نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
دانشگاه شیراز دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
One of the relatively understudied aspects of post-Islamic Zoroastrian historiography is the migration of a group of Zoroastrians to the Indian subcontinent and the formation of a distinct community known as the Parsis. This migration, which forms the central theme of the Persian narrative poem Qesse-ye Sanjān composed in the 16th century CE (10th century AH), not only laid the foundation for the collective memory and historical identity of the Parsis, but also constitutes a key point of inquiry in the study of cultural and religious exchanges between Iran and India during the medieval period. However, the existing narrative of this migration is fraught with chronological, geographical, and interpretive ambiguities. These uncertainties stem in part from the mythopoeic nature of Zoroastrian literary sources, and in part from the lack of comparative analysis with contemporary Arabic and Persian historical texts.
This study offers a critical rereading of Qesse-ye Sanjān, aligning its narrative with data drawn from Islamic historiographical works, particularly al-Balādhurī’s Futūḥ al-Buldān, as well as medieval Islamic geographical sources. The aim is to provide a clearer reconstruction of the migration route, the stops along the way, and the possible reasons for choosing India as the final destination. A central focus of the research is the mention of “Kohistan” in the migration account. Most previous scholars have assumed this to refer to the Qohestān region of Khurāsān (encompassing towns like Tūn and Qāyen), thereby proposing an east-to-south route through Hormuz to India. However, a comparative analysis of medieval geographical maps, including one derived from Rawlinson’s The Seven Great Monarchies, reveals the existence of a region called Kohistan near Sirjan, Kerman, and the port of Hormuz—geographically more consistent with the route described in the poem.
The findings suggest that the migration likely originated not in eastern Iran but in the central regions, particularly around Kerman and Sirjan. This hypothesis is further supported by historical evidence of the gradual conquest of southeastern Iran by Muslim forces and by records of the sustained presence of Zoroastrians in the Kerman region well into later centuries. This study, therefore, seeks to contribute to the reconstruction of a largely forgotten chapter in the post-Islamic history of Zoroastrianism.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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