The Deity of Mithra/Mehr and Its Relationship with Sasanian Zoroastrianism: A Look at Some Seals with the Image of Mithrah/Mehr

The role and position of the deity of Mithra/Mehr in Zoroastrianism or the official Zoroastrian religion of the Sassanian era, as well as its relationship with Roman Mithraism, has always been ambiguous and the subject for a great deal of debate and discussion. This deity (Izad) was one of the most important and popular deities (Izadān) of the Sassanian era, but despite this, there are not many material works related to this deity. In the excavations of Ak-Depe in the south of Turkmenistan, a collection of Sassanian bullae was found which the excavator assigned one of them to the deity of Mithra. According to the inscription of this bulla, it belongs to a Magi, so it becomes more important because of its direct connection with the Zoroastrian. The motif of this bullae, which is not very clear, probably shows a person riding in a chariot carried by two horses. In this article, the deity Mithra has been considered from a different view and while discussing the above-mentioned bullae, other cultural materials such as architectural evidence and pictorial evidence attributed to this deity have been analyzed. This research has used the iconography approach. This essay has shown that: a) the imprinted picture belongs to the deity of Mithra; b) the worship of Mithra was part of the Zoroastrian religion in the Sassanian period and was not considered as a separate religion or sect. And c) There can be no further connection between Roman Mithraism and the worship of Mehr or Mithra in Iran, except for general similarities.