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MĀDAYĀN Ī HAZĀR DĀDESTĀN, (Book of a Thousand Judgements), is a significant primary document concerning the social and institutional history of Sasanian Iran and the only entirely legal treatise on pre-Islamic Sasanian jurisprudence to have survived from the Zoroastrian era. Unlike subsequent Pahlavi books of the 9th and 10th centuries, which combined juridical and religious themes, the Madayan focuses solely on legal questions, in contrast to all other known sources on Zoroastrian and Sasanian law.

Author

Farroxmard i Wahrāmān, a jurist or theologian, compiled the Madayan sometime after the 26th year of Khosrow II's reign. He lived in the first part of the 7th century, was well-versed in legal jargon, had intimate knowledge of the Sasanian legal system, and had access to court documents based on the content of the Madayan and its legal terminology.

According to Farroxmard, the Madayan serves as a tool for the creator's "supernatural power" (nērang), eradicating liars (abesīhēnīdan ī drōzan) and establishing ultimate sovereignty (purr-padixšāyīh pad frazām). Those who have attained "eternal prosperity" (ābādīh đ Ũāwedānīh) and "a share of the immortal" (bahr ī anō\ag) are considered the most blessed (pad farroxtar dārišn). To achieve this, one can absolve themselves of sin (xwēš tan a-wināh kardan), acknowledge their own religious obligation (xwē\kārīh šnāxtan) to uphold the three fundamental commandments (good thought, speech, and deed), and maintain purity by righteousness (pad rāstīh abēz dāštan).

The Madayan is the only pre-Islamic Persian legal work to have survived the Muslim conquest of Persia.

Contents

The Madayan is not a codex; rather, it is an extensive collection of real and imagined case histories gathered from court transcripts and records, testaments, different works on jurisprudence, jurists' commentary, direct quotes from the most eminent authorities in the field, and a plethora of other long-lost documents.

The Madayan is a secular compilation that makes no reference to religious issues and presents legal issues solely from a legal standpoint. Even matters concerning Zoroastrian church-affiliated religious institutions, like charitable endowments, fire foundations, and pious gifts, are only examined from a legal perspective. Two passages in the Madayan mention the Avesta; however, the context clearly indicates that the Pahlavi commentary, and not the original text, is intended in both sentences, since the issues discussed in this context clearly come from late Sasanian jurisprudence.

The Madayan gives the impression that by the end of the Sasanian era, jurisprudence had become a separate discipline, despite the fact that many of the most well-known jurists cited in the Law-Book—like Sōšans, Mēdōmāh, and Abarag—were also theologians and are recognized to us as the writers of Avesta commentaries. As in all ancient communities, religion and law coexisted, but by the end of the Sasanian period, the Sasanian legal system had grown so complex that it was necessary to keep theological speculation mostly apart from legal matters. The Madayan also makes it abundantly evident that legal theory (čāštag), which is based on the writings of jurists, has already begun to diverge from the day-to-day administration of justice in the courts (kardag), creating a gulf between theoretical concerns and workable solutions.

Many examples of Aramaic legal terminology, either in Aramogram or translated into Pahlavi, are included throughout the Madayan.

The Madayan contains relatively little information about non-Zoroastrians' standing in Sasanian courts, and what little is available focuses mostly on questions of marriage, servitude, and conversion.

Chapter topics

(Chap. *16) 1.1-17. Fragmented: legal standing of slave-born offspring, manumission of slaves under the ownership of many masters, fire slaves and fire servants, and the buying and selling of slaves; status following Zoroastrian conversion

(Chap. 17) 1.17-2.16. Regarding debt release for partners, co-holders, and co-sureties

(Chap. 18) 2.17-3.8. "On agreements and disagreements with decisions made by the heads of the estates"

The Madayan discusses atarsagahih or disobedience in Chapter 48, which describes the laws pertaining to disobedient spouses, kids, and slaves, with a primary emphasis on the pecuniary consequences of such actions. Yaakov Elman, professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, drew attention to the similarities between Persian and rabbinic institutions, pointing out that rabbinic literature shares a description and punishment for disobedient wives. Chapter 19 concerns the dissolution of marriage.

Chap. 20 “On the auctor"(dastwar, a technical term corresponding exactly to the specific meaning of auctor in ancient Roman law. Both expressions designate the former proprietor of an object who has the obligation to defend the party who acquired the object from him in court against the claim of a third party; see Macuch, 1988.)

Chap. 21 “On the distortion (waštagīh) (of statements) and other offences (ērangīh). (Chapter concerned with contradictory statements in court).”

Chap. 22 “On obstruction” (azišmānd, a technical term designating 1. generally, the act of obstructing another person in his rights; 2. specifically, the obstruction of justice, i.e., failure to follow court summons, refusal to take an oath, making contradictory statements in court, causing the delay of legal proceedings, etc.; see Macuch, 1993, pp. 121 ff.).

