Abnūn Inscription (ŠAb)

A fire-alter was found at the site of Barm-e Delak which carries a much discussed and translated Middle Persian inscription. The date of the inscription is mentioned to be from the third year of Šāpūr I, which if we are to follow Frye, it would be 243/4 CE, when Gordian and the Romans faced off with the Sasanians. It seems that a person by the name of Abnūn in the province of Persis/Pārs had heard of the Roman invasion and had entreated the gods that if the Iranians were victorious, the following fire-alter would be constructed. We do not have the pictures of the entire inscription, but we (Daryaee) were able to see the fire-alter before it was placed in a glass cover, and then again subsequently after. The pictures are from the visits to Shiraz at the beautiful Narenjestan, where they were being showcased.

There are several major translations, first by Tavoosi; Gignoux; Livshits & Nikitin; Skjærvø; and finally by MacKenzie. It is important to note that all five translations are at times significantly different from another. We have chosen the latest translation by MacKenzie as the basis, allowing for some minor changes, along with Skjærvø’s important observations after the publication of MacKenzie. The problem with this inscription is that while these alter portray figures with their names, the inscription on fire-alter circles around it. The inscription is also grammatically problematic and tends to confuse the reader, hence the multiple interpretations and translations.

• Akbarzadeh, D. & Tavoosi, M. Pahlavi Inscriptions. Tehran: Khaneye Farhikhtegan-e Honarhaye Sonati, 2006.
• Chaumont, M.-L. “Framadār,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, ed. E. Yarshater, 2000. (Link)
• Frye, Richard N. “Historical Interpretations in Middle Iranian” In Medioiranica: Proceedings of the International Colloquium Organized by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven From the 21st to the 23rd of May 1990, edited by Wojciech Skalmowski and Alois Van Tongerloo, 65-70. Leuven: Peeters, 1993.
• Gignoux, Phillip. “D’Abnūn á Māhān,” Etude de deux inscriptions sassanides.” Studia Iranica 20 (1991): 23-32. (PDF)
• Livshits, V.A. & Nikitin, A.B. “Some Notes on the Inscription from Naṣrābād.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute, New Series, 5 (1991): 41-43. (PDF)
• MacKenzie, D.N. “The Fire Altar of Happy *Frayosh,” BAI 7, 105-109.
• Skjærvø, P.O. “L’Inscription d’Abnūn et l’imparfait en Moyen-Perse.” Studia Iranica 21 (1992): 153-160.
• Skjærvø, P.O. “Achaemenid *Vispašiyātiš – Sasanian Wispšād.” Studia Iranica 21 (1992): 79-80.
• Skjærvø, P.O. “On the Middle Persian Imperfect.” In Syntaxe des langues Indo-Iraniennes anciennes, edited by Eric Pirart, 161-188. Sabadell: Editorial Ausa; Institut del Pròxim Orient Antic, 1997.
• Tavoosi, R.N. “An Inscribed Capital Dating from the Time of Shapur I.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 3 (1989): 25-38. (PDF)