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Document Details : Title: The Horse among Indo-Iranians Author(s): ARYĀMANESH, Shahin Journal: Iranica Antiqua Volume: 60 Date: 2025 Pages: 27-44 DOI: 10.2143/IA.60.0.3295691 Abstract : The horse had a prominent position among Indo-Iranian tribes. This prominent position is reflected in Iranian and Indian sacred texts such as the Avesta and the Vedas. These reflections are seen both in old texts like Rigveda and Yašt as well as Pahlavi texts as Bundahišn and Mēnōg-ī xrad. Also, Scythians had a special funeral ceremony for dead kings as mentioned by Herodotus where they used to bury kings with horses as well as golden, silver and bronze goods among others. The horse’s position as a magnificent, venerable, and respectable beast, as described in Iranian and Indian sacred texts, was transformed in the long run. The author uses the cultural materialism theory introduced by Marvin Harris to examine the evolution of rituals, economic and practical status of the horse for the Indo-Iranian people and explain the changes to this position after the Indo-Iranian migration. The study shows how horses gradually lost their ritualistic role and were solely used in warfare. |
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