- Zaden
Zaden ( _ka. ზადენი) was, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the
god of fruitfulness in a pre-Christian pantheon of ancientGeorgians ofKartli (Iberia of the Classical sources). KingParnajom of Iberia (109-90 BC) is reported to have built a fortress at MountZedazeni to house the colossus of Zadeni which, along with other pagan idols, are said to have destroyed through the prayers ofSt. Nino , a 4th-century female baptizer of Georgians.Beyond the passages from the medieval annals and the surviving toponym of Zedazeni (from "Zeda Zadeni", i.e., "Upper Zaden"), we lack contemporary records and archaeological evidence about this cult, however. Zaden is surmised by several modern scholars to have been a Georgian version of the
Luwian Santas or theHittite Sandon, but the identification withYazata ofZoroastrianism has also been suggested.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), "Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts". Peeters Bvba, ISBN 90-429-1318-5.]See also
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Armaz
*Gatsi and Gaim References
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