Parthian moγ and Middle Persian moγ/mow in Light of Earlier Eastern and Western Iranian Sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-271
Author(s):  
Antonio Panaino
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Western Iran ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian

The present article analyses the historical importance assumed by Parthian and Middle Persian moγ/mow (and related words) in the framework of the religious and administrative language of Late Antiquity despite its seemingly absolute absence in the Avestan Sprachgut. Although moγ should be reasonably considered as a word of (prominent) Western Iranian derivation, i.e. from Median and Old Persian magu-, the progressive phonetic evolution toward a spelling, such as that of early Parthian and Middle Persian *moγ(u)- created a fitting resonance with a rare Avestan word (in its turn probably nonexistent in the older strata of the language, if not even a Western loanword itself), specifically moγu-°, which is attested only in the Y.Av. compound moγu.tb̰ iš-. The rising weight assumed by the priestly college of the Magi in secular activities already during the Achaemenian period promoted the preservation of this title also after the diffusion of the Avestan liturgy in Western Iran. This development also ensured that the designation of *moγ(u)- became extended to the whole family of the Zoroastrian priests following the Avestan tradition.

Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar

1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-510
Author(s):  
C. Shackle
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
Adequate Coverage ◽  
Extreme North ◽  
Language Areas ◽  
North Western ◽  
Scholarly Attention

The Indo-Iranian linguistic frontier constitutes one of the most complex and interesting language-areas of the sub-continent. Given the nature of the area, it is perhaps inevitable that scholarly attention should have been directed particularly to its remoter corners, where so much that is of historical importance has been preserved, and we certainly have every reason to be grateful for the fascination which such out of the way survivals have held for the minds of several outstanding linguists. It is, on the other hand, a matter for regret that so little has been done by comparison on the languages which flourish in less inaccessible parts of the frontier, particularly on the Indo-Aryan side. The wide distribution of such languages alone, quite apart from their intrinsic interest, demands that they too be accorded adequate coverage if the peculiarly complex language-patterns of the area are ever to be properly understood as a whole. The present article, based largely on material collected during a recent field-trip to Pakistan,1 represents an attempt to fill one such gap in contemporary coverage, by providing descriptions of the extreme north-western extensions of the main body of Indo-Aryan.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Ergativity in Iranian Languages

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadgar KARIMI
Keyword(s):  
Past Participle ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Transitive Verb ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian

This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, drawing upon diachronic and synchronic analyses. In so doing, I will trace the development of the ergative structure back to Old and Middle Persian where, it is argued, the roots of ergativity lie. I will specifically show that the ergative pattern as currently obtained in the grammatical structure of some Iranian languages has evolved from a periphrastic past participle construction, the analogue of which is attested in Old Persian. It will further be argued that the predecessor past participle construction imparted a resultative construal in Old Persian and, subsequently, in the transition to Middle Persian, has assumed a simple past reading. The bottom-line of the analysis will be represented as a proposal regarding the nature of the ergative verb, to the effect that an ergative verb, as opposed to a regular (non-ergative) transitive verb, is semantically transitive, but syntactically intransitive.

Satzspaltung im Avestischen und Altpersischen (mit einem Ausblick auf das Mittelpersische)

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Paul Widmer
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
Principal Function ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian

AbstractThis paper investigates the formal and functional properties of cleft sentences in Avestan and Old Persian, a construction whose existence has not been recognised in these languages hitherto. In Avestan, cleft sentences mainly function as focussing device, whereas in Old Persian, their principal function consists in the structuring of information on a text level. It is, furthermore, pointed to the fact that the usage of cleft sentences increases considerably in Middle Persian where this construction developed a much wider range of formal and functional properties as compared to the older stages of Iranian.

