Abstract:
Zurvan, the deity of time in the religious traditions of ancient Iran, stands as one of the profound and multifaceted concepts in the history of Iranian thought (ancestors of the Tajiks, Persians, and Kurds). This article seeks to examine the concept of Zurvan from philosophical, historical, mythological, and literary perspectives. The etymology of the term is explored within the context of Indo-European languages, followed by an analysis of religious narratives in Pahlavi texts, the Avesta, Manichaean sources, as well as Greek and Armenian materials. The influence of Zurvan on doctrines such as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism is also discussed. The paper illustrates how Zurvan, as a mediating concept between the philosophy of time and the myth of origins, has attained a foundational place in Iranian thought.
Keywords: Zurvan, time, myth, ancient Iranian philosophy, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Zoroaster, Pahlavi texts