Secret Societies: What? Why? How? When? and Where?
Episode 3: The Cult of Mithras – The Secret of the Sun Born in the Caves of Darkness
By Bilal Shaukat Azad
The study of history repeatedly introduces us to the cosmic reality that great empires are not recognized merely by the expansion of their geographical borders, the strength of their walls, or the clashing of their swords. Rather, their true soul and survival lie hidden within the covert ideas and psychological motives that silently govern the minds of their inhabitants.
When we carefully and critically examine the global, cultural, and political landscape of the first century CE, a map emerges of a world standing at the crossroads of a tremendous ideological and spiritual conflict.
This was an era when the Roman Empire was touching the absolute zenith of its power and peak. Rome's iron talons had gripped from the cold shores of Britain in the West to the scorching deserts of Syria and the borders of Persia in the East.
The Roman Legions had become the most invincible military force in the world, and in Rome's glittering, giant temples carved from marble, state deities like Jupiter and Mars were worshipped with full majesty.
However, dear readers, if you scratch beneath this superficial historical shroud and descend into the psyche of an ordinary Roman soldier or a member of the elite of that era, you will sense a deep spiritual vacuum, a fear of death, and a strange psychological restlessness behind those glittering temples.
The official religion of the Roman Empire had essentially become a hollow and superficial state arrangement.
Their gods were powerful but detached entities sitting in the heavens, possessing no clear or comforting philosophy for an individual's personal salvation, forgiveness of sins, or life after death.
When a Roman soldier fought daily on foreign fronts, looking into the eyes of death for the expansion of the empire, he needed a god and a faith that could promise him a new and eternal life after death.
It was this ancient human psychological need, the instinct for survival, and the search for a mysterious spiritual sanctuary that gave birth to the greatest, most complex, and most influential secret military brotherhood of the early common era, known to history as the "Cult of Mithras" or the "Mysteries of Mithras."
This was the mysterious, silent, and underground network that gripped the hearts of the Roman army and elite so deeply that a time came when this cult emerged as the largest and most terrifying ideological rival to early Christianity. If the wheel of history had turned just slightly differently, today the entire Western world might have been worshipping Mithras instead of practicing Christianity.
The Origins and the Geopolitical Migration of a Deity
To understand the true reasons behind the existence of this mysterious cult, its historical motives, and its intellectual foundations, we must conduct an entirely objective and scholarly review of the journey of its name and its geographical evolution.
"Mithra" was fundamentally not a new or uniquely Roman deity.
The roots of this name are deeply embedded in the ancient Indo-Iranian civilizations. In the holy book of ancient India, the *Rig Veda*, and the sacred book of ancient Iran’s Zoroastrian religion, the *Avesta*, "Mitra" or "Mithra" is mentioned as an angel or cosmic force who was the custodian of light, truth, covenants, and the rays of the sun.
In the dualistic philosophy of the Zoroastrian religion—where an eternal war was waged between the god of goodness, Ahura Mazda, and the god of evil, Ahriman—Mithra was Ahura Mazda’s most powerful warrior angel, fighting against darkness and falsehood.
However—and here lies a highly critical and nuanced point of history and sociology—when the Roman armies headed east and came under the influence of Parthian and Persian civilizations, they borrowed merely the name and the outward warrior attire of Mithras. The intellectual, philosophical, and organizational structure they erected around it was purely that of a Roman "mystery cult"—a secretive, esoteric sect.
Early theories by historical and esoteric scholars, including the pioneer of this subject, Franz Cumont, suggested that Roman Mithraism was simply a modified form of Iranian Zoroastrianism.
Yet, modern historical, archaeological, and astronomical research has refuted this claim. Modern experts from Oxford and Harvard agree that Roman Mithraism was an entirely new, distinct, and Western covert movement that shared little more than a name with the Iranian Mithra.
This cult lacks a single, historically proven founder. It was not the product of an individual mind; rather, it was an institutional and ideological network that emerged spontaneously within the forces of the Roman Empire during the first century CE. It was utilized as a hidden weapon by the empire's bureaucracy, merchants, and particularly its military generals to secure their power, loyalty, and mutual interests.
