Author(s)

Junyi Ji

Corresponding Author

Junyi Ji

ABSTRACT

As the dominant religion in the ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism played a great role in the lives of the Old Persians. Thus, it’s really important to research the relationships between the ancient Persian Kings and the Zoroastrianism because the kings’ authority depend largely on the Zoroastrianism. This paper will specifically focus on how the Achaemenid Kings employed Zoroastrianism to help them control their countries. This paper is divided into three different aspects of how the kings use religion to strengthen and consolidate their power. The first is about how the Achaemenid kings legitimized their taking thrones by referring to God empowering them. The second is about how the Achaemenid kings justified their actions of aggressive invasion to foreign lands by endowing their action with Ahuramazda’s will. The last is about how the Achaemenid kings usually glorified themselves by regarding them as the only ones that were under Ahuramazda. With specific examples and details, this paper successfully explains how the kings achieve these. Although this paper only involves discussions about the Achaemenid kings in ancient Persia, it implies a common strategy for the kings to establish authority in their countries.

KEYWORDS

Achaemenid empire, Zoroastrianism, Persian symbolism, Power structure, Wars, Ahuramazda