Shifting the foundations of Zoroastrian history: A fresh focus on Khorezm

该项目旨在探讨乌兹别克斯坦的阿维斯陀神形象对琐罗亚斯德教的重要性。琐罗亚斯德教是一种古老的宗教，但它的早期发展鲜为人知。最近在Khorezm的Akchakhan-kala皇家仪式中心发现了巨大的六米高的阿维斯陀神壁画，为早期正式的琐罗亚斯德教习俗提供了证据，该地区不被认为是早期宗教发展的中心。该项目将研究这些数据及其对后来宗教信仰的影响，特别是早期伊斯兰时期的埋葬习俗和土著部落习俗的证据。该项目旨在增进对世界重要宗教之一的了解。

This project aims to explore the importance for Zoroastrianism of images of Avestan gods in Uzbekistan. Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion, but little is known of its early development. Recent finds of massive six-metre-high murals of Avestan gods decorating the royal ceremonial centre of Akchakhan-kala in Khorezm provide evidence of early formal Zoroastrian practices, in a region not considered a centre of early religious development. The project will study this data and its implications for later religious beliefs, drawing particularly on evidence for burial practices in the early Islamic period and indigenous tribal practices. The project aims to enhance understanding of one of the world’s significant religions.