Azar Kayvan
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2022) |
Azar Kayvan | |
---|---|
آذر کیوان | |
Born | between 1529 and 1533 Fars Province |
Died | between 1609 and 1618 |
Other names | Zu'l-`Olum (master of the sciences) |
Parent(s) | Azar Zerdusht (father)[1] Shirin (mother) |
Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Āzar Kayvān
Biography
Details regarding Azar Kayvan's life are scant and are mainly derived from the hagiographical literature of the Abadi sect. This hagiography places Azar Kayvan, son of Azar Gashasb, and his ancestry back to Sasan V[b] then through Sasan to the Kayanian dynasty, Keyumars, and finally to Mahābād, the primordial figure who appeared at the very beginning of the great cycle of prophecy, according to the Dasatir-i-Asmani, and who seems to be none other than Adam.[3] His mother was named Shirin; her ancestry goes back to Philosopher King Khosrow I.[3]
According to the Dabestan-e Mazaheb, Azar Kayvan showed signs of his calling to the contemplative life as a young boy. Through dreams and visions he received the teaching of the ancient sages of Iran, which allowed him to give extraordinary replies to questions which were asked of him at the madrasa where he was a student, and which won him the nickname ḏū l-ʿulūm "master of the sciences". Internal references in the biography by his devotees allow us to determine that his residence was at Itakhr (about a hundred kilometers north of Shiraz), where he spent the first thirty or forty years of his life in contemplation and where he assembled his first assembly of disciples. Around 1570, drawn by the religious revival which was taking place in India around the Emperor Akbar, he left with them to settle down in the town of Patna in Bihar, where he lived until he died at around eighty-five years of age.[3]
Students and influence
Amongst his students, certain of these hagiographical sources place key
Azar Keyvan had tendency towards the philosophical school of Shihab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi, another Persian philosopher of 12th century. He was regarded by his followers to be the reviver of Illuminationism (Illuminationist Philosophy) within the context of Zoroastrianism.[2]
According to one school of thought,
See also
- Dabestan-e Mazaheb, whose author was a son of Azar Kayvan according to some scholars.
Notes
- ^ The first name sometimes transcribed Adhar; the surname is sometimes transcribed Kaiwan.
- ^ cf. the Dasatir-i-Asmani.
References
- ^ Peterson, Joseph H. (1998). "Dabestan-i-Mazahib or School of Religious Doctrines".
- ^ S2CID 234192879.
- ^ a b c d Corbin (2011).
- ^ Sheffield (2015), p. 539.
- ^ Dadrawala, Noshir. "First Dastur Mehereji Rana".
Works cited
- Corbin, Henry (2011). "Āẕar Kayvān". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
- Modi, Jamshid Jivanji Jamshedji (1932). "Dastur Azar Kayvan with his Zoroastrian High Priests in Patna in the 16th and 17th centuries". Journal of the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute. 20: 1–85.
- Sheffield, Daniel J. (2015). "Primary Source: New Persian". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab‐Dinshaw; Tessmann, Anna (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. pp. 529–542. ISBN 9781444331356.
- .