SOCIETAS IRANOLOGICA EUROPÆA

ISTITUTO ITALIANO PER L’AFRICA E L’ORIENTE

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA, SEDE DI RAVENNA

Proceedings of the 5th Conference

of the Societas Iranologica Europæa
held in Ravenna, 6-11 October 2003

Vol. I
Ancient & Middle Iranian Studies

Edited by Antonio PANAINO & Andrea PIRAS

MIMESIS
MILANO 2006
 © 2006 by Università di Bologna &
Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente

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University of Bologna

Supported by:
Societas Iranologica Europæa
Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente
Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
Area della Ricerca e delle Relazioni Internazionali, Università di Bologna
Pro-rettore per i Poli della Romagna, Università di Bologna
Facoltà di Conservazione dei Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna
Dipartimento di Storie e Metodi per la Conservazione dei Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna
Polo Scientifico-didattico di Ravenna, Università di Bologna
Fondazione Flaminia, Ravenna
Provincia di Ravenna
Comune di Ravenna
Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna

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ISBN 88-8483-465-2

II
 Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Antonio C.D. P ANAINO & Andrea P IRAS (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
Preface ...................................................................................................................................................VII
Antonio C.D. P ANAINO (President of the Societas Iranologica Europæa, 2000-2003)
Opening Speech to the Fifth Conference of Iranian Studies ................................................................ IX
Gherardo G NOLI (President of the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente)
Twenty Years On ................................................................................................................................. XIII
Romano P RODI (President of the European Commission)
Message to the Organisers and Participants at the 5th European Conference of Iranian Studies .. XV
Bahram Q ASSEMI (Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Address to the Organisers and Participants..................................................................................... XVII

A NCIENT I RANIAN S TUDIES

Hassan A KBARI (Tehran University)
Morteza H ESSARI (Hamburg University)
Die Felsgravierungen aus der iranisch-Aserbaidschan Provinz Ardabil.............................................. 3
Kersey H. A NTIA (Chicago, Illinois)
Were the Achaemenians Zoroastrian? How do we Resolve this Question?
A Zoroastrian Viewpoint ....................................................................................................................... 13
Gian Pietro B ASELLO
(University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna & ‘L’Orientale’ University, Naples)
Old Persian in Elamite: The Spellings of Month-names ....................................................................... 19
François DE B LOIS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London)
Lunisolar Calendars of Ancient Iran ..................................................................................................... 39
Alberto C ANTERA (Universität Salamanca)
Was ist av. dāta- vīdaēuua-? ................................................................................................................. 53
Serena D EMARIA (Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle, Wittemberg)
Der koptische Kambyses Roman ............................................................................................................ 65
Bruno G ENITO (‘L’Orientale’ University, Naples)
From the Scythians to the Achaemenids: A Nomadic Alternative ...................................................... 75
Gherardo G NOLI (‘La Sapienza’ University, Rome)
The Seleucid Era and the Date of Zoroaster ....................................................................................... 101
Mohammad T. I MANPOUR (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad)
The Function of Persepolis:
Was Norooz celebrated at Persepolis during the Achaemenid period? ............................................ 115
Vladimir I VANOV (Moscow State University)
To the Origin of Avestan Pronunciation ............................................................................................. 123
Marco L ORETI (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
Some Remarks on the Bas-reliefs dated to the Reigns of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III ............ 131
Enrico M ORANO (School of Oriental and African Studies, London)
“And then there were none”.
Agatha Christie, Peano’s Axioms and the Druj Nasu’s Action in the Widēwdād ............................. 145
Kamal Aldin N IKNAMI (University of Tehran)
Mahnaz S HARIFI (University of Tehran)
Reconstruction of the Zagros Subsistence and Living Patterns during the Middle to Upper
Palaeolithic: A Reappraisal.................................................................................................................. 151

