Day 6 - Chapters XII-XIII of the Karnamag

On Day 6 we are going to continue our readings through the text of the Karnamag, covering chapters XII-XIII. Afterward, we will discuss questions related to grammar, Middle Persian literature, and read some parts in the original Pahlavi script.

Homework - Before starting reading the new chapters of the Karnamag, we will briefly repeat what we read the previous day. Questions related to the text's grammatical, lexical, and stylistic aspects will be discussed and properly explained.

Reading - Chapters XII-XIII of the KAP will be read, accompanied with explanations about various grammatical, lexical, and stylistic aspects of the text. While reading each passage, detailed descriptions will be given on points of difficulty. Students are encouraged to ask questions related to the text.

Discussion - At the end of the day, various grammar questions, Middle Persian literature, and Sasanian history will be discussed. Besides that, some parts of the text will be read in the original Pahlavi script.

Text (excerpt from Chapter XII of the Karnamag):

ardaxšīr ka-š pad ān ēwēnag dīd spāh az ānōh kand ud bē raft. ud spāh ī kirm az pas ī ardaxšīr awištāft *u-š gyāg-ēw ī tang abar awēšān ēdōn be grift kū spāh ī ardaxšīr bē widardan nē šāyist. ud ardaxšīr xwad tanīhā ō bār ī drayā ōbast. ēdōn gōwēnd kū xwarrah ī kayān pad gōr *kirb be būd andar pēš ī ardaxšīr ēstād ud andak andak *hamē raft tā ardaxšīr az ān gyāg ī dušwidarag az dast ī dušmanān abē-wizendīhā bērōn ānīd ud frāz ō deh-ēw ī mānd xwānēnd āwurd. andar šab ō xānag ī brādar dō, ī ēk burzag ud ēk burz-ādur nām būd, mad. ō awēšān guft kū: man az aswārān ī ardaxšīr ham kē az kārezār ī kirm pad stōwīh āmad ēstam ud am rōz aspanǰ framāyēd dādan tā āgāhīh ī spāh ī ardaxšīr be āyēd kū ō kadām zamīg ōbast hēnd.

Vocabulary 

kandan

کند

here: to move

awištāftan

شتافتن

to hurry

widardan

گذشتن

to pass

šāyistan

شایستن

to be possible

tanīhā

تنها

alone

ōbastan 

-

to fall, to find oneself

xwarrah 

فره

Glory

kay

کی

king

gōr 

گور

onager

kirb

-

appearance

dušwidarag

-

difficult to cross

abē-wizendīhā

-

safely

ānīdan 

-

to lead

frāz

فراز

forth

kārezār

کارزار

battle, war

stōwīh

ستوه

defeat

aspanǰ 

سپنج

hospitality

framudan

فرمودن

here: be kind (to do smth)

kadām 

کدام

which

zamīg

زمی

earth


Homework article - Shaul Shaked, “The Myth of Zurvan: Cosmogony and Eschatology,” in Ithamar Gruenwald, et al., eds., Messiah and Christos: Studies in the Jewish Origins of Christianity: Presented to David Flusser on the Occasion of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992), 219–240.