On the Question of the Religious Views of the Oxus Civilization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.1.230.238Keywords:
archaeology, Central Asia, Bronze Age, Oxus Civilization, BMAC, Zoroastrianism, religion, temple, Mithra, Jarkutan, Dashly-3, Togolok-21, GonurAbstract
Oxus Civilization – a modern archaeological term for the archaeological culture formed in Central Asia during the Bronze Age. It is important to note that the Oxus Civilization is also known in contemporary archaeological and historical studies as the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (or culture) (hereinafter – BMAC). The BMAC (or Oxus Civilization) existed in Central Asia from 2500 to 1500 BCE and then collapsed for reasons unknown to us so far. It has been suggested that the florescence of the Oxus Civilization lasted approximately 500 years, corresponding to the chronological range of 2250–1700 BC. Archaeological investigations of the BMAC (or Oxus Civilization), ongoing from the 1970s to the present, has provided unique material evidencing the predominance of native religious and ritual practices in specially designated places and structures – temples. The aim of this paper is to summarize data on certain aspects of the religious character of monumental structures (temples) associated with this archaeological culture. Based on archaeological and written sources, the fundamental influence of the worldview of the populations of Mesopotamia, Elam, Harappa and Egypt on the religious practices of the Oxus civilization has been revealed. In this regard, there are different points of view on the functional purpose and religious character of the temple architecture of the BMAK. It is assumed that during the formation and flourishing of the Oxus civilization between the third and second millennia BC, the cult of Mithras spread throughout Asia, and traditions of worshipping him as a deity arose. There is a widespread opinion about Mitra as one of the central figures with the functions of organizing the natural cosmos in Iranian mythology, which differs from the ideas of Zoroastrianism. An example of this is the composition depicted on the vessel found in "Kalaly-gyr 2" in Khorezm. Thus, it can be argued that today there is an issue of the nature of the religion of the population of the Oxus civilization in the Bronze Age and it is impossible to speak about the commitment of the temple architecture of the Oxus civilization only to the Zoroastrian religion.
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