Early Mandaic and Neo-Mandaic: Some Points of Connection

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-96
Author(s):  
Ohad Abudraham
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Total Absence ◽  
Cardinal Numbers ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract The present article presents four new linguistic features that link Early-Mandaic and Neo-Mandaic: 1. Diphthongisation and fortition of long vowels ū/ī (ࡈࡁࡅࡊࡕࡀ ṭbukta instead of ࡈࡀࡁࡅࡕࡀ ṭabuta “grace”, ࡀࡓࡁࡉࡊࡕࡉࡍࡊࡉࡀ arbiktinkia instead of ࡀࡓࡁࡉࡕࡉࡍࡊࡉࡀ arbitinkia “four of you [f.pl.]”); 2. Apheresis of y in the gentilic noun ‮יהודיא‬‎ (ࡄࡅࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ hudaiia “Jews”); 3. Assimilation of z in the root ʾzl (ࡕࡏࡋࡅࡍ tʿlun “you [m.pl.] will go”); and 4. Internal analogy in the system of cardinal numbers (ࡕࡀࡓࡕࡀ tarta “two”). The presence of these forms in the two extreme phases of the language as opposed to their almost total absence in the canonical collections of Mandaic scriptures prove not only the ancient origin of some Neo-Mandaic peculiarities but also the wide range of varieties of Mandaic that flourished in Mesopotamia in Late Antiquity.

The Early Islamic Mining Boom

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-221
Author(s):  
Michael Morony
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Mining Technology ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Silver Copper ◽  
Gold Silver ◽  
Early Islamic

AbstractThe present article shows that, according to archaeological and literary evidence, an expansion in mining occurred in the early Islamic world as a result of changes in mining technology at the end of Late Antiquity. The production of gold, silver, copper, iron, and other minerals is shown to have peaked in the eighth and ninth centuries and then to have declined during the tenth and eleventh centuries due to insecurity and/or exhaustion of the mines. Mining development was financed privately, and mines were usually private property.

scholarly journals Explorative Journey Through Hadith Collections

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Orhan Elmaz
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Comparative Linguistics ◽  
Concrete Objects ◽  
Middle Persian ◽  
Southern Arabia ◽  
Early Islamic

The article offers insight into a fresh way to utilise hadith collections beyond criticising their material in terms of their authenticity or discussing their implications for Islamic law. It builds on a digital corpus of collections to represent the wealth of canonical Sunni, Shia and Ibadite traditions. In this first exploration of this corpus, the interconnectedness of early Islamic Arabia with other parts of world is highlighted through an analysis of travelling words, proper names, and concrete objects in a few case studies organised into five sections by geographical area. These include translation, a Wanderwort, and contact through commerce and trade. The methods applied to analyse the material are those of historical and comparative linguistics. The results indicate that exploring linguistic aspects of hadith collections—notwithstanding editorial revision and their canonisation—can inform studies of language change in Arabic and set the course to research the standardisation of Arabic. Key words:      Hadith Studies, historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, Middle Persian, Southern Arabia, Late Antiquity

scholarly journals A Thematic and Etymological Glossary of Aquatic and Bird Genera Names in Iranian Bundahišm

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 39-52
Author(s):  
Golnar Ghalekhani ◽  
Mahdi Khaksar
Keyword(s):  
Persian Language ◽  
Animal Names ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian ◽  
Animal Category ◽  
The Way

The purpose of this study is to present a thematic and etymological glossary of aquatic and bird genera names which have been mentioned in Iranian Bundahišn. In this research, after arranging animal names in Persian alphabetic order in their respective genus, first the transliteration and transcription of animal names in middle Persian language are provided. Afterwards, the part of Bundahišn that contains the actual animal names and the relevant translations are mentioned. The etymology of every animal name is described by considering the morphemic source. Finally, mention is made of the mythology connected to the animal and the animal category in Iranian Bundahišn (if available), and the way in which the words have changed from Old Persian up to now. Changes in the name of every animal from the ancient languages such as Indo-European, Sanskrit, Old Persian and Avestan to middle languages such as Pahlavi, Sogdian, Khotanese, and Chorasmian and how the name appears in new Iranian languages and dialects such as Behdini (Gabri), Kurdi, Baluchi and Yaghnobi are also referred to.

scholarly journals “The Messengers are Called Sangandai”: the Greek σαγγάνδης and its Relationship to  ἀσγάνδης/ ἀστάνδης

