A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity by Richard E. Payne

A nuanced understanding of Zoroastrianism's role in late antique Iranian political culture emerges from Richard E. Payne's work, challenging the myth of Zoroastrian intolerance towards Christians and other religious groups. Payne's research, grounded in Middle Persian texts, reveals a hierarchical structure within non-Zoroastrian beliefs, with Christians and Jews facing suppression rather than elimination. He argues that Christian hagiographies often exaggerate persecution, while also highlighting the participation of middle-ranking Christian elites in Sasanian society through land claims and lineage connections. The study further explores how Iranian Christians, despite their minority status, integrated into Zoroastrian systems, as seen in the re-imagining of Bisotun as a site of Christian martyrdom. Payne's approach combines textual analysis with historical context to present a balanced view of religious coexistence and conflict in Sasanian Iran.

Wood, P. (2016). A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity by Richard E. Payne. Journal of Late Antiquity, 9(2), 547–549. https://doi.org/10.1353/jla.2016.0025