Three Kings in doubt

With their sparkling crowns, flowing robes and exotic gifts, the Three Kings have always been key to the retelling of the Nativity.

But today experts have cast doubt on their glittering presence at the bedside of the Messiah, saying it was either two or four men who arrived in Bethlehem. Far from being monarchs, moreover, they were in fact Persian priests.

The finding is one of many by a panel of acclaimed experts, including art historians and astronomers, which is to be explained in the BBC documentary The Mystery Of The Three Kings.

Using artefacts and texts spanning more than 2,000 years to shed light on the confusion that has long surrounded the Nativity scene, the experts' work took them from ancient Persia to modern Europe.

At the heart of the investigation is the earliest existing works of art depicting the Nativity: 1,700-year-old paintings discovered on the walls of the Catacombs in Rome.

Instead of portraying the Three Kings, the illustrations show either two or four men paying tribute to the newborn baby.

Oxford University art historian Jas Elsner said: "The very first paintings are in the Roman Catacombs. Sometimes you get Christ in between with one or two on either side, but the model of three isn't fixed until later."

Producer Sarah Strupinski, of Atlantic Productions, added: "We don't believe there were three kings at all. There were maybe two or four men who visited and we believe they were Persian priests."

While there is little factual evidence to support the belief that there were three kings, the image has annually adorned cards, carols and nativity scenes. But only one passage in the Gospel of St Matthew, written 40 years after the birth of Christ, refers to the arrival of "wise men" - and there is no mention of numbers. The documentary demonstrates how the belief there were three kings was the result of over-fertile artistic imaginations loosely based on the Gospel.

It is far more likely, it reveals, that the Magi were priests of Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Persian empire.

The faith, which involves praying to the Wise Lord Ahura Mazda, was one of the oldest in the world and had a profound influence on the development of Judaism. It has more than 5,000 practitioners in Britain today, and its only European temple is based in Hampstead.

Historian William Dalrymple said of the Gospel of St Matthew: "You've got to ask yourself what would Matthew's audience have understood.

"They would have quite clearly not understood three wise men like we have in our Christmas cards. They would have understood the visit of the Magi as being a visit by Persian priests." The documentary also concurs that the wise men were guided by the sky from ancient Persia to Bethlehem.

The discovery of a 2,000-year-old coin depicting Aries the ram leaping up at a star prompted astronomer Michael Molnar, of Rutgers University in the United States, to link the image to the birth of Christ.

While Judea was frequently symbolised by Aries, astrological events at the time also reveal how Jupiter was eclipsed by the moon around the time of Christ's birth.

Concluding that this was Christ's birthday and the Star of Bethlehem was in fact Jupiter, Mr Molnar says: "17 April, 6BC, I knew had to be auspicious, very special and was indicative of the birth of a king of the Jews."

The Mystery Of The Three Kings is on BBC2 this Saturday at 8.15pm.