麻豆淫院

In 2022鈥�2023, a wall mural depicting a procession of priests walking toward a stationary fire altar was recovered at the Royal Palace at Sanjar-Shar.

Dr. Michael Shenkar and his colleagues, Sharof Kurbanov and Abdurahmon Pulotov, analyzed the depiction and their article in Antiquity.

The palace from which this mural came is located in modern-day Tajikistan, around 12 km east of Panjikent, and was constructed and used by the Sogdians.

This group of people once inhabited modern-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. They were a city-state culture characterized by their extensive trading networks, self-governing civic communities, and colonization.

They were known for their key role in the Silk Road trade network, as well as for their monumental wall paintings.

The Sogdian Palace here belonged to a settlement likely built around the 5th century AD. Still, it would not develop into an urban center until a century later under the rule of the Umayyad governor Na峁�r b. Sayy膩r.

The monumental palace was built in the western part of Sanjar-Shar, which was likely the residence of the last ruler of Panjikent.

Various finds indicate the elite status and trade connections of the inhabitants, including Chinese mirrors and gilded belt buckles.

Much like other Sogdian palaces, this one consisted of reception halls laid out asymmetrically surrounding a T-shaped corridor.

The entire building had been destroyed in the third quarter of the 8th century, as evidenced by fire marks. After its destruction, it was repurposed, with the various rooms being subdivided into smaller utility spaces. This reoccupation was done by peasants who remained on the site until the early Samanid period (819 to 900 AD).

Various wall mural fragments were found within the palace, including one depicting a blue lotus flower situated in the T-shaped corridor, as well as the remains of a hunting scene in Room 5.

Similarly, what may have once been a war scene depicting horsemen and demonic figures was recovered in a room known as the "rectangular Hall."

However, the most unique depiction was discovered in 2022 and 2023. The 30 fragments of mural depicted a procession of four priests accompanied by a child moving left toward a stationary fire altar.

Such depictions are only known from funerary contexts, specifically ossuaries, and typically only include a pair of priests.

The first priest is seen kneeling before the fire altar, offering up a smaller altar to the larger one. This gesture is often seen in Sogdian art, where worshipers offer incense.

Additionally, the third priest was depicted wearing a pad膩m, a mouthpiece still worn by Zoroastrian priests today. According to Dr. Shenkar, "It is a ritual mouth covering worn by priests to prevent their breath from polluting the sacred fire during religious ceremonies."

A similar pad膩m may once have been worn by the second figure as well.

Additionally, the second figure wears a unique piece of attire, a ribbon on the back of his neck, which cannot be accounted for at present. According to Dr. Shenkar, "At present, I am unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the presence of the ribbon on the second priest figure. As this motif is conventionally associated with divine or royal imagery, its occurrence in this context remains problematic."

The unique wall mural depicting fire worship is the first of its kind outside of funerary contexts. It confirms the type of garments worn by priests and provides insights into how Zoroastrian fire-worship was carried out in Sogdian contexts.

漏 2025 Science X Network