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The consequences of climate change could be so severe and extensive that the issue has prompted human societies to change their subsistence system and adopt strategies to deal with those challenges. In the past, droughts and the reduction in water resources caused serious problems for human societies and made it difficult for water-dependent communities to continue living in a specific region and area. In order to get out of the crisis, many communities either migrated to favorable areas or attacked other communities. In the second millennium BC, Central and West Asia witnessed large-scale human migrations and violent invasions, which apparently overlapped with climatic stresses. The extensive migration of Aryan tribes and predatory invasions of the Sea Peoples in Egypt, Levant, Anatolia, and Greece during the second half of the second millennium BC coincided with the 3.2 ka BP mega drought event. This research, with an environmental archeology approach, actually tries to warn about the unfortunate consequences of global warming, i.e. climate migrations and social tensions. Here, the reason for population displacements and attacks on civilizations in the second millennium BC has been investigated from the climatic perspective. The Paleoclimate research indicates frequent climatic events in the early Late Holocene in Central and West Asia, which probably triggered many socio-political events.

Epic heroes are noble individual of prodigious martial strength but they too mostly pass through several trials to prove their legitimate position. These endeavors include battles with evils while the heroes rarely overcome mental evils. The trials are challenging for heroes’ power to defeat the evil. The seven trials of Rostam and Isfandiyār as well as the twelve trials of Heracles fall in this category. Twelve thousand years of the Zoroastrian world includes an eternal battle between good and evil and the good will win this battle at last in the Armageddon. Zoroaster is the highest level of Ahura Mazda’s forces against Angra Mainyu. He too passed the seven trials in his childhood and adulthood  which is not though the pure history but mixed with the myths and epics. Therefore, he acts as a hero to prove his legitimacy  and triumph over dēws, Karaps and evil thoughts was his utmost aim and established Zoroastrianism through converting Goštāsp and his court. All of the trials he passed proved his legitimacy for being the prophet. 

A dakhma, also known as Tower of Silence is a place where Zoroastrian people used to put the dead bodies of their loved ones. A similar structure from the Sasanian period was discovered in Bandian Dargaz, along with excavations conducted at Gelālak of Shushtar, Saleh Davood of Shush, and Shoghab of Bushehr, as well as other researches and excavations across various regions of Iran. It provides evidence that Zoroastrians practiced a burial ritual involving the removal of flesh from the body of the deceased and subsequent collection of bones, which were then placed in a container known as an ossuary. This intriguing method served as a motivation for the author to undertake more extensive studies on Zoroastrian burial rituals. This article focuses on the archaeological excavations conducted in the Torkabad’s Dakhma of Ardakan, Yazd, shedding light on this particular aspect.

The Sasanian Empire was one of the ancient superpowers, and for four centuries ruled over a vast region stretching from Syria and the Caucasus to Transoxiana (Central Asia) and the Persian Gulf. Sasanian Archaeology: Settlements, Environment and Material Culture, is a new book that also includes articles in this regard, edited by St. John Simpson and published by Archaeopress.

For years, various researchers, including theologians, cultural anthropologists, linguists, and archaeologists, have been studying the Zoroastrian religion. These studies provide valuable insights into this religion and those who believe in it. However, there are still researchers who are trying to shed light on the sometimes-unclear aspects of this religion. In the past, researchers focused solely on historical and religious texts to express their views on this subject. Today, archaeological excavations and previous researches assist in shedding new light on this religion. One of the most important books in this regard that uses historical and religious texts and archaeological findings is Zoroastrianism: An Introduction by Jenny Rose. This book was published in 2011 by I. B. Tauris Publisher. 

The site of Khum Zargar is located in the area of Hesa Awal Kohistan town in Kapisa province, north of Afghanistan, and south of the Hindu Kush Mountain range. It is closer to Jabul Saraj textile factory and Golbahar town, 60 km north of the Afghan capital Kabul. Archaeological excavations were carried out in several seasons in 1966, 2019, and 2020 by an independent team of Afghan archaeologists that resulted in the discovery of a Buddhist ritual complex with several stupas and adjacent rooms. In addition, human and animal statues and pottery objects were found in these rooms. Undoubtedly, the findings played an important role in ascertaining the history of Buddhist art and architecture during the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian periods in the south of the Hindu Kush, and the present article discusses this site and its works.

The Liār-Sang-Bon cemetery is located in Amlash City in Gilan province. During the field research, more than 100  pit graves, catacombs, and jar burials were identified at the cemetery. Some of these graves contained various types of ornaments. The questions which are raised in the current research are as follows: Considering the comparison of the ornaments of the Liār-Sang-Bon cemetery with similar sites, what time frame can be suggested for these data? Based on the discovered decorations, what exchanges did this area have with the surrounding areas? What is the relationship between the use of jewellery and the gender of the deceased in the tombs of Liār-Sang-Bon? It is suggested that the typology and classification of cultural finds obtained from this site and their comparison with other Iranian cultural sites, especially from the first century BC to the fourth century AD, can help us in dating the graves. 

