By All Means, Ahuramazda: Help, Support, and Protect the King
Abstract
This presentation explores the variations in translation and embedded meanings manifest in the formula “By the … of Ahuramazda …” among the Achaemenid trilingual royal inscriptions. The formula articulates a foundational piece of the divine-royal connection. The relevant individual words – vašnā (Old Persian), zaumin (Elamite), and ṣillu (Babylonian) – carry a range of nuances, and modern translations vary significantly because of this. The terms will be explored in their own contexts as well as (and mainly) within the context of an emerging Achaemenid royal ideology.
Citation
Waters, Matthew. "By All Means, Ahuramazda: Help, Support, and Protect the King," Contextualizing Iranian Religions in the Ancient World - 14th Melammu Symposium. February 18, 2020.
About the Speaker
Matthew Waters
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Matt Waters (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is Professor of Ancient Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, whereat he also recently served as Department Chair of Languages for six years. Waters is the author of four books, most recently King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great (Oxford 2022), and several dozen articles and related publications. He has held fellowships from the Institute of Advanced Study, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Center for Hellenic Studies, and the Loeb Classical Library Foundation.