A Survey of Two Inscribed Sassanian Seals

Author

Associate Professor, Research Center for Linguistics, Inscriptions and Texts, Iranian Research Insititute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Sassanian seals and sealings were among the objects; used at all levels of society and administrative organizations of the Sassanian era, and thus they play a significant role in our understanding of various historical aspects of this period. The motifs carved on Sassanian seals indicate the beliefs and thoughts of their owners, among which are abstract geometric motifs, introduced under the title of monograms. There are different ideas regarding the meanings of these motifs; they are generally identified as indescribable symbols; but some consider them to be modified forms of the Pahlavi letters, which mysteriously contain the concept of an inscription at their core and are introduced under the title of the monogram. Seals containing these motifs, as Nishan seals, are sometimes seen with an inscription. The use of Nishans on pre-Islamic Iranian seals is rather complicated, and it may not be easy to understand the owner’s intention in using these motifs on their seals. In this article, an attempt is made to examine two seals kept in the Bu Ali Sina Museum in Hamedan. Through library studies and field research, the author attempts to read the inscriptions and find the relationship between the signs and the inscriptions around them while examining the seal designs.

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References

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pazhoheshha-ye Bastan shenasi Iran
Volume 13, Issue 37
September 2023
Pages 273-283

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