Bashkard is a mountainous hinterland in south-eastern Iran where the two cultural regions -HalīlRūd and Jāzmūriyān-, make it outstanding. In addition to their location, surface finds around the village of Ahven in this county -in particular, the site numbered 044- indicate a chronicle of human settlements and the existence of cultural-trade interactions with HalīlRūd and Jāzmūriyān. The sampled surface potsherds and a few other cultural materials (decorative beads and shells and bronze objects -especially, round and quadrangle stamp seals) there belong to Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. In terms of the paste colors, the potsherds represent two main groups: orange and gray. The other colors (buff, brown, and reddish gray) are less common. They are decorated with geometrical, plant, and animal motives as well as bold horizontal wavy and straight bands, and incised/scratched lines (perhaps with a sharp item such as a comb); often, one of these techniques and in some cases, both are applied on the potsherds. In terms of form (rim, neck, shoulder, handle, spout, wall/body, pedestal, and bottom) they are classified into commonly used vessels such as bowls, small jugs and jars, tumblers/beakers, and small pots. Exceptionally, a shallow tray and gray pottery of rectangular shape (probably a mold) have been recovered from the surface. Their comparison with well-known southeastern sites shows that Ahven could have predominantly acted as the trade-cultural route of between southeastern establishments and the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf. The author’s archaeological survey of the region is the first attempt to ascertain Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age cultural materials as presented in this article.   

The period of Darius I Achaemenid and his son Xerxes, owning to the construction of Persepolis, is one of the most important periods of cultural exchange in the ancient world. Achaemenid satrapies operated in a regular and coordinated network from the Nile to the Indus Valley and from Oxus to the Mediterranean. At the same time, this network became efficient through the construction of ancient roads, and the roads management system defined the function of this network in the direction of control and monitoring accompanied by the regular management system on each plain. It is very important to identify the route of the royal road in the Achaemenid period from Persepolis to Susa and Sardis in Asia Minor. The author has identified an ancient site in the archaeological survey in the southwest of Iran where there are signs of Carian stonemasons in a stone torus. The identification of newly discovered evidence for the first time from this site is important and effective in understanding the relations of Persepolis with the Anatolia region and the presence of Asia Minor masons in the construction of the royal road in ancient Persia.

The subject of incestuous marriage has been one of the most controversial issues and debates in Iranian history. Not many historians have paid attention to this matter and it seems that even studying this topic is taboo, especially among Iranian scholars. On the other hand, the problem has gotten more complicated since the Islamic revolution, as some zealous islamists use this to humiliate the pre-Islamic history of Iran. Subsequently, Iranian nationalists and patriots have denied the existence of any incest in ancient Persia. In such a political environment, very few Iranian scholars have come up with valuable historical research, free of any prejudices. Yet their research is still scant compared to their Western colleagues. That is why Paul John Frandsen’s Incestuous and Close-Kin Marriage in Ancient Egypt and Persia should be taken seriously, as it evaluates many previous opinions about incest in ancient Iran with a critical approach, highlights their flaws, adopts a new method, and proposes new hypotheses.  As the name of the book suggests, this work is about ancient Persia (Iran) and Egypt and explains that no direct link can be seen between incestuous marriage in these two ancient civilizations. This review concerns the part of the book dealing with Persia.

Rick Abad Tepe is located north of the Zab River in Northwest of Iran, close to the border with Iraq. The excavation at this archeological site was carried out in the summer of 2019. The materials and evidence obtained from there showed Rick Abad belonged to the Bronze Age, with some monuments not documented yet from any site in the Zab Basin. The Tamarchin passage, west of Piranshahr, connects this region to northern Mesopotamia. This research tries to respond to the following questions: What was the status of Zab Basin settlements in the Bronze Age? How was the regional and extra-regional communication with the surrounding areas? As a matter of fact, seven levels belonging to the Bronze Age were identified in the course of the excavation. In the south of Lake Urmia, Kura-Araxes potteries were less visible; however, typical black-burnished ceramics similar to those of the Kura-Araxes tradition were recovered from some sites. Surprisingly, Painted Orange Ware (POW) and beveled-rim Bowl were seen in the early Bronze Age of the Zab Basin. Furthermore, the impression of the seal from Rick Abad is remarkable as well since this type of object had an administrative function and it is a sign of economic and social activities as well as regional and extra-regional relations. The location of this region between northwest of Iran and the north of Mesopotamia (Iraqi Kurdistan) somehow turned this basin into a meeting place of various cultures. Probably these sites played a key role in trade and commerce, although, they never attained an urban status.  

An archaeological survey was conducted in 2004-2005 in the middle of Mianab Shushtar in Khuzestan, followed by an excavation there in 2005-2006, which led to the discovery of a Sasanian palace as well as valuable stuccoes at two other locations, namely the JilJilak Tepe and behind a Gas Station on the Shushtar-Ahwaz Road. In this article, the discovered stuccoes have been examined, which indicates that the Jiljilak stuccoes can be divided into three categories based on their features and application: a) geometric patterns, b) plant patterns, and c) animal patterns. Comparing these stuccoes with those found elsewhere such as Kuh-e Khwaja, Bīshāpūr, and Bandian in Dargaz shows that they can be attributed to the Parthian-Sasanian period. 

