How Did Christianity Enter Iran?

Aftab-e Yazd (Persian Morning Daily) Jan 1, 2003, No. 843 Page: 6 Summary: Senior advisor of the Great Islamic Encyclopedic Center, Qamar Aryan (holding a Ph.D), the spouse of the late Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, who has presented her doctorate treatise on the "Christ Portrait in Persian Literature" says the survey of Iran's history of pre-Islamic era shows that Christian schools have been active in Iranian Empire and the Greek works have been translated into Syriac and Pahlavi by Christians of Iranian origin. We have even witnessed the appointment of a Nestorian Bishop, Barsuma, at Kauser's Constantinople as Iran's representative.

Text: Qamar Aryan, the senior advisor of the great Encyclopedic Center wrote her doctorate treatise titled "Christ's Portrait in Persian Literature" in 1958, five years after her marriage to Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub. Meanwhile, she wrote many other literary articles in magazines such as Sokhan, Yaghma, Mehrgan and Morvarid. In the 60s, she became an instructor at the National University and the Higher Education Institute (Daneshsaraye Ali). Once she stopped teaching in the 70s, she started writing various literary papers on Persian poetry. She also started translating two valuable books titled "The Near East in History" compiled by Philip K. and "The World of Islam" compiled by Bertolt Schtepule.

On the eve of the New Christian Year, ISNA (Iranian Student News Agency) literary journalist conducted an interview with her, in an attempt to do some research on the Christian culture, science and literature in Iran. The excerpts of the interview follow.

Q: Based on the historical reminiscences, the era of the Ashkanid Empire is simultaneous with Christ's advent in Jerusalem. Before talking about the influence of the Christian culture and literature in the lands of Ashkan, it would be better to survey the political and social position of Iran in those days and the introduction of Christian beliefs to Iranians.

A: Christ's birth corresponded with the reign of Ashkanids in Iran and Mesopotamia. Their reign continued up to about 226 AD. During the five centuries when the Ashkanid rulers reigned over Iran, complete freedom of religion was practiced, which is quite evident about Christianity. It should be noted, however, that such a freedom of beliefs among the Ashkanid monarchs is attributed to various factors. One was to oppose the power of Zoroastrian leaders who had gained power through time. The rude approach of Roman emperors towards Christians was another reason.

The remnants of the Roman Empire, which had not yet converted into Christianity in those days, is still evident in today's Italy. Dark cellars and squares, where Christians were faced with gladiators or wild beasts are still evidenced at sites known as catacombs. The Ashkanid monarch, however, who considered the Romans their competitors and rivals, supported the Christians and promoted their beliefs. The Christians were known as the enemies of the Roman Empire.

Q: Did the high authority of Zoroastrian leaders in the Ashkanid Empire interfere with the promotion of Christianity in Iran?

A: As a matter of fact, the Zoroastrian leaders highly opposed any publicity on Christianity under the reign of the Ashkanid Empire. That is why most of the people converting into Christianity were non-Zoroastrians. They were either Buddhists or followed other rites prevailing over Iran's eastern borders. Despite the fact that Iranian Christians didn't have any definite residence in the Ashkanid era, the Bible was publicized by missionaries who kept moving from one place to another. A point of special interest is the contact between Armenians and Christians in Ashkanid era, whose influence on the promotion of Christianity all across Iran is quite evident in Sassanid and post-Islamic eras.

Q: In "Christ's Portrait in Persian Literature" you have referred to various points, which reflect the acquaintance of Iranians of Ashkanid era with Christianity.

A: Despite the diversity of points, which are at times legendary, they are the only available documents. For instance, according to Bible, simultaneous with the birth of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, a number of Oriental Magians from "Aveh" and "Saveh" arrived in Jerusalem and claimed that they had observed the star of Jesus in the Orient.

The French scholar, La Bour in his book titled "Christianity in Iranian Empire" and taking a look at "The Prophets Deeds" said, "Parthians in Khorasan, the Medes in Azerbaijan and Iraq and Ilamids in Khuzestan have been introduced to Christianity since old ages. As a matter of fact, according to the evidences, Christianity became common under the reign of the Parth (in Khorasan) as soon as it appeared. Later on concurrent with 100 AD, a great number of Christians were observed at the area of "Arbil" to the east of Tigris and the city of Kirkuk, which was one of the cities of old Iranian Empire.

