The Dark Side of the Moon: Origin and Legacy of the Secular Sasanian Middle Persian Literature between Pahlavi and Dari

The article deals with the linguistic nature of the Middle Persian scientific literature, and in particular with the astrological and astronomical texts written and/or translated in the framework of the Sasanian Empire. The present studies shows that the public interested in philosophy, medicine, astronomy, astrology and sciences was not stricly linked to the Mazdean Church and that many scriptoria, connected with the interests of the Iranian upper classes had to exist. In particular, this investigation insists on the possibility that part of this esoteric and scientific literature was written in a norther variety of Pahlavi, known as Dari, and that this medium was the vehicle of transmission of many doctrines not controlled by the Sasanian Zoroastrian Church.