## The Mithraeum: The Underground Labyrinths of Darkness
The true strength of Mithraism did not lie in any public temple or street-corner oratory; rather, its awe and glamor were hidden within its terrifying, dark, and mysterious cellars called the **Mithraeum**.
Across the length and breadth of the Roman Empire, from Syria to Scotland and Germany, archaeologists have discovered more than 400 such underground secret temples or caves to date.
These Mithraea were intentionally constructed beneath the earth, windowless and in the shape of dark caves. The ceilings of these caves were frequently adorned with maps of stars and planets.
The darkness of this cave was a symbol of the material and dark aspect of the universe in which the human soul is imprisoned. The rituals performed inside the cave represented an esoteric journey to emerge from this darkness toward light—the ultimate salvation.
The size of these secret sanctuaries was intentionally kept small, accommodating no more than thirty or forty individuals at a time. This demonstrates that their objective was not to gather a crowd of the masses, but to establish a highly tight-knit, loyal, and elite brotherhood.
The Tauroctony: Decoding the Astronomical Star Map
At the absolute center of every Mithraeum, the most central, vital, and fiercely debated symbol or relief of this cult was installed, known as the **Tauroctony**.
This was a highly dramatic and symbolic scene depicting the god Mithras inside a cave, astride the neck of a colossal wild bull, pulling back its nostrils, and plunging his dagger into its shoulder. Mithras's face was typically turned away from the bull, looking backward toward the sun, as if he were committing this slaughter under a divine command or out of cosmic necessity. From the flowing blood of this bull, ears of wheat were shown sprouting.
Beneath this scene, a dog and a snake were depicted licking the bull's blood, while a scorpion stung the bull's testicles, and a raven perched on Mithras's shoulder.
This seemingly violent, horrific, and incomprehensible scene actually concealed a deep astronomical, scientific, and esoteric philosophy that astonished modern researchers.
For centuries, historians and orientalists considered it a mere mythological tale of Mithras slaying a bull to bring fertility to the earth. However, in the 1980s, the American researcher David Ulansey presented a revolutionary and concrete scientific theory that decoded this secret code of Mithraism once and for all.
According to Ulansey's research, the scene of the Tauroctony is not an earthly event; it is completely an astronomical star map.
Every animal in this scene represents a specific zodiac sign or constellation in the sky:
* **The Bull** represents Taurus.
* **The Dog** represents Canis Minor.
* **The Snake** represents Hydra.
* **The Raven** represents Corvus.
* **The Scorpion** represents Scorpius.
According to Ulansey, this cult was born when ancient Greek astronomers (such as Hipparchus) discovered the scientific theory of the precession of the equinoxes—the movement of the Earth's axis. This discovery proved that the entire canopy of the sky changes its axis every two thousand years.
For the people of that era, this discovery was so astonishing and terrifying that they felt an absolute, supernatural, and infinite power must exist outside the universe capable of moving the entire sky and the axis of the stars. Mithras was that very powerful god who, with his dagger, was ending the cosmic era of the bull (the Age of Taurus) to lay the foundation for a new cosmic age.
> "The Mithraic Mysteries were, therefore, not merely a religion of salvation, but an astronomical religion... Mithras was the god capable of moving the entire universe, a power greater than the cosmos itself, revealed only to those who possessed the intellectual and esoteric keys."
> — *David Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World, p. 94*
>
## The Seven Degrees of Initiation and Military Asabiyyah
Entering into this terrifying and mathematical universe and becoming a member of the Cult of Mithras was one of the harshest trials of human endurance.
The cult divided internal human development and organizational hierarchy into seven distinct degrees of initiation, which were directly attributed to the seven planets and celestial spheres discovered at the time. For a newcomer, joining this organization was akin to conquering the realm of stars by passing through the valley of death.
In these secret initiation rituals, the candidate was blindfolded, his hands bound, and he was led into the darkness of the cave. He was subjected to artificial mortal dangers, the edge of a sword, and the heat of fire so that every fear and worldly ego within him would be reduced to ash.
