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A
Brief History of Nowruz Many know that spring begins with the vernal equinox on about 21 March, summer with the summer solstice on about 22 June, fall with the autumnal equinox on about 23 September, and winter with the winter solstice on about 23 December. Some
know that the "tropical," solar, or seasonal year is of exactly 365
days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45.5 seconds, or 365.2422454 days, that
one day is added every four years to compensate for the loss of four
Very
few know that the official Iranian and Afghani calendars, both of Zarathushtrian
origin, are tropical. Only a small number of us know that if the beginning
of the year is considered from the precise start of The Iranians of old had a tropical calendar for many centuries. The downfall of the Sassanian Empire in 7th century disrupted the astronomical structure of the religion and the state. The 365-day year, followed by the majority of Zoroastrians in India and Pakistan with little astronomical knowledge, for the last eleven hundred years has advanced the calendar to where Nowruz now occurs in the late summer. However, all Zartoshtis in Iran and a minority of Parsis of India and Pakistan follow the "Fasli" or seasonal calendar. It is an almost tropical calendar. It is corrected by observing the leap year. Meanwhile,
although Iranians, converted to Islam, observed and are observing the
Muslim lunar calendar for religious purposes, the Iranian solar calendar
was soon restored within a century for administrative and LEGEND AND HISTORY Nowruz
[pronounced NO-ROOZ] in Persian means "New[-year]-day". It is the beginning
of the year for the people of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Tajikistan.
Other Asian republics of the former Soviet Tradition takes Nowruz as far back as 15,000 years before the last ice age. King Jamshid (Yima or Yama of the Indo-Iranian lore) symbolizes the transition of the Indo-Iranians from animal hunting to animal husbandry and a more settled life in human history. Seasons played a vital part then. Everything depended on the four seasons. After a sever winter, the beginning of spring was a great occasion with mother nature rising up in a green robe of colorful flowers and the cattle delivering their young. It was the dawn of bundance. Jamshid here symbolizes the person/people who introduced Nowruz celebrations. Avestan and later scriptures show that Zarathushtra improved, as early as 1725 BCE, the old Indo-Iranian calendar. The prevailing calendar was luni-solar. The lunar year is of 354 days. An intercalation of one month after every thirty months kept the calendar almost in line with the seasons. Zarathushtra, the Founder of the Good Religion, himself an astronomer, founded an observatory and he reformed the calendar by introducing an eleven-day intercalary period to make it into a luni-solar year of 365 days, 5 hours and a fraction. Later in the post-Gathic period, the year was made solely a solar year with each month of thirty days. An intercalation of five days -- and a further addition of one day every four years -- was introduced to make the year 365 days, 5 hours, and a fraction. Still later, the calendar was further corrected to be a purely solar year of 365 days 5 hr 48 min 45.5 sec. The year began precisely with the vernal equinox every time and therefore, there was no particular need of adding one day every four years and there was no need of a leap year. This was [and still is] the best and most correct calendar produced this far. Some
12 centuries later, in 487 BCE, Darius the Great of the Achaemenian
dynasty (700 to 330 BCE) celebrated the Nowruz at his newly built Persepolis
in Iran. A recent research shows that it was a very The
great king held his public audience and the High Priest of the empire
was the first to greet him. Government officials followed next. Each
person offered a gift and received a present. The audience Since
then, the peoples of the Iranian culture, whether Zartoshtis, Jews,
Christians, Muslims, Baha'is, or others, have, under Arab, Turk, Mongol,
and Iranian rulers, celebrated Nowruz precisely at the time of vernal
equinox, the first day of the first month, on about March 21. ERAS Zartoshtis have six seasonal thanksgiving festivals, called "Gahanbars," to celebrate in a year. Vernal Equinox, called "Hamaspathmaidhaya" in Avesta, meaning "Middle of Equal Paths," or in simpler rendering "vernal equinox" is the top celebration. It was called in later days as "Nava Saredha" and still later Now Sal, both meaning "New Year". Today it is known as "Nowruz," New Day. It is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The
early Zarathushtrians counted their era, the Zarathushtrian Religious
Era (Z.R.E), from Nowruz (vernal equinox) of 1737 BCE. It may
be noted that the credit of precisely calculating Z.R.E. goes to a great
The
Zarathushtrian era was abandoned when the Achaemenian monarchy was influenced
by the prevailing custom in the Mesopotamia. The year started with the
accession to the throne of every monarch. That is the All Iranian Zoroastrians follow the Fasli, the seasonal or the solar calendar. When Iranian Muslims returned to the solar year, they reckoned with the Hejra year in solar terms. It will be 1378 Khorshidi (solar) this Nowruz. The months are Zoroastrians -- Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad, Tir etc. in Iran and Zodiac months in Afghanistan. NOWRUZ TABLE Every
house gets a thorough cleaning almost a month before. Wheat, barley,