Q: The presence of Christian missionaries in Iran and the increase in the number of Iranian Christians has left its cultural and social consequences on the Ashkanid Empire. To what extent were the Iranians impressed by such developments?

A: Little knowledge is available on the issue, except for the results of research conducted by scholars such as La Bour, Noldeke (?), Christiensen (?) and more than anyone Gochmid (?), which are the only resources containing some brief information on Ashkanid era. The only thing known about the period is that Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and personal beliefs were practiced freely under the reign of Ashkanids. It should be noted, however, that since the documents left behind by Ashkanids were destroyed by the Sassanid Monarches, this has denied our access to the full knowledge on a mighty dynasty such as Ashkanids, which reigned over a great empire for more than five centuries. Since in ancient times, it was quite common for any dynasty to annihilate the traces of its previous rulers. Another evidence on our ignorance of the era might be found in the pages of Ferdowsi's Epic "Shahnameh" (Book of the Kings), where Ferdowsi in the chapter related to the Ashkanids just refers to 500 years of Ashkanids rule.

Q: Some researchers have sought the influence of the Greek and Christian mythologies on some of the stories of Shahnameh and believe that the tragedy observed in them is inspired by the Greek tragedies. Considering such a theory, is it possible to say that the influence of Christianity in the Ashkanid era makes the roots of Iranian literature converge towards the European literature of the Christian era?

A: Such a justification seems to be exaggerating. Of course, "Rostam and Esfandiyar" and "Rostam and Sohrab" are among the greatest world tragedies. However, it doesn't sound right to say that the tragic stories of Shahnameh are similar to Greek tragedies or have been inspired by them. Since according to the documents left behind by the historians of the Islamic era, no reference is made to such similarities. The historians who have translated Greek books into Arabic including "Beihaqi History", "Tabari History" and Tha'elebi's history, have not uttered a word on the influence of the Greek literature on the Persian literature. Of course, one might resort to imagination and justify that since tragedy belongs to Greece, the tragic stories of Shahnameh are also rooted in the Greek tragedy.

Q: The unity between religion and government under the reign of Sassanids and the fact that Zoroastrianism was promoted by the Sassanid monarchs as the official religion in Iran, exposed the Christian missionaries in Iran to different circumstances. What are the religious and social characteristics marking the transitional period between the rule of Ashkanids and Sassanids?

A: Once the foundation of the Sassanid government, unlike that of Ashkanids, was based on religion and promoted Zoroastrianism as the official belief and supported it, it is quite obvious that the Sassanid monarchs could not have favored practicing Christianity. In fact, the opposition of the Sassanids to the Iranian followers of Jesus Christ (AS) got underway when the Roman Emperor, Constantine, converted into Christianity and set it as the official religion of the Roman Empire in accordance with the "Milan" decree. Ever since, Iranian Christians, especially those residing at the borders of the Roman Empire, got interested in the Christian government of the land. Their interest caused some reactions by the Sassanid monarchs. As a consequence, unlike the Ashkanid era, the Iranian Christians were not favored any more. It went so far, as once any violation of the law was observed by the Christian leaders, they started prosecuting their Christian followers.

Q: Thus according to the resources available from Iranian Christians, it seems quite natural for the Sassanid monarchs to be exposed to wrath.

A: This has made the survey of the Iranian Christians quite difficult, since the history and books written on Oriental Christians is full of profanity and accusation and the Sassanid monarchs have been constantly disrespected. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the writers of such materials have been biased and prejudiced and that they have been unjust and exaggerating in most cases. Besides La Bour's valuable book is one of the resources providing reliable information on the Christians of the Sassanid era.

Syriac resources are also among the most significant available data, most of which have been translated into European languages. The same justification also applies to resources written under the influence of Zoroastrian leaders. For instance, we are aware that Arab historians have mostly obtained their knowledge on the Sassanid era from Pahlavi books (known as Khoday Nameh), which were complied jointly by Magian leaders. A comparison of the article written by Arab historians on Yazdgerd I from the Sassanid Dynasty against that written by a Syriac historian seems to be very appealing.

Q: Thus, as pointed out in your book "Christ's Portrait in Persian Literature", Iranian Christians have been enjoying relative freedom in their social relations and promotion of Christianity under the reign of some Sassanid monarchs.

