to India and in the development of Indian planetary theory.4 It is my purpose in this paper to survey briefly the influence of foreign ideas on Indian gayakas so as to make clear the creative use they made of their borrowings in devising the yuga-system of astronomy; and then to examine the character of Sasanian astronomy and astrology, pointing out their almost complete lack of originality.The earliest Indian texts which are known - the Vedas, the Brâhmaijas, and the Upanicads - are seldom concerned with any but the most obvious of astronomical phenomena; and when they are so concerned, they speak with an obscurity of language and thought that renders impossible an adequate exposition of the notions regarding celestial matters to which their authors subscribed. One may point to the statement that the year consists of 360 days as a possible trace of Babylonian influence in the Kgveda,4 but there is little else which lends itself to a similar interpretation. It has often been proposed, of course, that the list of the twenty-eight naksatras which is given for the first time at the beginning of the last millennium before Christ in the Atharvaveda and in various Brâhmanas is borrowed from Mesopotamia.8 But no cuneiform tablet yet deciphered presents a parallel; the hypothesis cannot be accepted in the total absence of corroborative evidence.However, the naksatras are useful in the tracing of Indian influence on other cultures. The oldest lists0 associate each constellation with a presiding deity who is to be suitably propitiated at the appointed times. It became important to perform certain sacrifices only under the benign influence of particularly auspicious naksatras.7 The roster of activities for which each was considered auspicious or not was rapidly expanded,6 and, in particular, the naksatras came to be closely connected with the twelve or sixteen samskâras or purificatory rites. Thereby they gave rise to the most substantial part of muhurtasâstra, or Indian catarrhic astrology,® traces of which are to be found in Arabic, Byzantine, and medieval Latin texts.10 The Indians also combined the twenty-eight naksatras with the Babylonian arts of brontology and seismology 11 in a form which, for some unknown reason, became immensely popular among the followers of Buddha.'2 Their works spread these superstitions throughout Central Asia and the Far East.18The relative seclusion from the West which the Aryans had enjoyed in northern India for centuries alter their invasions was broken shortly before 51.3 b. c., when Darius the Great conquered the Indus Valley. In the ensuing six centuries, save for a century and a half of security under the Mauryan emperors, North India was subjected to the successive incursions of the Greeks, the eakas, the Pah lavas, and the Kuyânas. An important aspect of this turbulent period was the opportunity it afforded of contact between the intellectuals of the West and India. This opportunity was not missed. …

Merovingian Gaul and the Frankish conquests

Abstract: From the later third century, Germans whom the literary sources called Franks had joined with other barbarians to challenge Roman rule in Gaul. This chapter acknowledges the importance of the Bishop Gregory's extensive writings in the discussions of the formation of Frankish kingdoms, the working of kingship, the roles of aristocrats and bishops, and the limits of Merovingian rule. The kingdom in north-eastern Gaul was sometimes known simply as 'Francia'. It also came to be known as Austria or Austrasia. Although by the fifth century Orthodox Christianity provided a dominant world-view among the Roman population in Gaul, as the Franks expanded into Gaul they nevertheless retained their pagan cults, and even into the sixth century they continued to worship at pagan shrines, especially in northern Gaul. In the kingdom of Austrasia various combinations of Frankish aristocrats, Roman aristocrats and bishops competed for influence at the royal court.