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INTRODUCTION.
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for the sake of illustration, and each of their Bundahis dates includes its proper proportion of the errors 1 :Bd. date. Real date.
Real date. Bd. date. A. R. 265, A. R. 300. Invasion by Alexander. B. C. 331, B.C. 331. , 273, 308. Death of Alexander... 323, 323. , 321, 400. Real date of A. R. 400 .. 231, 275.
400, 553. Bd. date of A. R. 400 .. . , 78, , 196. 528, 800. Real date of A. R. 800 . . A. D. 170, 68. 557 . 896. Accession of Ardashir . . 226, > 39. 605, » 900. Real date of A. R. 900 .. » 270, A.D. 10. 647, 939. Accession of Shahpahar II . » 309, 52. 713, 1000. Real date of A. R. 1000.. 370, 118. 786, 1068. Accession of Yazdakand II . » 438, » 191. 800, » 1081. Bd. date of A. R. 800 . . 451, » 205. 841, 1118. Accession of Kavad, .. 488, „ 246. 884, 1158. Execution of the Mazdakites » 528, 289.
887, 1161. Accession of Khasrô I.. » 531, » 292. » 900, 1173. Bd. date of A. R. 900 .. . » 543, 305. » 951, 1220. Accession of Khúsro II.
590, 356. , 1000, 1265. Bd. date of A. R. 1000 . . 635, 405. » 1017, » 1281. Death of Yazdakard III.
651, 422. 59. The object of preparing this statement has been to ascertain the reason for the intentional errors in the Bundahis chronology, and the probable period at which they were introduced. It has been mentioned, in $ 57, that the effect of both the errors, which are not accidental, has been to postpone the end of the tenth millennium, but they also postpone the dates of some other events which are mentioned in the Zoroastrian legends.
60. Thus, we are told in Dk. VII, vii, 9, that benightedness arises after A.R. 400, which is postponed by the errors from B.C. 231 to 78, but both of these times seem to have been equally unpropitious to the Zoroastrians. Then we learn (ibid. 10, 11) that in the fifth and sixth centuries, say A.R. 440-560, orthodoxy is still upheld by four successive high-priests. This period is postponed by the errors from B. C. 191-71 to 156-36 (see p. xxxi, n. 2), and Zoroastrianism was probably flourishing the whole time. So far, no reason for the alterations can be discovered, as the vague description of events, supplied by the old writer, appears to be
The basis of calculation is the real date of each event and real century, but the Bd. date of each Bd. century. The only Bd. data are 284 years from the death of Alexander to the accession of Ardashir, and 460 years from the latter to the death of Yasdakard III, as stated in $ 57.
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