(Numberless) 13.1-15.1. (No heading, fragmentary. According to Modi two folios are missing in the beginning. On the different forms of oaths to be taken in court: the religious oath [war ī dēnīg]; oath by which the feet are tied [war ī pāy nišān]; oath by drinking sulphur [war ī pad sōgand]; on the concept of going beyond the requirements of the law [wehdādestānīh].)

Chap. 23 “On payment of debts (tōzišn) to be discharged from the family (property) (az dūdag kunišn) and those (debts) liable to claim on the part of the family (ō dūdag xwāhišn)."

Chap. 24 (No heading, fragmentary. According to Modi one folio is missing in the beginning. On donations, including the donatio mortis causa and the interpretation of certain clauses in the statements of the donors.)

Chap. 25 “On the intermediary successor (ayōgēn/ayōkēn), ‘who [succeeds] him afterwards’ (yōhē pasčaēta).” (The former expression, ayōgēn/ayōkēn, is used exclusively of women [wife, daughter, sister of a deceased], who were only accepted as intermediary successors to a man in the absence of a male heir; the Avestan yōhē pasčaēta denotes in a general sense the legal successor of a deceased person, regardless of gender.)

Chap. 26 “On guardianship (sālārīh).”

Chap. 27 “On pledging the substance of a property (= mortgage, āgraw); whether a payment in advance (pēštōzišnīh) is licit or illicit.”

Chap. 28 “On nourishing and supporting (xwarišn ud dārišn) one person by another (= on maintenance).”

Chap. 29 “On the foundation providing religious services (yazišn nihādag); on property endowed for the fire (xīr ī ātaxš) and property endowed for the soul (ruwān nihād)."

Chap. 30“On the marriage of a wife with ‘full rights’ (pādixšāyīhā)."

Chap. *32 (No heading, fragmentary. On the exchange [guharēn] of goods.)

Chap. 33 “On the anticresis"(grawgānīh denotes pledging the right of usufruct of a property [as opposed to pledging the substance].)

Chap. 37 (No heading, fragmentary. On the institution of secondary or auxiliary succession, called stūrīh.)

Chap. 38 “On the payment (of debts) on the part of partners (hambāyān) and co-holders (ham-xwastagān).”

Chap. 39 “On half a share (nēm-bahr) and the value (arz) of an object for which an agreement/contract has been made.”

Chap. 40 “On co-surety (hampāyēnānīh), surety (pāyēnānīh), and partnership (hambāyīh).”

Chap. 41 “On inherited possessions (xwāstagdārišn)."

Chap. 42 “On declaring someone as the owner (of a certain object) (xwēš būd guft)."

Chap. 43 “On (declaring) acceptance (of a donation) (sahišn) and approval of the (donor’s) will (kāmag došēd).”

Chap. *44 (No heading, fragmentary. On the institution of secondary or auxiliary succession, called stūrīh; also on adoption.)

Chap. 45 “On compensation and the payment of a fine (tāwān dahišnīh); (on) pious gifts (ahlawdād) and the incapability to fulfil an agreement (pašt) and a contract (paymān).”

Chap. 46 “On rent (tāg)” (Fragmentary; only the beginning of the chapter is extant).

Chap. *5 (No heading; fragmentary. On offences and penalties and the obstruction of justice.)

Chap. *6 “On the activity of the advocate (Jādag-gōw).”

Chap. 7 “On the plaintiff (pēšēmār).” (According to the abjad numeration mentioned above this chapter has the number 7; Modi, 1901, p. ii, has wrongly given the number as 47

Exposure to the West

The Mādayān ī hazār dādestān has shown to be extremely valuable for understanding the social history of the Sasanian era. Maneckji Limji Hataria gave the manuscript to the Hataria Library, and it was subsequently made available to the West through J. J. Modi's facsimile edition in 1901.

Sources

• Macuch, Maria (2005). "Mādayān ī Hazār Dādestān". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Sheikh, Hossein (2023). Studies of Bactrian Legal Documents. Brill.
• Kotwal, Firoze M.; Choksy, Jamsheed K.; Brunner, Christopher J.; Moazami, Mahnaz (2016). "Hataria, Manekji Limji". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Libson, Ayelet Hoffmann (2018). Law and Self-Knowledge in the Talmud. Cambridge University Press.
• Mokhtarian, Jason Sion (2015). The Culture of the Talmud in Ancient Iran. University of California Press.
• Stausberg, Michael; Karanjia, Ramiyar P. (2013). "Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Sharafi, Mitra (2014). Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia: Parsi Legal Culture, 1772–1947. Cambridge University Press.136