Proceedings of the 5th Conference of the Societas Iranologica Europæa, vol. I (Milano 2006)
Edited by A. P ANAINO & A. P IRAS III
ISBN 88-8483-465-2
Table of Contents

Keigo N ODA (Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan)

Old Persian Active and Passive............................................................................................................ 159
Antonio C.D. P ANAINO (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
References to the Term Yašt and Other Mazdean Elements in the Syriac and Greek Martyrologia
with a Short Excursus on the Semantic Value of the Greek Verb μαγεύω ....................................... 167
Chiara R IMINUCCI (Université de Bologne, siége de Ravenne)
Les daiva dans l’inscription de Xerxès (XPh) : entités étrangères ou anciennes divinités
iraniennes?............................................................................................................................................ 183
Rüdiger S CHMITT (Laboe)
Zu den altpersischen Monatsnamen und ihren elamischen Wiedergaben ....................................... 201
Martin S CHWARTZ (University of California, Berkeley)
On Haoma, and its Liturgy in the Gathas ........................................................................................... 215
Philippe S WENNEN (Université de Liège)
Réflexions relatives à l’édition du Hordad Yašt de l’Avesta.............................................................. 225
Xavier T REMBLAY (Tournai, Belgique)
Le pseudo-gâthique
Notes de lecture avestiques II .............................................................................................................. 233
Michiel DE V AAN (Leiden)
The Instrumental Plural of u-stems in Young Avestan ..................................................................... 283
Massimo V IDALE (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
Technology and Decoration of Jaz I Painted Buff Ware Pots
as observed at Site M-999 (Murghab Delta, Turkmenistan) .............................................................. 293

M IDDLE I RANIAN S TUDIES

Irina A. A RZHANTSEVA (Russian Academy of Science, Moscow)
Olʹga N. I NEVATKINA (State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow)
Iranian People depicted in Afrasiab Wall Painting (7 th century AD) ................................................ 307
Guitty A ZARPAY (University of California, Berkeley)
Sealed Pahlavi Manuscripts at Berkeley: Physical Characteristics .................................................. 319
Marco B AIS (‘Ca’ Foscari’ University, Venice & Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome)
The Political Control over the Eastern Subcaucasian Coast: The Mazkʿutʿkʿ ................................... 323
David B UYANER (Jerusalem)
Some Etymological and Lexicological Observations on the Pahlavi Text Stāyišn Sīh Rōzāg .......... 333
Pierfrancesco C ALLIERI (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
Water in the Art and Architecture of the Sasanians.......................................................................... 339
Martha L. C ARTER (American Numismatic Society)
Kaniṣka’s Bactrian Pantheon in the Rabatak Inscription: The Numismatic Evidence .................... 351
Iris C OLDITZ (Institut für Iranistik, Berlin)
On the Zoroastrian Terminology in Mani’s Šābuhragān
Additional Notes ................................................................................................................................... 359
Matteo C OMPARETI (‘Ca’ Foscari’ University, Venice)
The Representation of Foreign Merchants in the Praṇidhi Scenes at Bäzäklik ............................... 365
Salvatore C OSENTINO (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
Some Examples of Social Assimilation between Sasanians and Romans (4th-6th Century AD)...... 379
Touraj D ARYAEE (California State University, Fullerton)
Sasanians and their Ancestors ............................................................................................................ 387
Massimiliano D AVID (Università di Bologna, sede di Ravenna)
La fine dei mitrei ostiensi
Indizi ed evidenze ................................................................................................................................. 395
Abolqasem E SMAILPOUR (Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran)
New Light on an Iranian Approach to Manichaeism based on Persian Classical Texts
from 10 th to 11 th A.D. ............................................................................................................................. 399

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Andrea G ARIBOLDI (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)

