Persians in China Sasanian Persian King Narseh, the last Iranian king post Irans first Islamic invasion of mid-7th century crowned in exile, is often with us … a group of Iranian nobility including Sasanian kings were given refugee in the Chinese court – Tang dynasty; and many Iranian princes served as military commanders in the Chinese army and Iranians in general settled in the region in trying to make a new life for themselves. It is notable that a small town near Xinjiang (where many Sassanian nobility had settled) is called “Shahyar” (Persian: companion of the king). Xinjiang has, since ancient times, been a multicultural region with contacts made with several Iranian peoples and among the 30 languages spoken in Xinjiang region are Iranian Persian and Sogdian, and among 20 written languages are Iranian Persian, and Sogdian. A large amount of Sasanian Persian coins have been discovered, alongside other Iranian-style textile in Xinjiang - China; however the experts discussing these findings often refrains any mention of their Iranian connections and Iranian origins and Instead they provide a general (non-descriptive) overview that refer to inspirations from “some place” ! Photos are : *Men in Iranian Sasanian style costumes. *Ancient wall painting from the city of Shahyar with clear Sasanian influence. *one of the most ancient Zoroastrian scripts, with our Sacred prayer Ashem Vohu, written in Sogdian, discovered in China. *Zoroastrian tower of silence (Dakhme) where bodies of the deceased were exposed to voltures (to avoid contamination of soil and earth), the sites were recently excavated in China. ** (the text Courtesy: From the Article titled Persians in China, by Dr. Sheda Vesseghi, and Dr. Kaveh Farrokh)
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:59:20 +0000
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