page_title: Sasanian Empire
section_title: Three Great Fires
hierarchical_section_title: Sasanian Empire / Religion / Zoroastrianism / Three Great Fires
caption_attribution_description: English: Takhte Soleyman in Tekab. فارسی: تخت سليمان در آذربايجان غربي
context_page_description: The Sasanian Empire or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians, and called the Neo-Persian Empire by historians, was the last Persian imperial dynasty before the arrival of Islam in the mid seventh century AD. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and reestablished the Iranians as a superpower in late antiquity, alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman-Byzantine Empire.
  The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, a local Iranian ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened from internal strife and wars with Rome. After defeating the last Parthian shahanshah, Artabanus IV, in the battle of Hormozdgan in 224, he established the Sasanian dynasty and set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding Iran's dominions. At its greatest extent, the Sasanian Empire encompassed all of present-day Iran and Iraq and stretched from the eastern Mediterranean to Pakistan, and from parts of southern Arabia to the Caucasus and Central Asia.
context_section_description: Reflecting the regional rivalry and bias the Sassanids are believed to have held against their Parthian predecessors, it was probably during the Sassanid era that the two great fires in Pars and Media—the Adur Farnbag and Adur Gushnasp respectively—were promoted to rival, and even eclipse, the sacred fire in Parthia, the Adur Burzen-Mehr. The Adur Burzen-Mehr, linked (in legend) with Zoroaster and Vishtaspa (the first Zoroastrian King), was too holy for the Persian magi to end veneration of it completely.
  It was therefore during the Sassanid era that the three Great Fires of the Zoroastrian world were given specific associations. The Adur Farnbag in Pars became associated with the magi, Adur Gushnasp in Media with warriors, and Adur Burzen-Mehr in Parthia with the lowest estate, farmers and herdsmen.
  The Adur Gushnasp eventually became, by custom, a place of pilgrimage by foot for newly enthroned Kings after their coronation. It is likely that, during the Sassanid era, these three Great Fires became central places for pilgrimage among Zoroastrians.
caption: Ruins of Adur Gushnasp, one of three main Zoroastrian temples in the Sassanian Empire
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