The Role of Gold and Silver in the Sasanian Economy....................................................................... 415
Badri G HARIB (Tehran)
Present and Past Perfect Transitive in Sogdian
and its Comparative Similarities with some New Iranian Dialects .................................................. 437
Philippe G IGNOUX (EPHE, Paris)
Rika G YSELEN (C.N.R.S., Paris)
La relation des sceaux à leur possesseur
d’après les documents économiques de la collection de Berkeley ..................................................... 445
Thamar E. G INDIN (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
How to Say “No” in Early Judaeo Persian........................................................................................... 451
Tommaso G NOLI (Università di Bologna, sede di Ravenna)
C. Iulius Mygdonius: un Parto a Ravenna .......................................................................................... 461
Seiro H ARUTA (Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan)
Elymaean and Parthian Inscriptions from Khūzestān: A Survey...................................................... 471
Bodil H JERRILD (Valby, Denmark)
Succession and Kinship in the Late Sasanian Era.............................................................................. 479
Irene H UBER (Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innsbruck)
Udo H ARTMANN (Humboldt-Universität, Berlin)
‚Denn ihrem Diktat vermochte der König nicht zu widersprechen ...‛
Die Position der Frauen am Hof der Arsakiden .................................................................................. 485
Pallan I CHAPORIA (Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Gāthās in the Pahlavi Tradition of Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods, exemplified
by Yasna 30.3 and the Pahlavi Text of the Ahunavaitī Gāthā as given in the Dēnkard Book IX .... 519
Christelle J ULLIEN (C.N.R.S. Monde Iranien, Paris)
Kaškar “la sublime” et sa singulière prééminence sur le siège patriarcal de Séleucie-Ctésiphon . 543
Florence J ULLIEN (A.T.E.R. Collège de France, Paris)
Un exemple de relecture des origines dans l’Église syro-orientale : Théocrite et l’évêché de
Šahrgard ............................................................................................................................................... 553
Claudia L EURINI (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
A New Manichaean Fragment Dedicated to Ammō, Apostle of Mani? .............................................. 561
Kinga M ACIUSZAK (Jagiellonian University, Kraków)
The Horned Goat versus Demoniac Tree
Some Remarks on Symbolic Meaning of the Pahlavi Text Draxt ī Āsūrīg ........................................ 567
Maria M ACUCH (Institut für Iranistik, Freie Universität, Berlin)
The Function of Temporary Marriage in the Context of Sasanian Family Law ............................... 585
Milena M ANINI (Università di Bologna, sede di Ravenna)
Pietro Patrizio ed il solenne cerimoniale d’accoglienza riservato all’ambasciatore illustre dei
Persiani (De Caer. I, 89-90) .................................................................................................................. 599
Jafar M EHR K IAN (Iranian Cultural Heritage & Tourism Organization)
The Tisiyun Elymaean Relief of Mehrnān, Plain of Susan, Izeh/Mālamir (Khuzestan) .................. 611
Federicomaria M UCCIOLI (Università di Bologna)
Antioco IV «salvatore dell’Asia» (OGIS 253) e la campagna orientale del 165-164 a.C. ................... 619
Paolo O GNIBENE (Università di Bologna, sede di Ravenna)
Alani, As e l’arcontato di Azia ............................................................................................................. 635
Laura P ASQUINI (Università di Bologna, sede di Ravenna)
Influenze dell’arte sasanide nell’Occidente mediterraneo: alcuni episodi decorativi ..................... 645
Andrea P IRAS (University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna)
The Aramaic Heritage in one Expression of the Sasanian Inscription of Paikuli ............................ 661
Enrico G. R AFFAELLI (Università ‘La Sapienza’, Roma)
Il testo avestico Sīh-rōzag e la sua versione mediopersiana ............................................................. 669
Nikolaus S CHINDEL (Wien)
The Sasanian Eastern Wars in the 5 th Century: The Numismatic Evidence ..................................... 675

