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- Title
INVESTITURE OR MITHRA. TOWARDS A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SO CALLED INVESTITURE SCENES IN PARTHIAN AND SASANIAN ART.
- Authors
KAIM, Barbara
- Abstract
It is commonly accepted among scholars that the investiture or coronation scenes appear regularly in Parthian and Sasanian art. A key to this interpretation lies is the presence of a ring. Deemed to be a symbol of royal power, the ring is, however, mentioned as the insignia of royal power in no textual sources. A review of the ring involving scenes, provided that the symbol concerned retains its meaning irrespectively of context, permits to believe that the ring should be perceived as a symbolic expression of a contract or covenant (mithra). The noun mithra has a strong ethical tinge and is closely relating to Mithra, the divinity who not only presides over contracts but also warrants their inviolability.
- Subjects
CORONATIONS; RINGS (Jewelry); MITHRAS (Zoroastrian deity); ANCIENT art; PARTHIANS; SASSANID dynasty, Iran, 224-651; SYMBOLISM
- Publication
Iranica Antiqua, 2009, Vol 44, p403
- ISSN
0021-0870
- Publication type
Article