Lectures Digest: Kutar Memorial Lecture: Sogdian Fire Worship - Between Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Heating

This is the first time that I'll be reviewing a talk that I attended online - the Kutar Memorial Lecture conducted by SOAS SPIZS on the topic "Sogdian Fire Worship - Between Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Heating" by Dr. Pavel B. Lurje at 5.00 PM GMT (10.30 PM IST) on 01-05-2025. For a starter, Sogdiana is the English name of Sugdh, a historical region that extended over western Tajikistan and eastern Uzbekistan. The region was the easternmost of the Persian-speaking world and comprises the second of the 16 divine lands created by Ahura Mazda, according to the Zoroastrian holy book, the Vendidad. The people followed a multitude of religions - Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Nestorian Christianity, Hellenistic paganism, Manichaeism and probably Tengrism and Turkic nature-worship, with Buddhism and Turkic ethnic groups predominating, before the region slowly accepted Islam between the 8th and 13th centuries AD.

And now, as for the lecture, Dr. Lurje began with a short history of Sogdiana and its traditional boundaries. Then, with beautiful photographs and illustrations, both historical and current, of the archaeological site of Panjikent, Dr. Lurje explained the importance of fire in Buddhist worship in the form of lamps and incense burners and points of overlap with Zoroastrianism in this respect. Many varieties of fire-stands and incense burners (and also fire altars) have been found in archaeological excavations in Sogdiana that it is almost impossible to conclude whether they were connected with Zoroastrian or Buddhist worship, as both the religions were prevalent here. But the speaker adopts a comparatively safe and secure method to conclude whether they were Buddhist or Zoroastrian First, Sogdiana was more Buddhist than Zoroastrian. Secondly, dating these archaeological sites was crucial in determining the nature of these shrines. Those of the Kushan period (1st century BC to 2nd century AD) were more likely Buddhist. Some of the so-called fire altars were too small and could instead be small fireplaces or lamps that served to illuminate the surrounding areas. The buildings in which they were found, too, didn't resemble temples. Moreover, Dr. Lurje gave the example of the Indus Valley, where incense burners and fireplaces were found, to put forth his point that such fire places need not serve a religious purpose alone. Dr. Lutje also explained the eclectic spiritual life of ancient Sogdians who even worshipped Hindu gods by assimilating them with their own Sogdian deities.

Dr. Lurje also interestingly remarks on how despite the fact that most religious texts of the Manichaen religion are written in the Sogdian language none of the texts were actually found in Sogdiana, itself.