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Dan D.Y. S HAPIRA (Open University, Ra‘anannah & Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel)
Mandaean and quasi-Mandaean Prototypes of some Expressions
in the Greek Cologne Mani Codex: Stray Aramaicist’s Notes............................................................. 691
Nicholas S IMS -W ILLIAMS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London)
Bactrian Letters from the Sasanian and Hephthalite Periods ........................................................... 701
Werner S UNDERMANN (Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin)
A Fragment of the Buddhist Kāñcanasāra Legend in Sogdian and its Manuscript ......................... 715
Mihaela T IMUŞ (Centre d’histoire des religions, Université de Bucarest)
Sur le vocabulaire du ‘destin’ chez les zoroastriens
Autour du pehlevi baxt ........................................................................................................................ 725
Gabriella U LUHOGIAN (Università di Bologna)
Occhi armeni sulla corte di Persia....................................................................................................... 747
Zohre Z ARSHENAS (Tehran)
Sogdian γwt’w ....................................................................................................................................... 757

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 A New Manichaean Fragment L EURINI

Claudia L EURINI University of Bologna, branch of Ravenna

A New Manichaean Fragment

Dedicated to Amm , Apostle of Mani?

A mm was the missionary man who took the Manichaean religion to the eastern re-
gions of the Sasanian Empire, thus starting a trend that spread it also over a vast
territory in Central Asia and beyond during centuries (Asmussen 1985: 979; Lieu
1992: 219-242). His name has been reconstructed by H. H. Schaeder (1934: 71 n. 3) as very
probably being of Aramaic origin and corresponding to the shortened version of Ammānūēl
also on the basis of Coptic Amm s as attested in the Manichaean Coptic homilies (Polotsky
1934: 91, 11). I do not want to go deeper into the subject of his missionary activity (Andreas
– Henning 1934: 858; Henning 1936b: 8; Id. 1945: 86-88; Id. 1947: 49; Id. 1958: 94 ff.;
Sundermann 1971: 99; Id. 1987: 70; Klimkeit 1982: 6-8; Lieu 1992: 219-220) as much as I wish
to keep from reflecting any further on the story of the last days of Mani’s life, when Amm
was charged by the latter to diffuse his last epistle, the Seal Letter, the way we read about
it right at the beginning of M 801 (Henning 1936a: 18) and in M 454 (Andreas – Henning
1934: 46), both newly analyzed on that very point by Klíma (1962: 427). I just wish to re-
mind that his mission in the eastern regions of the Sasanian Empire became a myth for the
later Manichaean community called D nāvar ya (Sundermann 1996; Colditz 1992), which was
not exactly a schism but rather a denayal of obeyence towards the weakened of
Babylon, chief of a persecuted Church, on the part of the eastern community on the basis of
both geographical (M 2/r/II in Andreas – Henning 1933: 303-305) and teaching matters –
some Sogdian texts prove it (Sundermann 1980; Id. 1992) – as Tremblay very well explains
(2001: 123-126).
The subject of this contribution is represented by some reflections on M 37/II recto and
verso and particularly on the initial seven lines of the recto (fig. 1). M 37 is an unpublished
fragment preserved in the Turfan Collection, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wis-
senschaften, and anyway it attracted scholars’ attention like Andreas and Henning (1933:
315 n.2, 324) in the past and Colditz (2000: 313) very recently. My interpretation has been
done by means of both magnifyings of the digital pictures of the fragment and a simulation
of the writer’s handwriting carried out on the pictures of the fragment itself.

* * *
The upper part of M 37/II/r (fig. 2) has been probably cancelled by a spot of water that
dissolved the ink, damaging the title written in red and the first three lines. The paper is
damaged too, showing holes in correspondence of ll. 1, 3, 4, 14 and 15 (fig. 1).
As far as the title is concerned, a possible reading could be gπym (myšg) «always»,
although y (y) appears damaged in the middle just as g (g) is, but this is just a reading
hypothesis. Anyway the whole line has almost completely faded away.
L. 1 (fig. 3) shall be let aside, as it looks far too damaged to permit any interpretation but
the obvious reading of a ( ) at the beginning of it, presumably standing for dw÷ ( wd).
Anyway this line and what preceded it should have contained a blessing upon a teacher,

