We need help with Pahlava (Parthian) faction

[Teleklos Archelaou]

We have had very little success getting text descriptions since sharrukin just decided to stop posting in EB. He had done a wonderful job of this before, but the cultural and historical side has faltered a lot since (though they've kept moving forward with units).

So, we really need one or two people who can do research on buildings and help with getting good descriptions for them, and just as importantly we need someone who can get us names for some of them. These were easy before, but we've lost that connection now.

What you would need to do to be considered is write a text description of two of these three buildings: a Healer/Doctor (local health building), a Trader (smallest trade building), and Game Field (equine sports primarily, but whatever you find). A paragraph or two - or more if you like. The more detail for this faction the better. If the descriptions look sound, you're willing to work on more, and you want to join the team, you probably would have it right there. But like I said, being able to provide us with translations would be a big plus too.

Don't try to just churn it out in a quick sitting. What books do you have access to? What historical examples or ties can you find to these buildings? Let us know if you're interested - maybe no one is, I dunno. But we do need the help badly and I for one am tired of taking back in old members who refuse to do anything at all once they're admitted (yes, recently) or deal with current members who don't show up for months at a time (yes, definitely) and are supposed to be the people who are helping out here with this faction's text work.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

No interest at all? No wonder we have a hard time with them.

[Corinthian Hoplite]

No interest at all? No wonder we have a hard time with them.

I don't think people aren't concerned. Perhaps there's simply a tremendous lack of information about this factions buildings?

[Tellos Athenaios]

Seconded, I simply don't know anything about them except the bit I get to read in EB.

[Tuuvi]

I would have volunteered, but then I remembered my attempt at writing sweboz descriptions...

[Kralizec]

I don't have high hopes, but I'll see if I can get some usable literature from my uni library.

[Mad Guitar Murphy]

I'll see what I can find

[kambiz]

Hi Teleklos Archelaou;
I haven't found what do you want exactly ,Well ,my english is not good but my Parsi is quite well
Anyway ,I would like to help ,though I don't know how I'm not a history expert ,but I like to help you (And of course my ancestors ) and you can count on me if you think need a iranian there.

Good luck mate
-Kambiz

[Kralizec]

Turned out I could get quite a lot of literature, actually. Among them 2 books that were to fragile (both printed in the 19th century) to take along, so I skimped them through on the spot. I took 2 books with me, one is in German so tough for me
I'll let you know if I find something useful for your descriptions, when I'm done with these 2 I'll head back for more.

[Kull]

Hi Teleklos Archelaou;
I haven't found what do you want exactly ,Well ,my english is not good but my Parsi is quite well
Anyway ,I would like to help ,though I don't know how I'm not a history expert ,but I like to help you (And of course my ancestors ) and you can count on me if you think need a iranian there.

Good luck mate
-Kambiz

Our language expert has moved on, and we're looking to provide English translations to some of our native names in this faction. Take a shot at some of these:

Atarsh Dadgah Anahita
Adurgah Anahita
Atarsh Adaran Anahita
Atarsh Ohrmizd Anahita
Atarsh Vahram Anahita

Thanks! Your offer to help is appreciated.

[Persian Horseman]

thats kind of old farsi. no one talks like tat now. so i cant exactly translate it. sorry. my farsi has become very bad over the years. where did u get those things anyway?

p.s. salam be kambiz!

[kambiz]

Dorood bar to ey Savar e Irani

Thats kind of old farsi. no one talks like tat now.

These writings are old scripts ,right ,But "no one talks like that now" is not quite true and not the only reason we hardly can identify them.Another reason is ,when foreigners deal with a persian word ,sometimes they pronounce it in the same way they can ,and even worse ,they write it down like that."Zoroaster the great" for instance ,We know he is the same well known Aryan prophet ,but if you find a simple ancient Iranian (For example a farmer) who is not aware of other languages and thier differences ,and ask him "Who is Zoroaster (Or Zoroastra)?" ,I'm pretty sure he says "I don't know" ,Because simply he doesn't call him "Zoroaster" he calls him "Zardosht".

EB team ,I'm still looking for the meaning of "Adurgah"(Don't worry ,you wrote it correctly) ,Hope to find it soon.

