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    Sasanian Rock Reliefs, M. Canepa

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    23 views22 pages

    M. Canepa Sasanian Rock Reliefs

    Uploaded by

    Toddus Aurelius
    Sasanian Rock Reliefs, M. Canepa

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    CHAPTER 45 SASANIAN ROCK RELIEFS MATTHEW P. CANEPA INTRODUCTION “Te asnian Empire (224-651) was thelist major Wester: Asan emp aed by an Tranan speaking dynasty before the coming of Islam. Afr consolidating pover in theirhome province of Par (Old Persian, Paes New Pesan Firs in thee hid “enury, the Svanan dynasty overthrew te Arssid to ud an empire thet ech fom upper Mesopotamia to Norther nda The Sexansns poke Mile anand Ita descendant of Old Persian, shared some ofthe names ofthe Achtemenid ings and generally understod themseves to be the ancestors of ong line of ieian Strecingback through the Achaemenid tothe myholgll Kayinid dyn Whe they certainly di not et out to rebuldthe Achaemenid Empire, the Ssanian ings ndsstod themselves tobe continutors and reinvigorate of ancient and august Aitonsof iranian kingship (Canepa 2010) ‘onumeatal rock ees played a unique role in the frmation of erly Sein ingip. By the time the Sasanians took power, monuentl rel rock rai a Jongbeen an important are gene and royal practice inancen anand the ancient Wester Asan wold At there ofthe Sasnian dst the lndscapeof ‘ote severalmllenns of rei calptres carved int the ving rock. This erage challenged and tinted the Sasniang wm price na varity TheSasanians responded tothe recent conogrphie and colo! precedents ft overthrown Arsacid dynasty and appropriated many arse and architect ffom Achaeinenid sculpture. non cs, the Sseian Kingot Kings Wardha grad an Eamitereli int the competion fhisnew le: The ery Ssaians the sulptural forms ofthe Achaemenid dynasty to be especialy spicing as they tte visual and architectural forms worthy of renewed Persian kingship, Wii the Sasanian held the surviving reli of the Achaemenid tombs in parila repr nthe remains of the Achaemenid palaces at Persepolis the late atu SASANIAN ROCK RELIEFS 859 carve small sale incited figural scenes in structres that had been rebulproviding Important precedents asthe dynasty began to carve monumental rock relies near he ‘Achaemenid tombs (Calieri 2003), ‘The ectly Sasanians experience of their home province’ landscape, marked with the reliefs of their predecessors, likely inspired them to engage new sites within Pars ancl shape the wider topography of thelr empire wit rock lies. By the allof thei empire, the Sesnians were among the mst proc patrons of monumental rele sculpture ‘ancient ran and Western Asia. The sheer number of relies they carved a well the Jealousy with which the dynasty guarded relief carving as the exclusive preserve of the our, ensured that in late antiquity, monumental ei carving became eh excsively royaland quintessentially Iranian practice OveRVIEW With « dearth of contemporary textual sources, rock reliefs join inscriptions, coins, Seals and objects derived from a secure archaeological context a the only unquestion, ably authentic primary sources forthe study of Sasanian Ian (Canepa 2008 it-x0), ‘Scholarship knows of thirty-four Sasanian rock reliefs that the dynasty brought to some level of completion on the Iranian plateau or thirty-nine if one counts multiple panels Within single reliefs separstely (Table 45.1), An additional nine or ten unfinished reliefs werepossbly carved inthe Sasanianer,giventheirshape, wear andlocationTable4S.2, [tis entirely likely thatthe dynasty carved others that wece completly destroyed, espe, Cially in areas outside their home province. Scholarship refers to relies by thelt New Persian toponym anda number that corresponds to their relative location at thesite, not the order in which