Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Bundahishn

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Groene, Nicholas
Area of Honors:
Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Jake Nabel, Thesis Supervisor
Gonzalo Rubio, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Zoroastrianism
Religious Studies
Comparative Religions
Translation
Middle Persian
Abstract:
Apocalyptic eschatology, a term most commonly found in Judeo-Christian Studies, refers to prophecies of the end times in context of books like Daniel and Revelation. But as James Moulton said, “centuries before the earliest Jewish writings of [apocalypticism] Zarathushtra was expressing in difficult but quite unmistakable language the conceptions I have described.” (pg. 154, 1913). The expression of how the world ends is scattered across Zoroastrian literature and is quite varied as it changes through time, but in the Bundahishn a version is found which is both succinct and composite: it is possible to separate redactional layers of this piece to see how the story has been developed. The Bundahishn, as an encyclopedia of post-Islamic conquest Zoroastrian knowledge, is especially well-suited to retain eschatological stories. As Mary Boyce pointed out from Norman Cohn’s discussion of Millenarism, only from a point of oppression and suffering is there a need to create a myth of future salvation and divine justice (pg. 74, 1984). Responding to the recent invasion of Iran by the Muslims, the Bundahishn lists them as the last of the many enemies that they must battle with over the millennia before the future Savior heralds in the end times and ultimate defeat of evil. This thesis will therefore analyze the eschatological sections of the Greater Bundahishn, chapters 29-36 with a special focus on chapter 33, which concerns millenarism and the coming of the Savior, and chapter 34, which concerns the Resurrection of bodies. An original translation based on Anklesaria’s TD2 facsimile and informed by Pakzad’s critical edition has also been provided for in-depth analysis. Because of the diachronic nature of the pre-translation study, the first chapter will use Old Persian spellings and the second chapter onward will use the Middle Persian spellings.