Mythological-Religious Motifs of the Seals and the Effect of Cylindrical Seals in Ancient Ilam

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PHD student at Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate professor at Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate professor at Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Shahroud Branch, Semnan, Iran.

Abstract

Ilam is the name of the oldest civilization and government formed on the plateau of Iran, which ruled a large part of southwestern and western Iran from the third millennium BC onwards. This civilization with the center of Susa as the center of trade of the Iranian plateau with other neighboring lands such as "Mesopotamia". One of the most important artistic elements of Ilam civilization can be considered as their cylindrical seals. The issue here is how and to what extent the seals relate to religion and mystical concepts. This research seeks to investigate the relationship between seals and the effect of seals of the Ilamite period with religion and elements of religion by descriptive and analytical methods and relying on library data. Findings indicate that the most important designs of cylindrical beads in Ilam are dedicated to mythological-religious motifs, which in most cases are the representation of gods, religious ceremonies or Ilamite kings. On this basis, it can be said that the Ilamites initially embodied their gods in the form of animals. From the end of the fourth millennium, the gods became popular in mixed forms of animals. In the middle of the third millennium, these forms gave way to the combined animal-human gods, and after the beginning of the second half of the third millennium BC, the gods were embodied in human form. Finally, during the first millennium BC, the first steps were taken to alternate the gods into a single and invisible deity; hence, they were depicted on the seals in this manner.
Research aims:
1. An analysis on the influence of the element of religion on the seals and the effects of the seals of the Ilamite period
2. Study of the evolution and development of religious seal designs in the Ilamite period
Research questions:
1. What is the reflection of religion and devout elements in the seals of the Ilamite period?
2. What was the evolution of the designs of seals and the effect of religious seals of the Ilamite period?

Keywords

References

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Islamic Art Studies
Volume 17, Issue 39 - Serial Number 39
December 2020
Pages 402-417

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