Proceedings of the 5th Conference of the Societas Iranologica Europæa, vol. I (Milano 2006)
Edited by A. P ANAINO & A. P IRAS 561
ISBN 88-8483-465-2
L EURINI A New Manichaean Fragment

chief of the Oriental Church as invoked by the elects and to be given by the original
luminous assembly of Mr Amm . This assumption finds its best basis on the corres-
pondence between M 37/II/r/7-15 and M 36/r/11-14 (Andreas – Henning 1933: 32-33) where
on the chief of the Church glory, health, happiness, goodness, help and nobility are in-
voked, all to be compared to the more synthetic call for glory, prosperity, victory, fame and
praise on him that are readable in this fragment M 37/II/r. A further parallel between M 36
and M 37 is represented by the fact that both introduce the praise to the hierarchy men-
tioning a personality who in the case of M 36 is explicitly the head of the Church also as a
representative of the highest degree of the hierarchy itself. Because of the presence of
these similarities an invocation of blessing on the head of the Church by the luminous
assembly of Mr Amm should have been contained in the page preceding this passage and
ended at M 37/II/r/1.
The first three signs of l. 2 are easy to read: h (h) and n (n) are clear but also this part
of the paper has been hit by moisture anyway preserving the upper part of the third
sign’s shape that can be usefully reconstructed as being part of a z (z) with a better
approximation than a d (d) could guarantee. So the reading of this group of letters is znh
(hnz). The following letter has almost completely faded away, but the trace of a probable m
(m) can be reconstructed. Thus mznh (hnzm) is attested as far as the first and second signs
are concerned while z (z) and m (m) have been reconstructed so far and the erased final
N (n) can be hypothesized with good approssimation of certainty. For this part of l. 2
I propose to read Nmznh (hnzmn), hanzaman, a term being attributed three possible
meanings so far: either «community» also in the sense of «convent» as testified in M 801/
134; /227; /225 and /449; or «assembly», as is to be read in the same text M 801/412, where
an assembly of gods and frēstagān is told about; or also «Versammlungsort» (Sundermann
1973: 16, 125) of the newly free light elements on their way to the world of light. In this
particular case I suggest the general meaning of «assembly», but what follows is partic-
ularly interesting. Actually more signs are readable on this line: πwr (rwš) with r (r)
slightly erased but still preserving its diacritic mark above, w (w) perfectly preserved and
π (š) partially erased on top but once more reconstructable on the basis of the lower part
of the sign, which is well preserved. After πwr (rwš) the hypotesis of the presence of N (n)
can easily be accepted and this assumption is also supported by the small trace of the lower
part of this letter still evident after π (š). The end of the line is well damaged too, but
the partially faded trace existing at the left extremity of it coincides with the group y¿
( y), , as it is noted by the same scribe in this fragment itself. So the line would read
hanzaman r šn , «the luminous assembly of». The combination of hanzaman and r šn rep-
resents a hapax legomenon in this precise form, but a synonimous phrase is attested else-
where with the word ram instead of hanzaman (Henning 1936a: 28; Waldschmidt-Lentz 1933:
559-60, 598-99; Colditz 1992: 335; Schaeder 1968: 290-291). I suggest that this expression
does not hint at the entire community but at a very specific kind of it, which is very
strictly connected to the phases of foundation and refoundation of the Manichaean Church
during its history (Leurini 2005).
Colditz proposes a possible reading of ll. 3-7 (2000: 313). At l. 3 she reads mry, mār, with
certainty, while she doubtfully reports the presence of a possible wm÷ ( mw), Amm , noting
that the available space could also permit an integration with Zakū, a reading to which
she has preferred the former one because of both the regional indication following at l. 5
and the title hamm zāg. I totally agree with her conclusions but starting from a different
assumption: the indication of the degree inside the hierarchy cannot be considered as a