Bedrood everyone and Savar e Parsi (Persian horseman)

[Persian Horseman]

"But "no one talks like that now" is not quite true "

hehehe, yeah, u r probably right. my farsi has become really bad over the years since i havent practised much. also becuz im only half iranian. so which country u living in now?

[kambiz]

Dorood;

also becuz im only half iranian. so which country u living in now?

Iran ,ofcourse. How about you? and what does it mean "I am half Iranian"?

-Kambiz

[Persian Horseman]

oh, u r still living in iran. didnt know. your english was a bit too good.
i live in this far away place called New Zealand. my dad is from iran and mother is Thai/Chinese.

[kambiz]

Hey;
@Persian Horseman
Wow ,You live in New Zealand ! New Zealand has a beautiful nature.I guess "Russell Crowe" is from New Zealand and also "Lord of the Rings" was made there.Good to you mate

@EB Team
I asked someone about the word "Adurgah".So now I am 99% sure that it is the old of nowadays "Azargah"."Azar" means fire and "gah" is postfix for place ,So "Adurgah" or the same "Azargah" means "Fire Temple".
I hope it helps you.

Good luck
-Kambiz

[The Persian Cataphract]

Dear Kambiz,

Regarding the word "Âdurgâh", it has an etymological root that has a geographic basis. The Iranian provinces up in north-western Iran are generally called "Azerbaijan", the more Iranic form of the Turkic "Azərbaycan". This place was originally called "Media Atropatene" in Hellenic form, from the Medeo-Achaemenian "Mâdâ Atropatekân", in which the older form of "Âdurgâh" is presumably "Âtargâh". Ever since the Parthians claimed the Iranian lands, and the reinvigorated Iranian language, the Parthian Pahlavî, later becoming the Sassanid Pahlavî (Middle Persian), this place was called either "Âdurbâdegân" or "Âdarpaigân", in which the latter was more common during the later stages of the pre-Islamic Iranian dominions. The reason why ancient Azerbaijan has been subject to this, is because it was common belief that prophet Zardusht was born somewhere near Ganzak (Gazâkâ/Ganzacas/Gazacas), as opposed to the Eastern Iranian belief of a prophetic birth near the river Oxus. So this location has a bit of a sacred appeal, in which the word for "fire-temple" was coined.

So, it would therefore appear, at the superficial level, a little awkward to have "fire-temples", a symbol of Zoroastrian faith, to other figures that appear in Iranian mythology, such as Verethragnâ (Bahrâm), Ânâhitâ and Mêhr (Mithra), but as fire was more of a cultural element, fires too were lit in the honour of these deities. In fact, the word "Âzargushasp" is derived from "Âdar/Âdur". Âdurgâh would roughly mean "place of fire", which further could mean an altar, which were common in Iran. Just like how "dâdgâh" roughly means "place of givings/sacrifice", imply that those who "give" may be the judges, just like how they give verdicts. Now, taking this a step further, one showcases the inefficiency in the structure of the Parthian language if one would say "Âdurgâh dâdgâh", as it would mean "place of fire place of sacrifices", and thus "Âtarsh" comes into the picture, in which it obviously is the root of modern "Âtash". Seeing that the symbolic impact on fire was great in the Iranian culture, it is logical that fire itself could be referred to with many other words. The Parthian language is slightly more guttural than the later Sassanian Pahlavî, and seeing how the script looks like in context, and how the Medeo-Achaemenian word for fire, "Âtar" preceeds Âtarsh" and the modern "Âtash", it seems plausible that it should remain "Âtarsh". "Gâh" is the root of the modern Iranian "jâh", which means place, though "gâh" still exists. All this shows that Sharrukin was very adept, when it comes to Iranian linguistics. Hats off to him.

Therefore, "Âtarsh dâdgâh" is plausible as it means "altar of sacrifice of the fire", dearest Cambyses.

[kambiz]

Dorood The Persian Cataphract;(It is better if could know your name)
Thanks a milion for the very informative post I enjoyed reading that.Actually I know some part of it like "Azerbaijan" which is "Âdurbâdegân" in fact and nearlly its relative history.
Are you originally Iranian? And do you live in Iran right now?Guess you are in RoP forum too ,Right?
Maybe you can help me to find some resources (Especially online) to improve my knowledge on this subject.
Any way ,Thank you again for this nice article

-Kambiz