Genealogical Reconstruction and Chronography of Zoroastrian Priestly Dynasties in the 3rd and 4th Centuries Yazdgirdi / Hijri

Abstract:

One of the major challenges in the study of Pahlavi literary history is the ambiguity surrounding the chronology of events and the lifetimes of the authors. Previous research has primarily focused on the bibliography of the works, the description of manuscripts, and the critique of their editions, while the biographical and historical context of the authors has largely been neglected. The earliest information concerning Zoroastrian clergy derives from genealogical notes contained in manuscript colophons, from which family trees may be constructed. The assumption of a shared lineage among all Zoroastrian mobeds (priests) led scholars to reconstruct and reinterpret these genealogies. This endeavor began in earnest in the mid-twentieth century, with efforts to integrate all mobeds mentioned in texts of the 3rd–4th centuries AH / 9th–10th centuries CE into a single genealogical schema.

The present article reviews and introduces these previous attempts, aiming to critique the established interpretations and highlight the inadequacies within the constructed genealogy. Rather than reconstructing family trees to dispel chronological ambiguities, the study proposes compiling and organizing a chronological framework (chronography) for Zoroastrian families of the 3rd and 4th centuries Yazdgirdi / Hijri as a more effective approach to clarifying the historical narrative of Pahlavi literature.

Keywords: Zoroastrians; Genealogies; Mobeds; Zoroastrian Priests; Pahlavi Literature