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The Nikatum nask or Nigadum nask was one of the so called legal nasks (volumes) of the Sasanian Avesta.[1] No parts of it are known to have survived, but later references show that is covered topics connected with penal law.[2]
Sources
The nask itself is no longer extant but references are found in later Zoroastrian writings. First, the 8th book of the Denkard provides in section 8.16-8.20 a description of its content.[3] In addition, the Rivayats, a series of exchanges from the 15th - 17th century, give a short overview on the content of the Nikatum nask.[4]
Structure and content
The Sasanian Avesta was organized into 21 nasks, i.e., volumes, which were grouped into 3 divisions; Gathic, ritual, and legal nasks.[5] Within this scheme, the Nikatum nask belonged to the legal nasks.[6] Edward William West estimates, that it consisted of ca. 62,600 words of Avestan text accompanied by ca. 562,900 words of commentary in Pahlavi, which would make it the longest nask overall.[7]
According to the Denkard, the Nikatum nask consisted of 30 chapters, whereas the Rivayats name 54 chapters. Whereas not much information is provided in the Rivayats, the description in the Denkard (8.16-20) coveres the first five chapters. However, given the space dedicated to the description of the fifth chapter, it has been speculated that it actually covered all the remaining 26 chapters of the nask, meaning the description in the Denkard would be complete.[8]
Topics
According to the description in the Denkard, the Nikatum nask covered a wide range of different topics connected with penal law.[2] The first section in Denkard 8.16, called Paykār Radestān (arbitration of disputes), covered topics of litigation and pleas of evidence.[9] The second section in Denkard 8.17, called Zaxmestān (assault code), covered assault (zaxm) and related offenses.[10] The third section in Denkard 8.18, called Rēšestān (wound code), covered the infliction of physical injuries and the appropriate penalties.[11] The fourth section in Denkard 8.19, called Hamēmālestān (accuser's code), covered true and false accusations.[12] Finally, the fifth and last section in Denkard 8.20 did not have a dedicated name. It was by far the longest and consequently covered a wide range of disparate topics.[13]
Together with the other legal nasks, the Nikatum nask seems to reflect the legal traditions of the early Iranians during the Old Iranian period.[14] During the much later Sasanian period, these Avestan traditions were still an important source of legislation.[15] This explains the long commentaries provided jointly with all the legal nasks.[16] However, compared to the surviving literature of Sasanian law, the penal system seems to have been substanitially mitigated at that time.[17]
Connection to the Vaetha nask
The Vaetha nask is a short Avestan text, which is extant through several manuscripts dating back to the 19th century. It deals with various topics but it has a strong focus on family law, specifically the relationship between a Zoroastrian man and non-Zoroastrian woman. According to the text, it derives, in whole or in parts, from the Nikatum nask.[18] This opinion was initially shared by Western scholars.[19] However, later research doubted this connection. According to F. M. Kotwal for example, the text is a 19th century forgery,[20] an assessment which was also affirmed more recently.[21]
References
Citations
- ^ Shaki 1993a, chap. Nikatum nask.
- ^ a b de Menasce 1983, p. 1176: "Other chapters [...] must have contained a very large number of disparate decisions connected with penal law".
- ^ Gignoux 1994.
- ^ Dhabhar 1932.
- ^ Kellens 1987, "The Sasanian collection of the Avesta and its commentary (zand) is described in chap. 8 of the Dēnkard; it was probably composed of three books of seven chapters [...]".
- ^ Shaki 1993a, "[T]he five strictly legal (dādīg) nasks (Nikātum, Duzd-sar-nizad, Huspāram, Sakātum, and Vidēvdād)".
- ^ West 1892, chap. Introduction.
- ^ Shapira 1998, p. 37.
- ^ West 1892, pp. 35-39.
- ^ West 1892, pp. 39-41.
- ^ West 1892, pp. 41-43.
- ^ West 1892, pp. 43-53.
- ^ West 1892, pp. 53-74.
- ^ Shaki 1993b, "The ancient pre-Sasanian penal code has been preserved in the [...] Nikātum Nask".
- ^ de Menasce 1983, p. 1175: "[I]t is their living application, their usefulness, which explains why they received such detailed treatment.".
- ^ West 1892, chapt. Introduction: "But the strictly Legal Nasks consisted chiefly of the commentary which is always necessary to adapt ancient laws to modern ideas".
- ^ Shaki 1993b, "There is ample evidence for a gradual mitigation or modification of the ancient harsh civil and penal code during the Sasanian period.".
- ^ Moazami 2014.
- ^ Boyce 1967, p. 699: "The text, thus hitherto treated as an authentic fragment".
- ^ Kotwal 1966.
- ^ Moein 2020.
Bibliography
- Boyce, Mary (1967). "Firoze M. Kotwal (ed.): Editio princeps of the Vaēθā, with transcription of the Pahlavi version, [iii], iii, 43 pp. Bombay: Firoze M. Kotwal, 1966". Bulletin of SOAS. 30 (3): 698–699. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00132276.
- Dhabhar, Bahmanji Nusserwanji (1932). The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and Others. Their Version with Introduction and Notes. Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute.
- Gignoux, Philippe (1994). "DĒNKARD". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VII. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 284–289.
- Kellens, Jean (1987). "AVESTA i. Survey of the history and contents of the book". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 35–44.
- Kotwal, Firoze M. (1966). Editio Princeps of the Vaeθā with Transcription of the Pahlavi Version. Bombay.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - de Menasce, Jean (1983). "Zoroastrian Pahlavi Writings". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3(2). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24693-4.
- Moazami, Mahnaz (2014). "VAEΘĀ". Encyclopedia Iranica. New York: Encyclopedia Iranica online.
- Moein, Hamid (2020). "Vaeθa Nask, Réformes religieuses chez les Parsis, justifiées par des références fictives à un passé oublié". Acta Orientalia Belgica. 33.
- Shaki, Mansour (1993a). "DĀD NASK". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VI. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 546–549.
- Shaki, Mansour (1993b). "DĀD (1)". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VI. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 544–545.
- Shapira, Dan (1998). Studies in Zoroastrian Exegesis - Zand (PhD thesis). Jerusalem.
- West, Edward William (1892). Müller, Friedrich Max (ed.). Pahlavi Texts IV: Contents of the Nasks. The Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 37. Oxford university press. ISBN 1-139-41083-0.
External links
- Summary of the Nikatum nask according to Book 8 of the Denkard by Edward William West
- Summary of the Nikatum nask in the Rivayats by Ervad Bamanji Nusserwanji Dhabhar
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