Faravahar

The Farāvahār (Avestan: 𐬟𐬀𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀; Persian: فَرْوَهَر), also called the Foruhār (فروهر) or the Fārre Kiyâni (فرّ کیانی), is one of the most prominent symbols of Zoroastrianism. There is no universal consensus on what it means or stands for, as a variety of interpretations exist. The most common belief is that it depicts the fravaṣ̌i (𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌), which is the Zoroastrian concept of one's personal spirit.

Rooted in ancient Near Eastern tradition, the Faravahar was especially prevalent in the Achaemenid Empire, correspondingly appearing in many works of Achaemenid architecture. Although it was originally religious in nature, it has also become a secular and cultural symbol among Iranian peoples (mostly Persians and Kurds, as well as secular and cultural Zoroastrians), having been popularized in this capacity after the Muslim conquest of Persia and the subsequent fall of the Sasanian Empire.

More recently, the Faravahar and other aspects of the Zoroastrian religion were at the forefront of a campaign by the Pahlavi dynasty to revive the pre-Islamic Iranian identity. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, it has remained a common and popular symbol among the Iranian community, particularly the diaspora.

Etymology

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 frauuaṣ̌i (𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌).