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REL02


Religious peripheries in pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia 
Convenors:
Julian Kreidl (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Guosheng Qu (Indiana University Bloomington)
Mao Sun (Indiana University)
Lindsay Ruth (Indiana University)
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Chair:
Christopher Beckwith (Indiana University)
Discussant:
Jamsheed Choksy (Indiana University)
Formats:
Panel
Theme:
Religion
Location:
GA 1106
Sessions:
Saturday 22 October, -
Time zone: America/Indiana/Knox

Abstract:

The goal of this panel is to explore various aspects of religious peripheries in pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia. The panelists will critically examine some of the problems encountered in archeological material and unearthed manuscripts as well as data from various Iranian languages, connecting linguistics, philology, archeology and art. Issues include 1) the integration and distinction of different religious traditions, 2) the self-portrayal of identity, ethnicity, and gender through religious practices, and 3) cross-border traveling and the formation of trans-Eurasian elite networks. While the original ethnic religion of the Iranian peoples - various shades of Zoroastrianism - lived on in all of Greater Iran at least until the Islamic conquest, the first centuries of the first millennium CE see a sharp rise in religious diversity in the same area: Christianity, Manicheism and Buddhism find followers among peoples speaking Iranian languages. Though the four panelists are all from IU, the diversity of this panel is reflected by religious traditions and geographic areas covered by the panelists. Kreidl's paper focuses on the pantheons of the pre-Islamic religion(s) of Eastern Iranian peoples in the Hindukush, and their differences and similarities with Bactrian, Sogdian and Sasanian Zoroastrianism. Sun's paper works on the two Buddha statues recently found in a tomb at an Eastern Han family cemetery and examines the cross-border traveling activities and exchange of portable metal objects which led to the early transmission of Buddha image from Gandhara to Chang'an. Qu's paper is going to examine the topic of 'Ten Kings of the Hell' in Buddhism and Manichaeism, based on the murals and manuscripts from Mogao Caves, Turpan, Dunhuang and Xiapu, comparing different schools within Buddhism, Buddhism and Manichaeism in China, and the change from Sasanian Manichaeism into Chinese Manichaeism during the period in and after Tang Dynasty. Ruth's paper argues for the existence of a type of martyrdom trope among Persian (and Persian influenced/controlled) Christians in the Sasanian Era, calling the trope "queen martyrs" based off of the martyr acts of Candida (4th or 5th cen. CE) and Shushanik (5th cen. CE). Furthermore, she writes that the Christians authors of these accounts seek the trope of queen martyrs as an inversion of gender and religious norms in order to explicate the Sasanian persecution of Christians as indicative of Zoroastrian weakness.

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Saturday 22 October, 2022, -