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discriminant between Amm and Zakū in fact, because, after M 1/II/r/i/12 cited by Colditz
herself too (2000: 312 and 313 n. 275) Zakū was a hamm zāg as well, just like Amm .
Moreover a detailed analysis of l. 3 presents us with two readable signs at its beginning: m
(m) and a r (r). The rest of the line actually looks erased – or better – almost faded away,
but the magnifying of the image makes it possible to recognize traces of further signs.
Above the small hole following the two above mentioned letters and located in the lower
part of the line the shadow of the upper part of a m (m) followed by the trace of the upper
left section of w (w) can be recognized. Back to the group rm (mr) at the beginning of the
line, the trace of a letter is there after it, that could very easily be a y (y). The lacuna
between these letters and the shadow of the second m (m) mentioned above could rep-
resent a fit space for an a ( ), thus the reading of the sequence wma yrm (mry mw), Mār
Amm , can be affirmed with a good approximation of certainty. The Aramaic title mār,
“lord”, meaning monsignore as an honorific title and indicating priests in the ecclesiastical
hierarchy usually precedes the name of the person and is followed by the mention of the
degree he belongs to like mār D šist ispasag, “lord D šist bishop” for example, as Sunderman
explains (1994: 250). In Uigur texts this title seems to be reserved just to prominent
church-leaders as A. v. Tongerloo (1984: 243-251) maintains. In this particular case the
name is most probably followed also by a honorific designation and a further title. The end
of the line is severely damaged by a lacuna that has left some small and very faded traces
anyway. A magnifying helps recognizing the possible remains of the head and left extrem-
ity of the foot of a x (x), the latter appearing more evident than the former one, whose
diacritic mark is preserved just as a very faded shadow. Thus nothing else remains of l. 3
but mr(y) [a](mw) (x). This x (x) could represent the first letter of a most probable xwd y
xwadāy insertable in the space occupied by the lacuna and the following small blank, in its
extended form presenting an added a ( ) and/or an extended left part of it as it was
customary for Manichaean scribes in order to fill all page’s lines completely. Mr Amm
actually deserved this honorific noun as he was a high-ranking clergyman. Many examples
testify that members of all degrees of the hierarchy, but in particular the highest per-
sonalities, were adressed like that, as Sundermann (2001: 204-205) states. What is actually
helping in fixing the attribution to Mr Amm of this fragment’s excerptum is what is to
be read in M 273: at l. 21-22 of the recto he is called wāzārgān istāyidag xwadāy niyānān
wuzurgān, «gepriesener Kaufmann, Herr großer Schätze», as Sundermann translates the
passage (1995: 287), and he explains that in the case of the text So 14000, the merchants
actually correspond to the teachers of the Faith. This assumption is helping very much in
the reciprocal interpretation of ll. 3 and 4. Although the paper is torn, l. 4 actually reads
hamm zāg wuzurg, matching very well with what is known about the hierarchical degree
Amm belonged to. Wuzurg represents in fact a further honorific designation due solely
to teachers and to church-fathers, as Colditz abundantly demonstrates in her above men-
tioned work (2000: 310-312). Thus Amm is characterized in this text by the title due to
the highest personalities of the Church, i.e. mār, his specific title, hamm zāg, and two
honorific designations: a more general one, xwadāy, and a specific one due to teachers and
church-fathers, wuzurg, and he actually was both. In support to these argumentations it
might also be useful to outline the way Amm is pointed at in the texts of Turfan. In
M 2/I/r/36-37 (Andreas-Henning 1933: 303) we read mār Amm hamm zāg just like in
M 216a/r/6 (Andreas-Henning 1933: 302 n. 4). In M 5815/II/v/i/6 (Andreas-Henning 1934:
856-858) we still find mār Amm like at the end of the same column where the second
Amm -letter begins with the words mār Amm farrox hamm zāg. Also in M 454/v/16-17

