A Comparative Study of Ahriman’s Knowledge in Zurvanism and the Scandinavian Tradition

The issue of Ahriman’s knowledge versus Ahura Mazda’s knowledge from the perspective of Zurvanism and its comparison with Scandinavian beliefs and traditions has not been examined so far. According to Zurvanism, Ahriman was an unwanted child of Zurvan, portrayed as dumb, stupid, and unintelligent, while Ahura Mazda, his favored child, was knowledgeable of secrets, enlightened, absolutely aware, and omniscient. In ancient Scandinavian texts and traditions, Ahriman or the demon is depicted as knowledgeable of secrets, smart, inventive, and skilled in instrument-making, such that his wisdom occasionally resolves the problems of gods. The present article adopts a critical view, relying on evidence extracted from Ferdowsi’s Shahnama (Book of Kings) and other ancient sources to explore the Zurvanist perspective on Ahriman’s knowledge. Drawing upon a verification methodology and employing content analysis, we initially elucidate the characteristics of Ahriman concerning knowledge and awareness of secrets in Iranian ancient heroic texts in comparison to Shahnama. Moreover, we explore the connections that these characteristics have with Ahriman’s knowledge in Scandinavian texts and traditions. This research provides a comparative study of the texts and verses that evidently attest to Ahriman’s knowledge in ancient Iranian and Scandinavian beliefs. Finally, we conclude that Ahriman was not unintelligent, as Zurvan the deity predicted. Given the evidence at hand, Ahriman possessed a significant share of knowledge, foresight, awareness, and knowledge of the future. Furthermore, in ancient Scandinavian texts and traditions, Ahriman is not portrayed as dumb and stupid; instead, he presents himself as knowledgeable of secrets, intelligent, inventive, skillful in instrument making, and at times, a problem-solver. Overall, it may be said that, considering the variety of his creation and intelligent acts, Ahriman’s knowledge surpasses that of the Scandinavian demon.