Adrienne Mayor’s The Poison King is a fascinating biography of Mithradates Eupator Dionysus, one of the most controversial monarchs of ancient history who has been especially neglected by scholars of Iranian history. This biography, like any other about ancient heroes, is full of tales, legends, stories, and historical narratives and its crafty author knows how to distinguish between fact and fiction. The book contains 15 chapters, in which, other than  the first, the remaining chapters are arranged based on Mithradates’ life, from his birth to his death.

In the north of Ilam province, there are vast plains surrounded by rugged and forested mountains. Until many years ago, other than the Hollailan Plain that was examined by a Danish archaeological team, other regions of Ilam province remain unknown in terms of Paleolithic research. However, several sites from this period have been identified and introduced in recent years thanks to new studies and researches. In 2003, the author conducted a survey of the mountainous and forested areas of the Intermountain Plain of Aseman Abad for the first time. During the course of that survey, sites, and settlements from different periods were identified and studied. The results showed that the slopes and caves of this region have evidence from the Lower Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic periods and even later periods. In the current article, the author examines a cave and an open site located in the vicinity of the aforementioned plain, which, considering the presence of chert and flint rock formations on its surface level, as well as scattered remains near these rocks, appears to have been a place for obtaining stone and making tools during the Paleolithic era.

The paper at hand deals with Zoroastrian eschatology. Frashokereti, as it is called, is the term which is used in Zoroastrianism in order to express the end of times. This being the main focus of the current paper, the topics that will be unfolded are the arrival of the Saoshyant, who is the central Zoroastrian salvific figure and Zarathustra’s biological descendant who has been miraculously born of a virgin, the resurrection of the dead, their last judgement and the final battle between the forces of good and evil. The general clash between good and evil acquires a more precise character and becomes personified in the deities of Ahura Mazda and Ahriman respectively, the fundamental sources of morality and immorality. Regarding the above, the interrelated themes of man’s salvation and the restoration of the universe to its primary undefiled state are presented as results of the victory of good over evil. It will also be displayed how the concept of universal renewal is viewed not merely as a countdown, but moreover as a stepping-backwards to the conditions of the first state of creation, Frashokereti becoming thus a mirror of the first things in terms of Zoroastrian cosmogony. At the same time, other aspects, namely the Zoroastrian story of creation, its corresponding cosmology, the dichotomization of the world into two opposite spheres and the dualism that penetrates the universe in relation to the free will of man are introduced to the reader, so that a deeper understanding may be acquired in regard to the ways, the quality and the content of universal purification and renovation.

Bullas are usually a bit of inscribed clay in different shapes and sizes that were made to stamp out goods. They were applied at a time when bullas were still soft and wet so that the owners of the goods could stamp them depending on their necessity and importance. Sealing imprints could be seen on bullas, with each bearing images, symbols, and inscriptions indicating or in possession of someone authorized to stamp on respective products. The discovery of these cultural materials during archaeological surveys brought to the fore the economic, cultural, religious, and political activities of the region in ancient times. Further study and research in this field can respond to many ambiguities and historical questions. The current paper is based on field surveys and library materials and aims to introduce, study, and compare Tal-i Gerdooha clay bullas discovered in Eqlid County. Based on images and inscriptions, bullas scrolls were divided into two groups and potentially belonged to the Sasanian period.

In the 1980s, Polish researcher Maria Składankowa promoted in her publications a theory stating that the representatives of the Sistani family described in Ferdowsī's Šāh-nāma were reflections of the rainy and sunny steppe shamans. The four main representatives of this lineage were said to alternately represent these particular shamans beginning with the primordial and rainy shaman personified by Sam and ending with the solar shaman in the form of Sohrab. Another rain shaman according to Składankowa was to be Rostam. This article aims to introduce Składankowa's theory to the international research community and to subject it to verification. The battle between Rostam and White Dīv, which was the seventh trial in Rostam's cycle of seven trials, was used for verification. This is a clash between two national heroes and the circumstances of this battle blur the boundaries between what is commonly understood as good and as evil. Thus, this is an example that perfectly demonstrates Składankowa's theory of rejecting religious notions of good and evil and focusing on the primeval connection between man and nature when it was man's greatest ally and enemy. Neither Rostam nor White Dīv, according to Składankowa's theory, are therefore completely good or completely evil, like any element of nature, which can be a life-giving or destructive force. Identified with good forces, the sun warms the earth and causes vegetation but can also cause drought and the death that follows. Identified with evil forces, rain can cause floods, but without it, vegetation will die. There is no absolute good or absolute evil in nature. Nor is there one in the battling Rostam and White Dīv. Ferdusī's description of this combat in Šāh-nāma clearly goes back to this primeval myth leaving the story universal.