Cultural Roots – Atashgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple, Baku
Cultural Roots – Atashgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple, Baku

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the Absheron Peninsula and Baku as spaces where natural phenomena, history, and religion converge. Known for its eternal flames, Absheron inspired the fire cults of Zoroastrianism and sustained the Atashgah temple in Surakhani, later a centre of Zoroastrian, Sikh, and Hindu worship. Ancient authors such as Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Herodotus, alongside medieval observers including al-Istakhri and Marco Polo, attest to the continuity of fire veneration in the region. Central to this tradition were the Magi, Zoroastrian priests who maintained sacred flames, interpreted cosmic order, and performed apotropaic rituals linking humanity with the divine. By tracing the symbolism of fire as both material resource and spiritual mediator, the paper situates Absheron as a cultural crossroads between East and West. Today, the Atashgah temple, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands as a monument to humanity’s enduring reverence for fire as purity, wisdom, and eternal light.

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