Eurania

Zartian Mithraism comes out of a specific cultural tradition which we call the Euranian civilization.

The Euranian intellectual culture is 'Greco-Persian' in foundation i.e. founded on the thinking of the ancient Persians and Greeks. It is characterized by a valuing of rational thought, and a view of life which sees it as a struggle between the forces of good and evil, (or - particularly in early times - the forces of order and chaos).

The Euranian homeland is the historic birthplace of the Euranian civilization and could be said to comprise the European continent, Anatolia ('Turkey') and Iran.

The Euranian people are the historic inhabitants of Eurania. According to the ideas of some historians the Euranians are a blend of three populations: 1. Ancient Hunter Gatherers, 2. Neolithic Farmers and 3. Steppe Nomads.

Of course in modern times we see a transforming of this picture, with Euranians travelling outside their ancient homelands, and other peoples coming in from elsewhere.

King Cyrus of Iran

King Cyrus is known to history as perhaps the world's greatest emperor. He ruled a multinational empire with great benevolence by the standards of the time, allowing each nation its self-governance and maintenance of its own culture and traditions.

Zartian Mithraists will have varied views on political matters, but if we need a vision of how to manage a multi-cultural world for the common benefit then an image of King Cyrus can be a part of that picture.

Three regions of Eurania

Eurania can be divided into three regions:

1. Western Eurania is essentially political Europe - largely countries that were traditionally adherents of Western Christianity whether Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, and who mostly speak Latin or Germanic languages.

2. Eastern Eurania is predominantly Russia and its cousin nations, who are traditionally Orthodox Christians and speak Slavic languages.

3. Southern Eurania is predominantly Iran and Turkiye - both traditional Moslem nations, and sharing Persianate cultural similarities, with Sufism traditionally strong in Turkiye and while organisational Sufism has been weaker in Iran, a Sufi-like spirituality is infused into the culture. Neither countries are Arabic speaking and have a strong sense of difference to their Arabic neighbours to the south.

Possibly we could add a fourth region of New Eurania - where Euranian people have settled outside their homeland in more recent times such as in the Americas, but the status of these lands as Euranian is less settled.

updated Apr-Jun 4026 ZHE