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
Rafał Rosół ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Original Form ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian ◽  
First Time ◽  
Early Byzantine

This article examines the Greek noun σαγγάνδης ‘messenger’ which is attested in two lexica, dated to the Roman or early Byzantine periods: the Cambridge Rhetorical Lexicon by an anonymous author and Difficult Words in the Attic Orators by Claudius Casilo. In both works, σαγγάνδης appears together with three words of likely Iranian provenance: ὀροσάγγης ‘benefactor of the Persian king; bodyguard’, παρασάγγης ‘parasang; messenger’ and ἄγγαρος ‘messenger, courier; workman, labourer’. The word σαγγάνδης is analysed in comparison with ἀσγάνδης/ ἀστάνδης ‘messenger’ occurring for the first time in Plutarch’s works and closely linked to the Achaemenid administration. According to the hypothesis put forward in the present paper, both σαγγάνδης and  σγάνδης (with its secondary variant  στάνδης) are connected to Manichaean Middle Persian/Parthian ižgand ‘messenger’, Sogdian (a)žγand/(ɔ) žγand/ž(i)γant ‘id.’, Jewish Aramaic ʾîzgaddā ‘id.’, Syriac izgandā/izgaddā ‘id.’, Mandaic ašganda ‘helper, assistant, servant; the Messenger’, and go back to Old Persian *zganda- or to early Middle Persian/early Parthian *žgand- (or *zgand-) with the original meaning ‘mounted messenger’. The reconstructed noun is derived from the Proto-Iranian root *zga(n)d- ‘to go on, gallop, mount’, attested in Avestan (Younger Avestan zgaδ(/θ)- ‘to go on horseback, gallop’) and in some Middle and Modern Iranian languages. The original form of the loanword in Greek was probably *σγάνδης which then underwent certain transformations.

scholarly journals Sleep of the Soul and Resurrection of the Body: Aphrahat’s Anthropology in Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 433-466
Author(s):  
J. Edward Walters
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Body And Soul

Abstract The fourth-century Syriac corpus known as the Demonstrations, attributed to Aphrahat, the Persian Sage, provides a unique window into the early development of Christianity among Syriac-speaking communities. Occasionally these writings attest to beliefs and practices that were not common among other contemporaneous Christian communities, such as Aphrahat’s apparent belief in the “sleep of the soul” and the implications of that belief for his concept of the soul-body relationship and what happens to the soul and body at the resurrection. Aphrahat addresses this topic in the context of a polemical argument against an unnamed opponent, which provides the occasion to consider whom these arguments might be addressed against. The present article seeks to understand Aphrahat’s views on the body and soul within the broad religious milieu of the eastern Mediterranean world in Late Antiquity. The article concludes with an argument for reading and understanding the Demonstrations as a witness to the contested development of Christian identity in the Syriac-speaking world.

scholarly journals Contributions to a relative chronology of Persian

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Agnes Korn
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Historical Phonology ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
Sound Changes ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Abstract Old Persian shows a change of postconsonantal y, w to iy, uw, respectively. However, if one applies (pre-)Middle Persian sound changes to the Old Persian forms, the result is at variance with certain Middle Persian forms. If one were to assume a syncope reversing the Old Persian change of y, w to iy, uw, this would also affect old cases of iy, uw and likewise yield incorrect results for Middle Persian. The Old Persian change can thus not have operated in the prehistory of Middle Persian, and there is a dialectal difference between attested Old Persian and the later stages of the language, which is to be added to those already noted. The paper also discusses some sound changes that are connected to the Old Persian change in one way or the other. Cases in point are the processes called Epenthesis and Umlaut in previous scholarship, which this article suggests to interpret as occurring in different contexts and in different periods. The former is limited to Vry, which yields Vir and feeds into a monophthongisation that, as shown by some late Old Persian word forms, occurred within Achaemenid times, giving ēr and īr from ary and əry. Epenthesis did not occur in the prehistory of Parthian, whereas the monophthongisation did. The Appendix presents a tentative sequence of the processes discussed in this article, which is intended as a contribution to the relative chronology of Persian historical phonology.

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