lentils, and other vegetable seeds are soaked to grow on china plates
and round earthenware vessels some ten days in advance, so Today,
the ceremony has been simplified. A table is laid. It has a copy of
the sacred book (the Gathas by Zarathushtrians, the Quran by Muslims,
the Shahnameh by "nationalists," and the "Divan" of Hafez by the The usual things with "S" are vinegar, sumac, garlic, samanu (consistency of germinating wheat), apple, senjed (sorb), and herbs. Those with an initial letter "SH" include wine, sugar, syrup |
Cyrus the Great Became Top Leader Of His Era By Championing Just RuleThursday,
July 16, 1998
Investor's Business Daily Leaders & Success Column By Matthew Benjamin When the conqueror Cyrus the Great rode into Babylon, the city's vanquished erupted in cheers. Yes, they'd have to bend to his rule. But Cyrus (580-530? B.C.) made sure that wouldn't be difficult. In contrast to other rulers of his day, he was just. In fact, his style of government was a critical factor in his becoming the greatest ruler of his time. Cyrus' Persian Empire, which extended from India to the Mediterranean Sea, was the most powerful state in the world until its conquest two centuries later by Alexander the Great. Cyrus was born to nobility in a small highland tribe, the Achaemenians, in central Persia. The tribe paid tribute to several regional kingdoms, including Media to the west and Babylonia to the south. Cyrus' father was a minor king who was venerated in his own lands but became utterly humble when he visited his more powerful neighbors to take tributes of wild horses. Once
when young Cyrus went on such a trip to Media, he was bewildered by
his father's reduction in stature. More disturbing to him, however,
was the great cruelty of the Median king, Astyages. According to one
account, Cyrus saw That same general later betrayed Astyages, causing the king to lose his authority and possessions. Such instances taught Cyrus that cruelty and humiliation were not effective. He decided he would govern through conciliation instead. Cyrus' first military conquest was of Media in 550 B.C. One of his first acts was to do away with the draconian tradition that would have had him raze the city and murder its citizens enmasse. Cyrus appointed a Mede as chief adviser and then ruled the kingdom in a kind of dual monarchy, with both Medes and Persians holding high offices. The satrapy, as this system of government became known, put a native Mede in power as a semiautonomous ruler, or satrap. Cyrus instituted certain checks, though. Foe example, several of the satrap's underlings reported directly to Cyrus. "Nevertheless, the close relationship between Persians and Medes was never forgotten. Medes were honored equally with Persians; they were employed in high office and were chosen to lead Persian armies," wrote A.T. Olmstead in his "History of the Persian Empire." From
Media, Cyrus went on to conquer the western land of Lydia and several
Greek states on the Aegean Sea. He then turned east, taking the ancient
kingdom of Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana and Bactria. He converted
most into satrapies He also showed great respect for conquered peoples' religious and cultural beliefs. At that time, every tribe or kingdom had its own gods and rites. While it was customary for conquerors to deface the idols and religious statues of those they defeated, Cyrus forbade that practice. When it did occur, he quickly remedied it. "Large numbers of foreign captive divinities gave further opportunity for royal benevolence," Olmstead wrote. That earned him the respect and homage of the races over whom he ruled. Cyrus' biggest conquest was Babylonia, a wildly rich and powerful kingdom in the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was, however, in decline. Babylonian king Nabu-naid was unpopular with many segments of his population. He had alienated the high priests and captured and enslaved ten of thousands of Jews. Cyrus took Babylon, the greatest city of the ancient world, in 539 B.C. He did so to the cheers of its citizens, who welcomed him as ruler because of word of his just treatment. He lived up to that reputation, freeing more than 40,000 enslaved Jews and allowing them to return to Palestine. He is mentioned 22 times in the Bible for these and similar deeds. Cyrus always took pains to convey that he was not a foreign king and conqueror, but a liberator and, therefore, a legitimate holder of the crown. For example, after conquering Babylon, he immediately addressed its citizens in their own language and added "King of Babylon" to the top of his long list of titles. It was an unheard of gesture of respect. "In the eyes of his Babylonian subjects, Cyrus was never an alien king," Olmstead wrote. "The proclamation of Cyrus to the Babylonians, issued in their own language, was a model of persuasive propaganda." He also left in place most of the existing government and allowed most midlevel officials to retain their positions. Cyrus was a great learner. He observed the customs and traditions of the cultures he conquered and made sure the best elements were put to use for all of Persia's benefit. Cyrus invented, or appropriated and improved upon, the idea of the postal system, according to the Greek historian Xenophon. Figuring out how far a horse could travel in one day, Cyrus built a series of posting stations, each one day's ride apart, across his empire. The system ensured the efficient flow of information between him and his satraps.
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