The Advent of Christianity and its Impact on the Legacy of Zoroastrianism in Georgia

Though most of modern Caucasia was under Persian hegemony in antiquity, and the Zoroastrian magi were a major presence in the region, there is little awareness of their influence in the popular imagination of Georgians today. 

The religion(s) that predate Christianity are considered collectively as ‘pagan’. While there is some evidence of Zoroastrianism in Georgia dating back to the Achaemenid period, it is difficult to determine the extent to which it was indigenised, ran parallel with, or merged with local cults. Following the arrival of Christianity, representations of ‘fire-worshippers’, as they were referred to, was complicated by the fact that records were filtered through a Christian lens, written down much later, and provide no contemporaneous accounts of lay religious life.

This paper will consider what Zoroastrianism may have looked like on the periphery of the Iranian world, its gradual demise after the establishment of Christianity in the 4th century CE, and why it is not remembered as part of the Georgian historical narrative.

This lecture is part of the Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry Annual lecture. Reception to follow. Registration is necessary. 

Banner image: King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia (Kartli) r. 447-422 carved into a stone and bronze pillar at the Chronicle of Georgia monument, Tbilisi. Taken by Sarah Stewart