Two Astronomical Passages from the Kārnāmi-ye Ardashīr Bābakān (3:4–7; 4:6–7)
Document Type : pajoohesh
Authors
10.22081/jap.2025.79054
Abstract
The Kārnāmi-ye Ardashīr Bābakān contains two astronomical passages, both of which play a crucial role in the narrative, particularly in Ardashīr’s rise to power. By depicting his victory over Ardavān as divinely decreed through celestial signs, these passages serve to legitimize his rule. The Russian translator of the Kārnāmag, Olga Chunakova, together with her collaborator Shcherbanovsky, attempted to determine the precise dates of composition of these sections—and of the redaction of the work as a whole—based on their descriptions of the heavens and astronomical indicators. In the present study, Antonio Panaino critically evaluates this approach, arguing that the astronomical data in these two passages are insufficient for precise dating. Rather, their content reflects common themes of judicial astrology and horoscopy of the period, consistent with what can be found in the works of Dorotheus and in astrological materials transmitted through ‛Umar ibn al-Farrukhān.
Keywords
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