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The Ashem Vohu
1media/Zoroaster1 Or MS 8212 84_thumb.jpg2021-03-17T20:53:02-07:00Michael Hsu8a3ef4932b27ce698c4ec20fba6bf5cefb1fa5f3386225Manuscript, 9th cen., Chinaplain2021-03-18T16:01:43-07:009th CenturySogdianDunhuang, ChinaManuscriptAcquired by British Library from Aurel Stein in 1907British LibraryCurtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e
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1media/Zoroaster1 Or MS 8212 84.jpg2021-03-17T20:50:17-07:00The Ashem Vohu, a Zoroastrian prayer15plain2021-04-15T15:54:55-07:00This Zoroastrian manuscript was found in Dunhuang, China in the nearby "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas." It is written in Sogdian, a medieval Iranian language. Sogdian traders traveled on the Silk Road eastward to China and brought Zoroastrianism to the region, and Dunhuang was a major Silk Road city in China. Sogdian communities developed among trading posts, including in Dunhuang, and there is evidence of a Zoroastrian temple that was built in the 4th century. This manuscript contains a short text about the prophet Zarathushtra and a phonetic transcription of the Ashem Vohu prayer into Sogdian.