The seven degrees of the organization were as follows:
1. **Corax (The Raven):** Under the influence of Mercury.
2. **Nymphus (The Bridegroom):** Under the influence of Venus.
3. **Miles (The Soldier):** Governed by Mars. When a candidate reached this vital third stage, his blindfold was removed, and he was offered a crown on the tip of a sword. The candidate had to drop this crown with his own hand and swear an oath: *"Mithras is my only crown."*
4. **Leo (The Lion):** Under the influence of Jupiter.
5. **Perses (The Persian):** Governed by the Moon.
6. **Heliodromus (The Sun-Runner):** Under the influence of the Sun.
7. **Pater (The Father):** Governed by Saturn. This "Pater" was the supreme leader or Grand Master of that specific cave or branch of the organization.
These seven degrees, their rigorous trials, specific passwords, and secret handshakes created a formidable and insurmountable social and organizational bond among the Roman army, bureaucracy, and merchants—a concept known in sociology as **Asabiyyah** (social cohesion).
The great Muslim philosopher Ibn Khaldun identified *Asabiyyah* as the fundamental driving force behind the rise and fall of nations and organizations. To Ibn Khaldun, *Asabiyyah* is that intense social and psychological bond—born out of blood ties, ideology, or a shared interest and oath—that compels people to die for one another.
When soldiers and generals of different races, regions, and languages within the Roman army gathered in the same dark cave, took an oath in the name of the same deity, and shared bread and wine from the same vessel, they developed an *Asabiyyah* deeper than blood relations.
They became each other's confidants, helped one another secure promotions, and began influencing the highest decisions of the state behind the scenes. This point reveals the reality that no secret organization is established purely for the worship of a deity or blind devotion; a solid political, military, and economic interest is hidden behind every esoteric sect.
Mithraism was essentially an early oligarchical and Masonic-style network of the powerful classes of the Roman Empire through which they concentrated state power in their hands. Furthermore, this cult was completely and strictly restricted to men. Not a single authentic historical book or archaeological discovery proves that any woman was ever granted membership in the Cult of Mithras. It was a pure brotherhood of men, and specifically of warriors.
The Clash of Civilizations: Mithraism vs. Early Christianity
At this stage in history, a magnificent, decisive, and civilizational clash erupted that permanently shaped the intellectual and religious direction of the world.
From the first century CE to the fourth century CE, two highly powerful and parallel movements were confronting each other in the streets, dark cellars, and public gatherings of the Roman Empire to capture the human soul, its salvation, and dominance over the state.
On one side stood the mysterious and military cult of Mithras, ruling the hearts of the elite and the army. On the other side was the movement of early Christianity, composed of followers of Jesus, which was spreading rapidly as a beacon of hope in the hearts of the poor, slaves, and women, despite oppression, state tyranny, and being forced underground.
The astonishing similarities between these two movements left modern historians, researchers, and particularly conspiracy theorists in a state of wonder and conflict:
* Both religions offered the concept of a **Savior** who delivers humans from the darkness of sin and death to eternal life.
* Both utilized a ritual of **Baptism** or ceremonial washing for entry. In Christianity, baptism was given with water, whereas in the higher degrees of Mithraism, baptism was often given by slaughtering a bull and using its warm blood (**Taurobolium**).
* Followers of both religions held a specific day of the week as sacred (Sunday).
* Christians partook in a **Sacred Meal** where bread and wine were consumed as symbols of Christ's body and blood. Surprisingly, in Mithraism, members inside the cave drank from a similar shared cup of wine and ate bread, viewing it as a source of spiritual salvation.
These stark similarities caused deep distress and intellectual challenges for early Christian apologists and thinkers.
The famous early Christian philosopher Justin Martyr and the second-century Christian scholar Tertullian were stunned when they observed these rituals of the Cult of Mithras. To defend against and dismiss these similarities, they forged an argument that was highly potent for their era.
Tertullian claimed that these practices found in the Cult of Mithras were actually the cunning and deception of the Devil. In his famous work, *De Praescriptione Haereticorum*, he wrote explicitly:
> "Diabolus, cuius sunt partes intervertendi veritatem, qui ipsas quوقع res sacramentorum divinorum idolorum mysteriis aemulatur... baptismum habet et ipse, et promittit expiationem delictorum de lavacro... oblationem panis celebrat."
