ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1840 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1840 ************************************ 6 Dec 1999 From: Alan Terlep Greetings, Here's what we were able to find about the name , which you wanted to use as a Persian given name from the period between 800 and 1100. We can't really say whether this is an appropriate name for any part of period--we were only able to date the name back to the 19th century. However, our sources on Persian names are almost non-existent and so we can't be certain that the name was not used. is apparently the name of an ancient Persian goddess who pre- dates Zoroastrianism; she was associated with the planet Venus. Anahita was venerated in period--there is a carving showing the Persian Shah Khusro II (who ruled 591-628) accepting a crown from Anahita. (1) However, this doesn't prove that was a name, and the names of kings that we found don't include the names of spiritual beings from Zoroastrianism. The Zoroastrian Sasanid Empire was conquered by Arab Muslims in 650. Islam gradually replaced Zoroastrianism as the dominant religion in Persia, and eventually the remaining Zoroastrians migrated to Western India. A traditional date for this migration is 910-950, near the middle of the period you're interested in. (2,3) We know that Muslim names were introduced to Persia by the Arabs, but we don't know whether older names fell out of use. Catalani di Neri, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, and Arval Benicoeur contributed to this letter. We're sorry we couldn't be more helpful; the existing information is simply too limited to be able to answer your question. However, if you have any questions, let us know and we will attempt to clarify them. Your servant, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel December 6, 1999 (1) Durroei, Siamak R. "Anahita Temple Symposium in Kangavar" (WWW: Self-Published, 1998) Accessed October 23, 1999. (URL: http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/~siamakr/Kurdish/KURDICA/1998/SEP/anahita.html (2) Ichaporia, Pallan. "Historical Religious Dates" (WWW: Avesta, Zoroastrian Archives, 1997) Accessed November 29, 1999. (URL: http://www.avesta.org/timeline.htm) (3) Ross, Kelley. "Media, Parthia, Persia, and Ira^n" (WWW: Proceedings of the Friesian School, 1999) Accessed November 29, 1999. (URL: http://www.friesian.com/iran.htm)