they were created, Although one will encounter alternative number, ing schemes in ealier scholarship the designations reflected inthis chapter have now become the accepted and conventional ones (Vanden Berghe 1983). ‘The Sasiians carved most of their rock reliefs within their home province of Pits, which waslighty larger than the modern province of Firs. Within Pas, he rnajority ‘luster in the vicinity of Persepolis. Outside of Pars, the Sasanians carved st clits et umber of sites stretching across the northern Iranian plateau. The dynasty carved the ‘majority ofthese northern reliefs in the Sasanian province of Adurbayagin(Averbajn), With one caved in northern Adurblyagin near the modern town of Salm by Lake Urmia anda cluster of three in southern Adurbiyagin (modern Kurdistan), The other {wo ppearin the Sasanian provinces of Glin and Kushén on tesrelted to major trade routes, Thereliin Galén was located nea the city of Ray, and the reliefin Kushin was weg sey a ss ses rs eM CURSE SEEN et At sey iso) lune sundae (8 veutes ages vag2-te4 ‘ied seh sie eh a japan ley ben sey asepay | wesny aston uefeqazy ‘ey ses fies Dae anes a “SIR HOF WEES JO 319EL PSP AREL Sununy gue wetanou Saguny pur weno hunny poe ewnou Euuts 73931 96,8 1 wenn uta ae {ese te ot weasny en 6 1 wensny ys aa ‘930 Sts ues bey 36 ‘alanisp mo aun vaso unary ‘sowo.d enn 2imeans BUD Aamaguosaaseutp ‘yuna pue unin puona Ba osu Buy i see ares ‘vey be, | vnstg be, ny gwesny -ysoey spy cay easbay vee cues ace ‘und Gupues poe veussoy Youn meueND ekg mossy Wor Kor puE nBveSos Fossa snouioN3 - YesueUiey —peuesaiseal by yeu pues es, sey aeeweg {2485 surge oy) a eG 2b pus Se} weeny aatboy amos Se} ung > ey weir be piessies sey wen ste Sef wey mee |undeus_ unos aw asso kg pqeeduonne ne ih aida Suey sie} janaas 0388) vena ead oar 3 Swoned payRUDpIUn wilm Zo/pue paysjujun AUD Ip 's}5a0 UEIUESES [EUORIPAY TSP DINE] SASANIAN ROCK RELIES 861 Adar lis son, Stbanr | (240-272), and great grandson, Warahrin Il (276-293), redone half of ll kaown relief, athough, with few exceptions most Kings in {he carly empire created atleast one rei, Of the early Sasanian kings, Warahren IL ‘asthe most prolific patron of rock reliefs (Weber 2009). Warahin Il carved sock ‘eles at shes that had already begun to accumulate reliefs such as Nageh-e Rustam and Bishapur, and at new sites throughout the province of Par, ofen ith a nenaal {feature sch asa spring or river (Caller 2006). While Warahran Il sponsored scence of equestrian duels and th submission of foreign envoys, the most common thane op fubsidiary theme ofhis relies was the King of Kings receiving the respec of his fly orcourties, ar mot ofSsanian history, sponsoring a rock rele remained exclusively royal privilege. The Zoroastrian priest Keri who achieved the offce of chet priest of the empire (mowbedin mowted) under Warahrén TI, took advantage ofthe relative sea res ofthis King of Kingsto usurp a number of royal prerogatives including this priv lege, Keri rock reliefs are very simple, consisting only of rofl bust portrait exrved ‘adjacent to more extensiveroyal elif, and no other than the royal family carved aock Teiet Pereafer Between the ate fourth and cay seventh centuries, no Sasanian King red rock eles th practice, for whatever reson lout of favor: The ast pet Sssanlan King of Kings, Xosrow Il (591-628), reinvigorated the practice in the second batfofhis eign. He began series of grand relies, which bis abrupt al rom power left in various states of completion, Most Sesanian rock relies consist of recessed, rectangular panels framing low-relef Sculpture: While Achaemenid rock relief served as tombs, the early Sasanian eich, ‘much lke Parthian reliefs, simply contained figural imagery, bet often in connection Ih astcred ste The lattwo reliefs of the dynasty, Tag-e Busan 2 and 3, expand on this tedton and create rock cut