of several millennia in Iran. According to ancient Iranian beliefs, Mithra was born from the heart of a rock on the night of the winter solstice, the longest Mithra (Avestan: 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀 Miθra; Old Persian: 𐎷𐎰𐎼 Miθraʰ‍) is an ancient Iranian deity (yazata) of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth (Asha), and the guardian of cattle, the harvest, and the Waters. The Romans attributed their Mithraic mysteries to Zor The… Mithra (Avestan: 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀 Miθra; Old Persian: 𐎷𐎰𐎼 Miθraʰ‍) is an ancient Iranian deity (yazata) of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth (Asha), and the guardian of cattle, the harvest, and the Waters. The Romans attributed their Mithraic mysteries to Zoroastrian Persian sources relating to Mithra. Since the early 1970s, the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between the Persian and Roman traditions, making it, at most, the result of Roman perceptions of Zoroastrian ideas. Several characteristics of the later Roman Mithras are present in the Avesta. The tenth book of Yashts shows the deity's close connections with the social and cosmic order, the securing of fertility and water supply, the connection to the sun, and the ethical conditions imposed on the faithful. These The birth of Mithra is an astronomical event that occurs one night a year, and that is Yalda Night, which has a history of several millennia in Iran. According to ancient Iranian beliefs, Mithra was born from the heart of a rock on the night of the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, in the darkest cave. Shepherds were the first people to find him. From ancient times to the present day, Iranians celebrate the night of the winter solstice and wait for the sunrise. From this time Mithra overcomes darkness and the days gradually become longer and the nights shorter. The birth of Mithra was a symbol of light, hope, and the renewal of nature. According to another myth, Mithra was born from lightning on the heights of the Alborz mountains. The sanctity of mountains and caves is present in most ancient beliefs. Hence, the tradition of praising Mithra on top of mountains appeared in natural mountain caves. This tradition spread even in Rome in its oriental form, which is why, as far as possible, the initiation ceremony into the Mithraic cult was performed in natural caves and otherwise in cave-like temples resembling natural caves. The Seleucid kings repeatedly associated themselves with the image of the solar god Helios, which in their eastern possessions may reflect a desire to appropriate the image of local solar deities, including Mithra, and the legitimacy this conferred on the rulers in the eyes of their non-Greek subjects. The cult of Mithra is poorly documented in this context, but it was clearly present and important in the Parthian Empire. In official iconography of the Parthian period, Mithra would take on the features of Apollo, on a coin from Susa that seems to represent him, dating from the reign of Artabanus II (12-38/40 AD). Before him is a kneeling Parthian king. This scene is echoed in a speech by King Tiridates I of Armenia, a descendant of the Arsacids, to the Roman emperor Nero, narrated by Cassius Dio, in which the Armenian king mentions the fact that as a member of his dynasty he usually prostrated himself only before Mithra (and that he was prepared to make the exception of bowing before the Roman emperor). The Garni Temple in Armenia, probably erected by this same king, is often presented as a sanctuary of Mithra. The youthful Apollonian-type Mithra is also found in images from other countries of Iranian culture in the Parthian period, such as Commagene in the Roman-Parthian border and the Kushan Empire on the Indo-Iranian border. The popularity of the god in the Parthian Empire is also demonstrated by the presence of numerous personal names composed of the name Mithra in administrative excavations discovered at the site of ancient Nisa, Turkmenistan. Several Parthian kings bore the name Mithridates, derived from that of the god, indicating the important place the god held in the official pantheon of the Arsacid dynasty, possibly with the status of tutelary deity. The name Mithridates is also borne by numerous Anatolian rulers, from dynasties of Iranian origin in Pontus (including the famous Mithridates VI), Commagene, Armenia, and Iberia, indicating that he was still seen in these regions as the guarantor of royal authority. In contemporary Zoroastrianism, Mithra remains seen as the ultimate guarantor of justice; he continues to be venerated through ancient Avestan hymns and prayers, celebrated with great pomp during his annual festival Mehregan, and throughout the rest of the year in chapels dedicated to him. Mehregan is generally held in the autumn (earlier in the Yazd region). Traditionally, the local Zoroastrian community gathers for a celebration that includes a ceremonially slaughtered and roasted sheep or lamb, but this practice has tended to become less common since the mid-20th century, as it is perceived as inconsistent with religious principles. In the Revayats and Parsi texts in Gujarati, the expression Dar-e Mehr appears, meaning "gate/court of Mithra," and is used to designate the fire temple, a Zoroastrian place of worship. Today, it is known as Dar be-mehr. This etymology has not received a consensus explanation. Etymological theories see a derivation from mithryana (Meillet) or *mithradana (Gershevitch) or mithraion (Wilcken). It has been proposed that the term is a throwback to the age of the shrine cults, the name being retained because all major Zoroastrian rituals were solemnized between sunrise and noon, the time of day especially under Mithra's protection.