میثم شهسواری

This paper describes and interprets a gorgeous, truncated cone-like chlorite vessel currently held in the Miho Museum, Japan. Probably originating from the late 3rd millennium BC (around the 23rd century BC) Halil Rud valley or Jiroft valley area, perhaps from an unscientifically excavated grave, this vessel displays a fascinating iconography, including the depiction of a hybrid character mixing bovine, human, lion and bird features. After a discussion of the hybrid characters which appears both on chlorite artefacts and glyptics of 3rd millennium BC south-eastern Iran, available textual data are considered for a narrative interpretation of the possible religious landscape of the polity designated Marhaši or Parahšum in Mesopotamian cuneiform Sumerian or Akkadian sources. It is also suggested that the so-called treaty of Naram-Sin might provide additional insights on the pantheon worshipped in Marhaši around 2250 BC.