Cypress of Kashmar
SpeciesCypress
Location Iran, Kashmar
Date felledc. 10 December 861
Part of a series on
Zoroastrianism
Primary topics
Divine entities
Scripture and worship
Accounts and legends
History and culture
Adherents
Related topics
icon Religion portal

The Cypress of Kashmar was a cypress tree regarded as sacred to followers of Zoroastrianism. According to the Iranian epic Shahnameh, the tree had grown from a branch Zoroaster had carried away from Paradise and which he planted in honor of King Vishtaspa's conversion to Zoroastrianism in Kashmarbalkh. The spreading branches of the tree are used as an allusion to the spread of Zoroaster's creed.

On 10 December 861 AD, Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil ordered the tree be felled and transported to his capital in Samarra where its wood would be used as beams for his new palace. The villagers who lived near the tree pleaded with the caliph and offered money for its protection, to no avail. The palace and its spiral minaret still stand today.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Destruction of Sacred Trees". www.goldenassay.com. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  2. ^ "The Cypress of Kashmar and Zoroaster". www.zoroastrian.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
Categories