Mobed

Cult of Zoroastrian believers for the Amesha Spenta Amordad (immortality) in the ruins of Takht-i Sulaiman under the leadership of two mobed (in white clothes)

A mobed or mobad ( Persian موبد, DMG mōbad ) is a Zoroastrian priest who is entitled to perform the religious ceremony of Yasna , the most important religious ceremony of the Zoroastrians, in relation to the Ervad , who has only received the first stage of consecration . A mobed also has the right to train other people to be priests in the cult of Mazdaism.

The word mobed comes from Middle Persian . It originated from the compound magu-pati (lit. "master of magicians "), in ancient Persian magush , in ancient Greek μάγος magos , from which the Latin magus ("magician") arose.

Various Mobeds (or Mobeden) stand out in historical tradition, including the high priest, Middle Persian Mobedan-Mobed , Kartir , court priest under Shapur I and his successors, and Azarpad Mehrespandan .

literature

• Mary Boyce : Zoroastrians, their religious beliefs and practices. Routledge, London 1979, new ed. 2003, ISBN 0-415-23902-8 .
• Michael Stausberg : Zarathustra and his religion. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50870-7 , p. 90 f.
• Dietrich Brandenburg: Priest doctors and healing arts in ancient Persia. Fink, Stuttgart 1969; cited here: Special edition under the title The Doctor in the Old Persian Culture. Robugen, Esslingen 1969, p. 104