Faravahar

The Faravahar (فَرَوَهَر), also known as the Foruhar (فروهر) or the Farre Kiyâni (فر کیانی), is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. There are various interpretations of what the Faravahar symbolizes, and there is no concrete universal consensus on its meaning. However, it is commonly believed that the Faravahar serves as a Zoroastrian depiction of the fravashi, or personal spirit. The Faravahar is one of the best-known and most used pre-Islamic symbols of Iran and is often worn as a pendant. Despite its traditionally religious nature, it has become a secular and cultural symbol for Iranians. The New Persian word فروهر is read as foruhar or faravahar (pronounced as furōhar or furūhar in Classical Persian). The Middle Persian forms were frawahr (Book Pahlavi: plwʾhl, Manichaean: prwhr), frōhar (recorded in Pazend as 𐬟𐬭𐬋𐬵𐬀𐬭; it is a later form of the previous form), and fraward (Book Pahlavi: plwlt', Manichaean: frwrd), which was directly from Old Persian *fravarti-. The Avestan language form was fravaṣ̌i (𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌). The pre-Zoroastrian use of the symbol originates as the winged sun used by various powers of the Ancient Near East, primarily those of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Zoroastrian adoption of the symbol comes from its prevalence in Neo-Assyrian iconography. This Assyrian image often includes their Tree of Life, which includes the god Ashur on a winged disk. The faravahar was depicted on the tombs of Achaemenid kings, such as Darius the Great (522-486) and Artaxerxes III (358-338). The symbol was also used on some of the coin mints of the frataraka of Persis in the late 3rd and early 2nd BC centuries. Even after the Arab conquest of Iran, Zoroastrianism continued to be part of Iranian culture. Throughout the year, festivities are celebrated such as Nowruz, Mehregan, and Chaharshanbe Suri which relate to Zoroastrian festivals and calendar. These are remnants of Zoroastrian traditions. From the start of the 20th century, the faravahar icon found itself in public places and became a known icon among Iranians.