> *"The devil, whose business is to pervert the truth, mimics the exact realities of the divine sacraments in the mysteries of idols... he too experiences a baptism, and promises the remission of sins from a bath... and he celebrates the offering of bread."*
> — *Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum, Chapter 40*
>
Tertullian's claim was a historical acknowledgment that the rituals of Mithraism and Christianity shared such a deep resemblance that it became difficult for an ordinary person to distinguish between them.
Dismantling the Conspiracy Theories
This resemblance and historical clash gave birth to a famous and controversial conspiracy theory in the modern world that created a storm across social media, documentaries (such as *Zeitgeist*), and the internet era.
Proponents of this conspiracy theory—including certain nineteenth-century thinkers and contemporary secular rationalists—claim that Christianity has no genuine or divine existence at all. Instead, they argue that early Christians stole or "copied" their entire religion, the persona of Jesus, his birth, and his miracles directly from the Cult of Mithras and Egyptian myths.
These claims assert with great intensity that Mithras was also born on December 25th to a virgin mother (Virgin Birth), had 12 disciples, performed the miracle of resurrection on the third day after dying, and was regarded as the savior of the world. Therefore, to them, Christianity and other revealed religions are merely modified and plagiarized versions of esoteric cults.
However, dear readers, when we conduct a comparative and scientific study of these sensational and supernatural claims on the scales of serious history, formal research, and logic, this entire conspiracy theory collapses like a house of cards.
Authoritative scholars from Oxford and Cambridge, modern archaeologists, and credible Western researchers of esoteric sciences agree that **the claims of Mithras having 12 disciples, being born on December 25th, and being born of a virgin mother are entirely baseless, fabricated, and the result of nineteenth-century historical fabrications.**
Not a single authentic cave, statue, or discovered inscription of Mithraism contains any evidence of Mithras having 12 disciples. The twelve signs found in Tauroctony scenes are merely astronomical symbols of the zodiac, not human beings.
Similarly, regarding the birth of Mithras, the foundational and most authentic concept in Roman Mithraism is that Mithras was not born from the womb of a woman or a human; rather, **he was born out of a solid rock or stone** (known as *Petra Genetrix*), holding a dagger and a torch at the moment of his birth. Therefore, linking him to a virgin birth is blatant ignorance and academic dishonesty.
As for the date of December 25th, in the Roman Empire, this date was the festival of **Sol Invictus** (The Unconquered Sun). In winter, when the days become short and sunlight begins to increase again after December 25th, ancient civilizations celebrated it as the birthday or victory of the sun god.
When early Christianity gained dominance over the Roman Empire, they substituted the date of this old festival with the birth date of Christ to transition people away from old pagan traditions and make their religion acceptable. This may be cultural integration (*Syncretism*), but claiming the entire revealed religion is a direct copy is a flat denial of verified history.
The pure, rational, and divine stance of Islam on this matter is entirely clear. Islam does not base the truth of any prophet or messenger on their birth date, outward rituals, or similarities to other religions; rather, the foundation of Islam stands on pure monotheism (*Tawhid*) and reason.
The Holy Quran rejected sun worship or star adoration—the core philosophy of Mithraism—once and for all through the story of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him):
> "فَلَمَّا رَأَى الشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَذَا رَبِّي هَذَا أَكْبَرُ ۖ فَلَمَّا أَفَلَتْ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ"
> *"And when he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my lord; this is greater.' But when it set, he said, 'O my people, indeed I am free from what you associate with Allah.'"* (Al-Quran, Surah Al-An'am, Verse 78).
>
This logical and philosophical reasoning of Prophet Abraham is the death knell for every esoteric sect that elevates the material elements of the universe or the stars to the status of God.
The Fall of the Giant Club
What was the ultimate outcome of this long and nerve-wracking conflict between Christianity and Mithraism?