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(Andreas-Henning 1934: 891) reporting about Mani’s death he is called mār Amm hamm zāg
once more. The latter form passed into Uigur texts where he is called mār amu možag (Le
Coq 1911: 32; Bang 1931: 17).
L. 5 is both helping and tantalizing. A wide hole in the paper has removed the first part
of it, but most of it can be easily read: xwarāsānig, although s (s) is partially faded due to a
spot of wet. The dimension of the space left by the lacuna seems to allow any hypothesis
of integration proposed by Colditz, i.e. ram/čarag/dēn, but the line should read dēn
xwarāsān g, «of the eastern community», best fitting into the available space.
The sentence goes on until l. 7 and starting from l. 2 it would read:
2 hanzaman r šn
3 mār Amm xwadāy
4 hamm zāg wuzurg
5 dēn xwarāsān g
6 dagr z wād mēšag
7 pad afr n.

«The luminous assembly of Lord Mr Amm , great teacher of the eastern community, long
may he live, forever in the praise».
The text goes on wishing the chief of the Manichaean Church glory, prosperity, victory and
increase of his name as already described above.
Such a text sounds more like a praise of Amm than of the Church and thus must have
perceived it Colditz, when she alludes to Amm as the «Gepriesenen» in this fragment (2000:
313 n. 275) even if in the presentation of this passage she embraces Boyce’s definition of
M 37: «Persian hymns in honour of the hierarchy» (1960: 4, 149). The fragment actually
contains a hymn in praise of the hierarchy. The main evidence supporting the solution
numbering it among the hymns in honour of the Manichaean Church hierarchy is the verso
praising the brave bishops, benefactors having praised names, the mighty and honoured
presbyters and probably wishing a blessing on the convents as a metaphore for the com-
munities of elects.
Thus both positions should be considered as correct: a) The text contained in M 37/II/r
and /v starts with a long praise of Amm . The eastern Church after 601 considered him as
its founder and Šd-Ohrmezd as the re-establisher of the original religion brought by in the
East by the former one. Thus they were also linked together by means of similar desig-
nations as shown by the hymns dedicated to Šd-Ohrmezd published by Colditz (1992: 322-
341), being among the few ones dedicated to named people. In M 315 in particular Šd-
Ohrmezd is called nēw (I/r/4), xwadāy (I/r/10), (Xwarāsā)nyā hamm zāg nēw (II/r/8) also
attributed to Amm and pus d šist Māni xwadāwan (r/I/18-19), evidently recalling a very
similar epithet of Amm in the Seal Letter at the beginning of M 801 (Henning 1936a: 18) ud
Amm pus ēm d šist, “and Amm my dearest son”, said by Mani. b) The continuation of the
hymn in M 37/II verso is evidently a praise of the hierarchy but I think that it is most
probable that the praise should pertain just to the eastern Manichaean Church after the
schism and not the whole one, as the underlining of xwarāsān g seems to hint at.
To conclude and going back to the opening question about this hymn, if it has to be
considered as a hymn either in praise of Mr Amm or of the ecclesiastic hierarchy, I
suggest to accept the latter solution as the presence of the long praise dedicated to the
church-leader represents the means by which the whole new and separated eastern com-
munity stands out and exalts itself.

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This research’s results have been reached thanks to the support of the scientific project “Inter-
culturalità e interazione culturale, storica, politica e religiosa tra Oriente e Occidente dall’antichità
all’Alto Medioevo”, years 2001/2003 ex 40%.
Special thanks to my teacher and good friend Prof. Antonio Panaino and to Prof. Luigi Tomassini,
director of the photographic laboratory of the Dept. of Histories and Methods for the Preservation
of the Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna.

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P LATES

Fig. 1. M 37/II/r.
Fig. 2. M 37/II/r/1-7 picture of the original.
Fig. 3. M 37/II/r/1-7 with simulated integration of ll. 2-3.

566