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Journal No.62 (1998)

 This issue contains four papers by important scholars writing on their areas of specialisation.

Dr Parivash Jamzadeh who was awarded a PhD in Near Eastern Studies by the University of California, Berkeley, has contributed a thoughtful, well annotated paper titled “Achaemenid Girding in Zoroastrian and Iranian Contexts.”  In this study, she notes that the significant function of Achaemenid kings was to combat the forces of evil and destruction.  The king is the hero entrusted with restoring the rightful order and putting the world, shaken by rebellion, back in its correct place.

Dr Perin Dara Driver of Navsari holds a PhD in Gujarati literature. In her article, “Origin and Development of Numericals 1 to 9” she surmises that in the art of writing, the invention of numerals precedes that of the script. She discusses the origin and development of numerals and notes the similarity of written numerals in the principal languages of the world.

The Persian scholar, Cheragh-Ali Azami provides an interesting study of the Kazrun Inscription. He provides the Persian and the English versions of the Pahlavi inscription on the Astodan of the two daughters of Yazdgerd, the last Zoroastrian king.

Sam Doctor earned his masters degree in Avesta and Pahlavi and has authored several thoughtful articles in academic journals. In his well ordered article, “Yima /Yama and the Deluge,” the author arrives at the conclusion that Yima or Jamshed, who belonged to the Indo-Iranian period, cannot be pushed back beyond circa 3000 B.C. He adds that it is very probable that the deluge was a reminiscence of an ancestor of Yima, belonging to a much earlier Indo-European period.

 This publication is priced at US$18.00, inclusive of packing, handling and international postage.