Zoroastrian Cities: Fire, Order & the First Sacred Urbanism

Описание: Zoroastrianism gave the world heaven and hell, angels and demons, and the final judgment. But it also gave us sacred cities, built around eternal fire, cosmic order and landscapes of purity.
In this episode of Religious Cities, we uncover the forgotten story of Zoroastrian urbanism: from the cosmic gardens of Pasargadae to the ceremonial palaces of Persepolis, from the circle cities of the Sassanians to the fire temples of Yazd and even the modern Parsi neighborhoods of Mumbai.
Discover how one of the world’s oldest religions shaped the way we think about order and chaos, purity and pollution and the sacred role of architecture in urban life. If you’ve ever wondered where our ideas of heaven, hell, order and sacred fire came from, this is the story.
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🕑 Chapters
0:00 — What if the first sacred cities burned with eternal fire?
0:48 — Why Zoroastrian cities matter
1:58 — Zoroaster and the cosmic city
3:11 — Pasargadae: the first Zoroastrian capital
4:21 — Persepolis: fire, order, and empire
5:34 — The sacred fire and ritual landscapes
6:53 — The Sassanian circle cities
8:01 — Influence on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
8:54 — Survival under Islam: the city of Yazd
9:43 — Modern Zoroastrian cities: Parsis in Mumbai
10:37 — Principles of Zoroastrian urbanism
11:30 — What it means for cities today

📚 References
Boyce, M. (2001). Zoroastrians: Their religious beliefs and practices (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Boyce, M. (1975). On the sacred fires of the Zoroastrians. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 38(3), 535–539.
Stausberg, M. (Ed.). (2004). Zoroastrian rituals in context. Brill.
Humbach, H. (1991). The Gathas of Zarathushtra and the other Old Avestan texts. Reichert Verlag.
Briant, P. (2002). From Cyrus to Alexander: A history of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns.
Curtis, J., & Tallis, N. (Eds.). (2005). Forgotten empire: The world of ancient Persia. British Museum Press.
Schmidt, E. F. (1953). Persepolis I: Structures, reliefs, inscriptions (Oriental Institute Publication 68). University of Chicago Press.
Schmidt, E. F. (1957). Persepolis II: Contents of the Treasury and other discoveries (OIP 69). University of Chicago Press.
Schmidt, E. F. (1970). Persepolis III: The Royal Tombs and other monuments (OIP 70). University of Chicago Press.
Stronach, D. (2014). Persepolis. Encyclopaedia Iranica.
Boucharlat, R. (2016). Fire altars and fire temples in the first millennia BC/AD in the Iranian world. In The Fire Cult in Ancient Iran (conference proceedings).
Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion. Harcourt.
Mumford, L. (1961). The city in history. Harcourt, Brace & World.
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