architecture whose interior serves as a support for ‘elles: They evoke the forms of Sasanian palatial architecture, excavating out ofthe iv, {pergckan von var), th barel-vauted entrance way ofSatnian pales sikely {hat these two rock-cutaynans hosted activites relating othe courtly environmene {likely that the rock reliefs were painted and some have suggested tha later reliefs ere finished with stuceo (Herrmann and Curtis 2002), Many reli have sulfered some measure of natural or man-made damage through- jut the centuries. Afer the All ofthe Sasanians, iconoclast damaged the faces of mont figures, particularly those of gods and kings, The relief in Afghanistan is elanest com pletely destroyed, although znough details survive to allow its patron and general sab ject matter to be identified Grenet 2005; Grenet et al, 2007) The most extreme cae ic the reli wt Sorso.el, Ray, Which the ajar deliberately effaced in the ninetcathccy {tury to make way fra relief thet own, Under the Pablvi dynasty inthe late 1960, therock on which the relief was carved was completely demolished to accommodate the construction of cement factory. In this egard the scholarship of Sasanian rock reliefs cowesa debt tothe documentation ofeary explorers diplomats andenepreneute The swings of Sir Robert Ker Porter (1777-1842) and St William Ouseley (1767-1842), ‘nparticla preserves recor ofa number of eles that were subsequently damaged oy 862 THESASANIAN PERIOD totaly destroyed efore more systematic photographic documentation inte twentieth century (Ker Porter 1821-2; Evington and Curt 2007: 16-72). Many of te Saanan rock elie in Fass were documented as apart ofthe University of Chicago Peso expedition Schmidt 1970). These and seer others in Firs were Iter documented 4 pat ofthe ravsche Denbmale series (Tebmpelmann 1975, 1975; Hearmann and Howell 1977, 1980-88 Herrmann eta. 1988). AJopanese expedition documented te reliefs of Tag Bastan in great dtl Fuk etl, 1969-84) L Vanden Berphes eh tin catalog provides the most acesibl singl-volume overview ofthe reliefs (Vanden Berghe 1983), "Every Sasanian King of Kings adopted a distin, personal crown por taking the throne. Because fasanian coinage provide a latively complete ecord of te Satan crows comparionsbetweennumismai portraits androckrelitshaveenbledachl arship to identify the patron of most rock relief. Ker Porter was the fist to compate Sasanian rok reefs coin portals and inthis way succeeded in correctly den anurmbe of them Evington and Curtis 2007: 171, Tismethodology has fuided much ofleterscholrshpsatibuton of rock eis wel as representations ofkingsnother sedi suchas sie plate or gems In several cases ambigoos or damagedrepeents tions figures headgear fasrate cas atbution, Cone, comparisons wth hese or abject mater fother let orinternal iconographic clues an conventions amon cases provide encugh evidence oentify the Sigares. Nevertels, hand of cacy including Dirdbgerd,Tg-e Busta 1, and several of the equestrian relief re abigu cus enough o elude scholarly contenss and ensure that an erative theeryis ays circulating. IMPORTANT THEMES AND IMPORTANT PATRONS From thecal daysoftheempie, the wo moitimpertantand commonly occurrngsab- Jes of Sasanian rock eis were triumph and divine inventture (De Waele 1985). The relefsof Ards established iconographic forms and compositions tat geal in encedhis successors, ArdaSir Ts Girt rock relieat Firuzabal (ancent Adair Xara) was carved on aciffin the river gorge that controlled acces othe city from the north IRcontained thre figural groupings fom right tole (Fig 45.1). the right, the King ‘of Kings unhorses the last Arsacid sovereign, Ardawn IY, with his lance Inthe cen ‘er Sabuh Tunhorses another Arsacd warrior andon the left a beards page defeats ‘staosa third enemy with his sword. This compostion and subject matter eespondedo _Arsacid precedents, such as