Activity: Talk or presentation types › Presentation
Description
In order to be an efficient ruler in the Middle Ages, regardless of where that ruler was, they had to be able to use religion to perform identity. This paper seeks to examine the ways in which King Khusro used the Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Ādur Gušnasp to perform his role as a divinely sanctified ruler in the Sasanian Empire. The ways in which Khusro manipulated his religious space is similar to that of other monotheistic divine rulers; this paper maintains that it is imperative that Western scholars seek to broaden their understanding of first-millennium religions. This paper will examine the royal fire sanctuary as a piece of monumental religious architecture, as art, and as a space for the development of secular power, to evaluate how the Sasanian King designed and utilised the space.
Period
27 Jun 2019
Event title
York Centre for Medieval Studies Postgraduate Conference: New Voices in Medieval Studies