The article is titled, ‘Aspects of Zoroastrian Traditions in Nabataean Petra’ with co-authors Dr. Andrew Smith II from George Washington University and Dr. Bjorn Anderson from the University of Iowa.
Abstract:
It is well-known that empires leave behind cultural footprints that linger for millennia. Influences in language, religion, art, and architecture are strongest. This being the case, it is surprising that there is little mention of Persian influences in southern Jordan because the Achaemenid Persians held sway over the region from the early fifth to the mid-fourth century BCE, and Artaxerxes II himself promoted the Zoroastrian cult of Anahita throughout his empire. Although discussions of Zoroastrianism in the region are rare, the remains of potential influences are there, imprinted in the archaeological record, especially in Nabataean funerary art and architecture and burial traditions. In this article, we argue that Zoroastrian practices became rooted in elite Arabian culture through centuries of interaction with the Iranian heartland, an imprinted memory that persisted into the Nabataean period. Archaeological and literary evidence indicates that Zoroastrian cult practices may have been widespread at Petra and regionally.