Leili Varahram
Abstract
Mafaroukhi and Abunoaym Isfahani, in their books about the history of Isfahan, said that the Sassanian king Pērōz ordered an Isfahani architect, named Āzarshāpour, son of Āzarmāhān, ...
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Mafaroukhi and Abunoaym Isfahani, in their books about the history of Isfahan, said that the Sassanian king Pērōz ordered an Isfahani architect, named Āzarshāpour, son of Āzarmāhān, to finish the fortress of Jay (Old city of Isfahān). He built four gates on the wall. In summer solstice, two gates were the place of sunrise and sunset, as in winter solstice, two other gates had the same situation. The gates were named Khor, Māh, Tīr and, Gōsh, names of four Zoroastrian deities and four successive days in the Zoroastrian calendar. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the names of the gates of Jay and the summer and winter solstices. In the Sassanian era, these days were well-known because they were the time of two Gahanbārs, the six seasonal Zoroastrian feasts. The first and second Gahanbārs were held in the four days mentioned above. The second Gahanbār's time was several days after the summer solstice, and it was in celebration of the creation of water. Another feast in celebration of water named Ābrīzān (water pouring), or Āfrējkān in Isfahani dialect. It was held in the summer solstice and related to the end of a long-term famine under Pērōz's rule. According to Isfahani writers, at the end of the famine, when it rained, people aspersed water on each other and is named the day Ābrīzān after that. It seems that the names of the four gates of Jay, which were built under Pērōz, and their location are related to the feasts and astronomical events associated with the veneration of water. Moreover, the name of the nearest gate to Zāyandeh roud Gōsh could also be related to another feast in celebration of water, greater Tīrgān, that was held on the day Gōsh of the month Tīr, Tīrgān was very similar to Ābrīzān, except the latter was an astronomical feast
