Etymology of Iris in Persian Flower and Bird Miniature*

Single Iris bushes can be seen in many flower and bird miniature of Shiraz painters. This flower grows in the region of Susa. The region of Susa or Suzian has been so named because of the growth of Iris - in the west and southwest of present in the Elamite period, and has a religious connection with the Elamite goddess and has a symbolic aspect in the culture and art of ancient Iran.  Also emphasizes the belief of the people of this region in the mother-gods and Iris can be known in the Ural language “As the land of the Aryans”.  In the islamic period, due to the prohibition of portraiture, the use of the role of Iris (Islamic) in the decoration of places such as mosques and elements that add to their architectural nature such as water(pool) and light(skylight) is a continuation of the traditions of temples and crypts of worship of the goddess Anahita. The aim is the genealogy of the Iris flower and its connection with the gods in the art of ancient Iran and its transformation in the Islamic period.  So what is relationship between he celestial Iris and the goddess Anahita?  And how did its transformation into Islam manifest itself in the Islamic period? And what is its place in Safavid to Qajar flowers and birid miniature? The research method is descriptive and analytical and data collection is library and electronic. The findings show that the Iris is known in pre-islamic texts as the guardian of the plant and water on earth, Along with the goddess Anahita, with two amshaspands of “Hwrtat” and “Ameretat”. In the art of ancient Iran, the role of the Iris along with the Lotus and Ahuramazda, formed the holy trinity of the Iranians and confirmed their religious aspect by appearing in the murals of the stairs of apadana palace. In the Islamic period, artists established the abstract role of Iris in Islamic, Islimi or Arabesque Form in religious places. From the Safavid period onwards, when Iranian painting tended towards naturalism, artists used western painting methods and applied it realistically, not only in murals and marquises, but also in the texture of fabrics. Examining the composition of Irises in lacquer works, it can be understood that the artists of the fitrat period had some knowledge of the characteristics of two flowers of the Iris and the lily. as well as the poems that we see in the margins of these roles that contain words such as "mirror", idol (goddess of Pinikir), ornament (Anahita's feature in Aban yasht), seal, light, wheel (sky), moon (goddess of sin), sitting on the mirror (emphasis on the moon), divine kight (Mitra), the shadow of god the connection between Mehr and Anahita, which is between water and light, can be understood. Light emerges from three sources (sun, moon and stars). It can be understood that these lacquered mirror cases & book coovers in the Zand and Qajar periods (the school of flowers) were an emphasis on Anahita's identity.