Archaeological Complex of Mizdakhan and the Zoroastrian Creation StoryAccording to the ancient Zoroastrian Cosmology (the worlds first monotheist religion) Mashya and Mashyana were the man and woman whose procreation gave rise to the human race.
In the beginning, there was nothing in the world except Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, who lived in the Endless Light. And the Evil Spirit, Ahriman, who lived in the Absolute Darkness. Between them lay only emptiness.
One day, Ahura Mazda decided to make different creations. First He shaped the sky made of metal, shinning and bright. Second, He made the pure water. Third, the Wise Lord created the Earth, flat and round with no mountains and valleys. Fourth, He made the plants, moist and sweet with no bark or thorn. Fifth, he created the animals, big and small. Then he created the First Man, Gayomard, bright, tall, and handsome. And lastly, he created Fire and distributed it within the whole creation. The Wise Lord ordered Fire to serve the mankind in preparing food and overcoming cold.
The Evil Spirit peeked out of his dark world to see the Wise Lord’s beautiful creations. The Wise Lord called him and said, "Evil Spirit! Aid my creatures and give them praise so that you will be immortal."
The Evil Spirit snarled, "Why should I aid your creatures? Why should I praise them? I am more powerful! I will destroy you and your creatures for ever and ever." Then he crawled back to his dark side to shape demons, witches, and monsters to attack the Endless Light.
The Wise Lord was All-knowing. He knew the Evil Spirit was making demons to destroy His good creations, and He also knew there would be a great battle with the Dark. So the Wise Lord fashioned six Spirits-the Holy Immortals- to guard His creations against the Endless Dark. The Wise Lord shaped the Holy Immortals from His own soul, each having His own nature.
The first Holy Spirit was Khashathra, the Righteous Power, who became the guardian of the sky. Then the Wise Lord created Haurvatat, the Peace and Perfection. She became the protector of waters. Next was Spenta Armaiti, the Holy Devotion. She guarded the Earth. The other Holy Spirit, Ameretat, the Immortality, became the protector of plants. Vohu Manah, the Good Mind, was the fifth Holy Spirit. He chose to protect the animals. And Asha Vahishta, the Justice, became the guardian of Fire. Lastly, the Wise Lord made His own Holy Spirit the protector of the mankind.
Ahriman saw the Wise Lord’s Holy Immortals and was enraged. He cried, "Ahura Mazda! I will destroy you and all your creations. You will never be victorious!"
So, he and his demons attacked the God’s creations one by one.
They tried to destroy the water but they could only bring bitterness to it. They tried to destroy the Earth but they could only put mountains and valleys. They tried to wither the plants but the plants only grew thorns.
The Evil Spirit and his demons brought sadness against happiness, pain against pleasure, pollution against purification and death against life. They attacked Gayomard, the First man, and gave him sickness and death. The Evil Spirit thought he had destroyed the mankind and became victorious against the Light! But he was ignorant and foolish.
When Gayomard, the First Man, died from his bones grew a rhubarb plant. After forty years, a man and a woman, Mashya and Mashyana, grew out of the rhubarb plant. Mashya and Mashyana promised the Wise Lord that their children would help Him in His battle with Ahriman. They promised to aid him in his battle with Ahriman, and Mashyana gave birth to fifteen sets of twins which scattered around the Earth and became the races of mankind.
Legend has it that the tomb of Adam (muslim name for Garyomard) lies within the ancient settlement of Mizdakhan which is located on three hills on the outskirts of Khodjeyli (19km south of Nukus). The historical and archaeological complex Mizdakhan was likley the City of Mazda that is mentioned in the "Avesta", named in honour of Ahura Mazda. On one of the lower hills of Mizdakhan contains majestic ruins of the ancient city Gyaur-kala - "Fortress of infidels", The Arabs named this fortress due to the 70-year resistance of the Zorastrian priest caste against the imposition of Islam. Archaeologists have determined that a ten-meter cultural layer of Gyaur Kala covers the period of the 4th century BC – the 13th century AD until the city was destroyed by the armies of Genghis Khan.
(ED: In the Uzbek language the word “Adam” has still preserved its original meaning - “adam” from Uzbek is translated as “man”. The legend of Adam's apple is still pronounced as a direct prohibition of God - “Do not take!” (“olma” from Uzbek is translated not just as “apple”, but also as a verb in negative form - “do not take”, “ol” means “take”, “ma” is a negative suffix)).
http://www.centralasia-travel.com/en/countries/uzbekistan/places/khorezm/mizdahkan
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