Sassanid religious policies towards religious minorities and its agents

Subject Areas : Journal of History (Tarikh)

zahra gholikhani ¹ (Student, Islamic Azad University of Abhar Branch)
Javad Sakha ² (Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University of Abhar Branch)
reza shabani samghabadi ³ (Assistant Professor , shahidbeheshti university)
Sina Foruzesh ⁴ (Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University of Science Research Branch)

Received: 2020-01-05 Accepted : 2020-02-06 Published : 2020-02-20

Keywords: Christians, Religious Minorities, Sassanians, Manoites, and Mazdians,

Abstract :

This study examines the Sassanid religious policies towards religious minorities and its factors. The question of the status of religious minorities in the Sassanid era is one of the topics that has received little attention. The main question raised in this regard is how were the Sassanid religious policies towards religious minorities and what were the factors that influenced the determination of these policies? The present study is descriptive and analytical and Using the library method, the question is addressed. The results of the research indicate that during the Sasanian period various religious minorities such as Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Manoites, and Mazdians Who were each oppressed during a period of Sassanid rule and persecuted by their followers. In fact, although at certain times during the reign of some Sasanian kings such as Shapur I and Nersi, religious minorities enjoyed freedom. But religious minorities were generally suppressed during the Sasanian period. Under the influence of the Zoroastrian religion in the Sassanid era, religious clerics gained great power. This, along with the struggle of the Sassanids with the Roman Empire, played an important role in determining the religious policies of the Sassanian kings against the religious minorities.