A: That's true. The claim of Syriac and Armenian historians on the atrocities of the Sassanids to their Christian subjects was biased. Some Sassanid monarchs were known for their unkind approaches. One of the evidences is a Christian Cross, kept at Tisfoun under the reign of Khosrow Parviz between 614-29. Upon the demise of Khosrow Parviz and once Shahr Baraz took reign, the cross was restituted to the Roman Empire, Heraclius.

On the other hand, it should be noted that the Zoroastrians didn't associate with other religions, in view of the limitations imposed on them. Even today, at the suburb of Kashan, the Zoroastrians are observed to accomplish their rites and traditions in seclusion. That mainly accounts for their not being ever protested once any change is effected in the prevailing rules. This is due to the fact that no promotion is made for Zoroastrianism and no one is called on to convert into it. Besides Zoroastrians never get married to anyone of other beliefs. Based on such justifications, under the Sassanid era, the relation between the Iranian Christians and Magians has been quite limited. However, at some periods in the course of history, the two empires of Rome and Iran enjoyed somewhat close relations.

Q: The establishment of the Christian church in Iran seems to mark the outset of a new era of relations between the Iranian Christians and the Sassanid monarchs. Does such an episode mark the beginning of development of ties between the Zoroastrian and Christian leaders?

A: The development took place under the reign of Yazdgerd II from the Sassanid Dynasty, when the Nestorian church announced its independence against the Byzantine church. In fact, by the end of the 5th century, the Nestorian belief became common among the Christians residing Iran. The Iranian church converted into Nestorian belief and was released from the reign of the East Roman church. The consequence of the measure consists up to the contemporary era and is taken as a major obstacle facing Christians. After the fall of Yazdgerd II, under the reign of Pirouz and Belash, a Nestorian archbishop, Barsuma, attracted the support and confidence of the monarch and was appointed Iran's representative at Constantinople.

Q: The establishment of Christian schools in the Iranian Empire was also the consequence of such developments. What was the cultural, social and scientific effect of such schools under the reign of the Sassanids?

A: The Christian architects, most of whom resided in Jondishapour had the potential to translate the available works of Greek into Syriac. This is in view of the fact that Syriac was a common language in those days. Thus the Syriac works were translated into Pahlavi by the Christians. Once the Arabs appeared, individuals such as ibn-e Moqaffa and the like translated the existing Pahlavi books into Arabic. The translated books were then taken to Europe. Thus, the currently available Greek scripts are owing to the attempts of the Christians living under the reign of the Sassanids. For instance, the first Bible appeared in Greek. Even today, old Bibles in Greece are observed in Vatican. The Greek Bibles also went through the same procedure. Namely, they were first translated from Greek into Syriac, from Syriac to Pahlavi and were eventually translated into Arabic. The Arabic texts were then translated into European languages. In fact, the schools established at the Sassanid era were quite effective in the development of philosophy and science. As witnessed in the history, when the Greek expelled a number of Christian philosophers from their borders, they were admitted at Anoushirvan's court. In fact, since then, the Greek philosophy became common in the domain of Iranian kingdom.

Q: We have never witnessed making the Christians run away at the outset of the appearance of Arabs under the reign of Sassanids and expansion of Islam and their rule. We have even observed that the knowledge of Iranian Christians has been greatly used at government positions.

A: That's true, since the Arabs arrived in the Iranian Empire with their firm belief and they didn't have much knowledge on politics and ruling. Bertolt Schtopule who is currently involved in compiling the greatest world history, describes the presence of Arabs as follows, "There were two great empires in the world, the Achamenid and the Roman, who fought one another by using the latest armaments."

Simultaneously, in a dry infertile land, not of much interest, 300,000 combatants were involved in the "Badr War".

"Nothing is left from the great two empires, neither are their names mentioned anymore. However, the morning prayers, `La Elaha Ellalah, Mohammad Rasoul Allah' (There is no God but God and Mohammad is His Prophet) are still heard along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean up to banks of Sand River."

The Arabs were quite wise to make use of all available specialized forces disregarding the fact that they followed other beliefs and customs. For instance, it is observed that in the first century AH, all the books were written in Pahlavi language. However, as the Arabs gradually learned how to translate they started translating from Pahlavi into Arabic. Even the rule of Mamoun was marked by its entirely Iranian nature, where the expertise of Christian and Jewish ministers and representatives were used.

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