the equestrian viclory of Golrzes Geopothos at Blum Dutexeciteditona muchlargerseie. Ardafies second elie tFirunabad portrays a scene of divine invert wher he ‘god Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda), portrayed as a royal figure, offers the King of Kings ‘adem, similar to those both he andthe King of Kings wea. Ths relief establishes? ‘compositional precedent for ArdaSi ater elie at Nagsve Raab Just as import SASAMIAN ROCK RELIEFS 863 ioURE 45.1 Firuzabad » Equestrian triumph of Ardair [over Ardawin IV on the elif to the right atthe end ofthe Tangre Ab with the plan of Axdatr-Xwaerah (modern Firuabad) opening tothe lt, {hisrelie establishes an important precedentin directly portraying Ohrmazd inhuman form offering a diaem directly to the open hand ofthe King of Kings, who appears in this manner only under the Sasanian. In this and later reliefs the primary symbol of power and authority diadem, often erroneously referred to asa “ring of power” The Sssanian diadem dearly descends from the Arsacd, and thence, Hellenistic diadem, ‘though the Sasaniandiadem ties became increasingly ong and developed a character ste pleated patter. The Sasanian reliefs no doubt responded to early Western Asian lavestture scenes wherein adeity presentsa circular abject ta aking, a seen onthe Stele of Hammurapi of, more proximately inthe relief of Anubanint at Sar-e Pol-e Zaha in Kermanshah. In those early case, deities often presented a coll of rope, along with 2 ‘measuring rod. The Sasanian reliefs replaced that moti, which nolongerhad any mean ing, with the contemporary iconographic feature of royal headgear. In most Sesenien reliefs, the craftsmen took care to conform the style f the diadem to the one tat the Kingof Kingsis shown wearing. Sesanian reliefs cften portrayed triumph and divine investiture in some sor com: bination with eachother. Heretoo, ArdaSirl established important and influential com Positional and iconographic precedents. Relief Lat Nagsh-e Rustam was likely the last ‘lief that ArdaSir 1 carved and it presents a highly innovative and powerful composi- on that elegantly and forcefully procaims the early, developing Sasanian idedogy of divinely inspired kingship and irresistible victory (Figs 45.2-3). The rele, located on 864 _THESASANIAN PERIOD wth family and cour (right, carved over Blair) -nGURE 453 Negsh-e Rustam x: Equestrian telump and investtre of A ‘god Ohemazd (cight) with Ardawin IV (ef) and Abriman (right) under hoof SASANIAN ROCK RELIES 865 & spur of Hosayn Kul the sit of the Achaemenid tombs, portrays the King of Kings a8 8 nearly symmetrical reflection ofthe god Ohrmazd, who isthe same size as the Kitg ‘of Kings. Prtraying them in profile, both king and god are mounted and their horses ‘ach trample enemies under their hooves. The prone figice under Ardatt Ts hore is the last Arsacid King of Kings, Ardawan (Artabanus) IV, identified by his royal head {gearand a dynastic synbol. Snakes wrthe in the place ofheir on the male igure under Ohrmazds horse marking him as none other than Ahriman, the demon of demons lin Zoroastranism. Ohrmaed extends the diadem to Ardatir I with his right hand and blesses him with barsom, a bundle of sacred twigs used in Zoroastrian ritual, held in hs left hand, A beardless attendant stands behind ArdaSiI holding fly whisk behind hs ‘head, but only the eyesof the King of Kings meet those of Ohrmazd, ‘Thereliefveryeffciently demonstratesthat Ohrmazd brought ArdaSie| to powee:The symmetrical composition, set up a cosmological and qualitative equivalency between AndaSir Is recent defst ofthe lst Arsacid King of Kings, Ardawin IV and Ohrmazds fature, yt inevitable defeat of Ahriman at the end of days, Ardac I wears his normal regnal crown, while Chrmazd wears a crown that evokes certain Acheemenid murel

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