How did that cult, which possessed the sword of the Roman army, the gold of the elite in its cellars, and astronomical knowledge spanning centuries, get erased from the pages of history, while Christianity—which began with the poor and slaves—triumphed?
The primary reason was the sociological and societal weakness inherent in the nature of Mithraism. **The Cult of Mithras was an elite club.** There was no room in it for women, the general poor public, or the weak.
In contrast, Christianity offered a universal and comprehensive message in which the doors of salvation were open to all—man, woman, rich, poor, master, and slave alike.
The second major reason was that Mithras was a non-historical, mythological, and fictional character who never had any practical existence on earth. Christianity, on the other hand, possessed a historical figure in the form of Jesus, who endured suffering on earth, made sacrifices, and presented a practical model before the people.
When Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity in the fourth century CE, the balance of power shifted entirely. That state sword which until yesterday was cutting the necks of Christians now fell as a wrath upon the cellars of Mithras.
By the late fourth century, during the reign of the Christian Emperor Theodosius, Mithraism was completely banned. Their underground temples were destroyed, the heads of their statues were shattered, and the entrances to their caves were sealed with stones forever. The world's most powerful military brotherhood was buried in the dust of history.
The Metamorphosis of Esoteric Rebellion
But, dear readers, did that cult and its esoteric thoughts truly perish completely? Did the hunger to know the secrets of the universe and that intense psyche of restricting knowledge to select classes for the acquisition of power—reared in those caves—die out?
Absolutely not!
The tyranny of history does not eliminate ideas; it merely forces them to descend deeper and adopt a new guise.
Those scattered members of the Roman army and seekers of ancient esoteric sciences, who had lost everything in the ruins of Mithras, now chose a new, dangerous, and highly complex intellectual path instead of clashing directly with the state or the newly dominant religion (Christianity)—a path that began hollowing out faith from within.
Temples and caves were no longer necessary; the war was now over the human soul, the concept of salvation, and the acquisition of "hidden knowledge."
It is from here that those mysterious thinkers and spiritual rebels emerge on this new stage of history, striking at the roots of traditional religions and claiming that the God of the universe is one, and the God of the earth is another.
In the next phase of this serial research encyclopedia, we will exit this bloody war of power and step into those complex and dark forests of thought and soul, where rebellion was waged not with the sword, but with philosophy and the "knowledge of salvation."
In the next episode, our topic will be: **The Gnostics: In Search of Secret Knowledge, Salvation, and Forbidden Wisdom**, where we will operate on the brain of the esoteric movements that provided all modern secret societies with their true ideological and intellectual nourishment!
*To be continued!*
**Note:** *The purpose of this serial research project is not to incite hatred against any individual, religion, nation, sect, organization, or civilization, but rather to understand those hidden corners of history in an academic, research-oriented, and unbiased manner that influenced the balance of politics, economy, religion, civilization, and power across different eras.*
*Throughout this journey, our effort will be to learn to distinguish clearly between authentic historical facts, traditions, fictional narratives, conspiracy theories, and unverified claims, so that opinions can be formed based on reason, research, and critical consciousness rather than emotion. We will review the historical evolution, ideologies, beliefs, objectives, methodologies, mutual relationships, conflicts, and real or attributed impacts on the world of secret societies, esoteric movements, religious and political brotherhoods, revolutionary networks, global elites, intelligence agencies, and hidden centers of power from the ancient world to the modern era.*
*Concurrently, we will attempt to understand the root causes of the centuries-old differences and conflicts among various civilizations, religions, states, and ideologies—which matters belong to authentic history, which pertain to political propaganda, and which were given birth by later conspiracy narratives. Reading this entire series in order from beginning to end will help us not only better understand the historical reality of secret societies and different centers of power but also recognize where the ideological, political, religious, economic, and informational struggles stand in today’s world, how far various organizations and networks have reached with their respective ideologies, and why as a conscious reader we need to test every claim on the touchstone of research, criticism, and authentic evidence. Our goal is not to create fear or sensationalism, but to promote knowledge, insight, historical awareness, and intellectual awakening, so that we can separate reality from fiction, history from propaganda, and evidence from mere claims.*
*Stay tuned!*
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