ZAGREB - The mystery of Christ’s birth for Christians world-wide has many questions we may never acquire clear answers for. It is the subject of a religion based on holy tradition in the form of four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel of Matthew, in the report on Christ’s birth, wrote of the arrival of mysterious Magi from the east who came to Jerusalem and asked Jewish King Herrod (37 - 4 BC) and the Jewish clergy where the newly born king of the Jews was as they had followed his star and had come to offer themselves to him. Herrod, who ruled over the Jews in a cruel and unmerciful way as a complete servant of the Roman Empire, was very upset and surprised by the news. Is it possible a new usurper has appeared to dethrone him? The Jewish clergy was no less upset at the news. One of the greatest secrets of their holy scrolls was the coming of the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, who will - as the Son of God - raise Israel and the Jews to the highest place in the world, which was prophesised by prophets and holy kings in Jewish history. How is it possible some foreigners have learned of this secret and announced it to the Jewish people?

Truly, the secret could no longer be hidden. Herrod made the priests announce where, according to prophesies, the Messiah was to be born. They all replied in one voice: Bethlehem, a small town near Jerusalem where the king of Israeli kings - David - was born. Nobody could have known this, except these mysterious foreigners, who were, according to them, brought to Judea by a star. This star miraculously pointed to the small house where Mary and her new born son were. "Very happy," as Matthew wrote, "they fell to their knees and paid their respects. Then they opened their treasure chests are presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh." However, Herrod had dreamt of doing harm to the newly born Messiah and the Magi were, according to Matthew, "instructed by God not to return to Herrod and to return to their homelands along a different route."

Who were these mysterious foreigners, how did they learn of Jesus’ birth and what was the point of their arrival at the very beginning of Christ’s life? From that time to the present, that event (which the other three Gospels do not mention) is written about in numerous literature and the Holy Three Kings, Magi or three wise-men have become one of the most important symbols in world literature. Moreover, this new testament topic attracted the attention of the best known world artists and musicians to try incorporate them into their works.

However, there was always a question somewhere - did it really happen or is it only a religious legend? At the beginning of this century a famous German Iranologist, Ernst Herzfeld, in his research, discovered one of the three wise-men. The one he discovered was, according to legend, called Caspar or Gaspar, and was a real person. His written sources were later confirmed by a substantial large amount of coins with the face of this ruler. Today we can, with absolute certainty, claim that this king, who was called Gathaspa (Greek - Gondopharnes) ruled from 46 - 19 BC in one of the Persian kingdoms inside the huge Persian Empire. The area he ruled over is today located in south-eastern Afghanistan, around the Hilmed River, which flows into the Hamun Lake at today’s Afghani - Iranian border after flowing 1,200 km from its source in the Hindukus hills. Moreover, an American archaeology expedition in 1957 discovered the spectacular castle of Gaspar at Kuh-i-Khwaja in the middle of the above mentioned lake.

The kingdom ruled by Gaspar was called in Greek ‘Arachosia’, while in ancient Persian it was referred to as ‘Harawatia’, while its residents were ‘Harawats’. However, Gaspar was not only a king. He was also a Magi and prophet. In today’s science it is also believed that one of the most prominent wise-men and religious reformers in history, Zarathustra (Ancient Persian - Zartust) was born in Harawatia. He introduced monotheism to ancient Persian religion, through his wondrous hymns to one and true God. However, Zarathustra was also a prophet and he prophesised the coming of the Saviour of the World, God’s Chosen One - the Messiah. He called him ‘Saoshyant’ (‘the True One’), who will be born of the virgin ‘Vispathaurvairi’ (‘she who will defeat everybody’), and He will gather students around him who will be killed for their truth and justice, together with their Teacher. However, He will, in a miraculous way, be resurrected and after His return, He will rule justly and the era of the Evil Spirit (Arhiman) will forever be forgotten. It is not strange that the astronomer and prophet Gaspar from the Harawati Kingdom, knowing the secrets of Zarathustra’s holy writing, was able to discover where the Messiah will be born. He brought him gold, which was plentiful in his kingdom (the largest gold mines of that period were on the cliffs of Hindukus). Gaspar, however, did not present the gold as a fortune, rather as ‘king to kings’ (ancient Persian - Shah-in-shah), which was the title proudly carried by all Persian kings. This was a symbolic gesture showing the importance of the Messiah’s visit - He was sent to all the nations in the world to rule over them as the king of kings. The other two Magi were also kings - Baalshazar was king of Kaldea and Malik(ior) was king of Yemen. They were also prophets and astronomers, who brought the Messiah, as a true God, myrrh (balsam) as a symbol of his death and resurrection. However king Gaspar is mentioned after both Christ’s death and resurrection. The head apostle, Peter, sent Thomas to India, knowing that in the Far East, now old men, in the Kuh-i-Kwaja palace in Harawatia live the Holy Three kings. According to the apocryphal (secret) writings of St Thomas from the IV century, they joined Thomas the Apostle in spreading the glorious news throughout India and Persia. When in St Helen, in 327 AD, the mother of the first Christian Roman ruler - Constantine the Great - discovered the remains of the original crucifix of Jesus in Jerusalem, the great ruler of Persia, Sapur II, also heard of this news that shot through the entire world of that period. Though the Persian and Roman empires were enemies both in the political and religious sense at that time, he sent St Helen a golden chest wrapped in a fine silk cloth embroidered with golden griffins. The chest contained the remains of the Holy Three Kings and the cloth was Gaspar’s cape, as it was embroidered with the symbol of his kingdom - golden griffins. The elated empress gave the precious gift to the principle church in Milan, which is where she was baptised. In 1162 the German czar Friedrich II Barbarossa, crowning himself the king of Lombardia in Milan, took the holy relic to Cologne, where it remains in the safe of the highest cathedral in the word, where it is to the present day - together with the wondrous cape of Gaspar.

Was this mysterious king, prophet and priest Gaspar a Croat? We do not know, but he ruled a kingdom called Harawatia and its residents were Harawati. Croats have their name from them today, as well as a mutual history and mutual roots. This is how Croats have their place in this wondrous tradition of Holy Scrolls and Christianity.

Back to Croatian Christmas