History of
Zoroastrianism
By Lee Min-Ju
Thesis Director: Alexander
Ganse
Contents
I.
Introduction
II.
Chronology
III.
Pre-Zoroastrian
Establishment
4.1. Era
of Zoroaster, the Prophet
4.2.
Earliest
Zoroastrian Faith
VI.
Time
of Interruption – Under Macedonians
VII.
Sasanid
Dynasty
VIII.
Zoroastrianism
in Islamic World
X.
Conclusion
Even highly educated adults know
very little about Zoroastrianism as a religion. Many of them moreover hold a
common misconception of Zoroastrianism as a worship of fire or some kind of
ancient cult. Surprising it is, when reflecting the fact that this ancient
Persian religion has had significant influences on humanity and world's major
religions, and is the oldest of the revealed world-religions. Being one of the
oldest religions and the oldest monotheist faiths, it had great influences on
Christianity, Mithraism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism and so on.
So long is the history of the
religion that its doctrinaire changes over time were vastly prodigious. This
paper will only focus on the Zoroastrianism and its beliefs during its very
earliest existence, starting from the time of Zoroaster (approx. 628-551BC) to
the Muslim conquest of the
B.C.E.
c. 5000
Rise of civilizations in the ancient Near East
c. 628
Traditional birth date of Zoroaster
551
Zoroaster died
550
521
Darius becomes king of
480
Greeks expel the Persians from
c. 460s-
Reign of Artaxerxes I (Zoroastrian calendar introduced, Zoroastrianism
established as the official religion of the loyal house ever
since)
c. 384-322
Aristotle alludes to Zoroastrian dualism
330
Darius III defeated by Alexander the Great
175
Mithraism (an offshoot of Zoroastrianism) emerges in
C.E.
224
Sasanid Empire established by Ardashir
241
Mani from
276-
Reign of Bahram I (Mani – founder of Manichaeism – was sacrificed to the
interests of Zoroastrianism and died in prison)
451
Sasanids defeats Christian Armenia
460
Sasanid king Firuz persecutes Jews, who emigrate to
484
Zoroastrian Sassanids Christian Armenia sign a treaty that allows the
Armenians to keep their religion
600
Zoroastrian high priest Tanar establishes the canon of the
Avesta
614
Sasanids capture
623
Byzantine troops destroy the fire temples of
651
Fall of Sasanid Empire by Muslim Arabs
697
Arabs force the Persians to abandon their alphabet in favor of the Arabic
script
900s
Flight of Zoroastrians to
c. 1010
Completion of the Shah-nama by Firdausi (Ferdowsi)
1477
The connection among Iranian and Indian Zoroastrians
re-established.
III.
Pre-Zoroastrian Establishment
Zoroaster certainly was the founder
of Zoroastrianism. That’s where the name comes from. However, the establishment
of the religion, especially some concepts and world views that Zoroaster took as
the basic of the religion, came from what were prevalently believed among
pre-Zoroastrian Iranian people.
There is no reliable and written
source for this, because the first related source is the Prophet, Zoroaster,
himself. However, comparative literary studies and later documents have
suggested that most basic concepts of Zoroastrian world views were already
established before Zoroaster by the form of tribe religions and
traditions.
Indo-Iranians, or Aryans, had a
polytheistic belief, but their belief included gods with the same names with
those appearing in Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism. For example, the
Aryans believed in Mitra, Varuna, Indra and Nasatyas and so on.
Also, at the time of the Prophet, there was a
specific Mithra religion already in existence. This religion practiced a bull
sacrifice (there are certain animal sacrifices- including bull as a major one in
Zoroastrianism), and Haoma cult (as in Zoroaster).’
Een before the time of the Prophet,
there were two forms of ‘paganisms’ existing side by side, namely the
ahura-tkaesha (doctrine of the ahuras) and the daevo-data (the law according to
the daevas). These are why there are some scholars recently arguing that the
history of Zoroastrianism should be counted from the old Indo-European
times.
4.1. Era of Zoroaster, the Prophet
Since there aren't many reliable
documents to reference in order to trackdown the life of Zoroaster the founder
of Zoroastrianism, scholars only can assume from existing fragments of resources
and stories about him. Although they do have some differing arguments over
trifle issues, most of the things seem to be agreed among them.
His original name was not Zoroaster,
but Zarathushtra, meaning 'yellow camel' in ancient Iranian. Zoroaster is a
Greek transliteration of the name. Although using names meaning something about
animals presented the person's importance, later Zoroastrians found their
prophet's name meaning 'yellow camel' rather primitive, so they claimed (and
some still insist) that Zarathushtra meant Golden Light in ancient Iranian.
When Zoroaster marked the initial
success of his prophetic mission in 588 BC, converting King Vishtaspa to become
a Zoroastrian, he was already forty years old. Since he lived seventy seven
years, it is generally agreed among scholars to date him at 628-551
BC.
However, according to the linguists
of both Europe and India, who worked on the Ganthas, holy books containing hymns
composed by Zoroaster, the language used by Zoroaster for Ganthic Avestan was
very close to the Sanskrit of the Indian Rig-Vedas, which dates back to
1500-1200 BC. A theory branched out from this fact: Zarathushtra lived far
earlier than 5-6th century BC, as believed by many people. However, rebuttal is
possible since some scholars argue that the 600 BC date is still plausible if
Gathic Avestan was actually an artificially preserved sacred language for
priests.
This dispute over the linguistic
study on Ganthas draws out a very interesting assumption about Zoroaster. Since
it is assumed that Gathic Avestan was used as a language among priests and
Vathas is composed on various abstruse philosophical and religious subjects that
ordinary people of that time didn't have an access to, people believe that
either Zoroaster had been a priest of the ancient Indo-Iranian religion that
flourished in Zoroaster's time or he received a priestly trainingfor this
religion at least. Supposedly, Zoroaster, who was either a priest or a
priest-wannabe of 'pagan' religion, runs out of monastery and establishes his
own religion after his vision.
Zoroasterwas a native of Rhages in
Media, but his life as a prophet of Zoroastrianism began in Chorasmia where he
met the King Vishtaspa to support him. His sphere of operation during his life
was also ancient Chorasmia, which includes modern Persian Khorasan,
Before his first vision, he had
spent years in wilderness meditating and trying to reach God. At the age around
thirty, he received his prophetic calling with a vision of God through Vohu
Manah ("Good Mind."). In the form of a huge angel, Vohu Manah came to him with
all the heavenly entities instructing Zoroaster in heaven. Basically his
prophecy from God contained revolutionary messages of religious purity and
social justice, speaking out against the corrupt priests and potentates of that
time. At last, he received perfect knowledge of past, present and future.
Materials in Ganthas indicate that
Zoroaster was cast out of his original home thereafter, and was forced to wander
with his followers;
"To what land should I turn? Where should
I turn to go?
They hold me back from folk and
friends.
Neither the community I follow pleases
me,
nor do the wrongful rulers of the
land...
I know... that I am
powerless.
I have a few cattle and also a few men"
(Yasna 46)"
Later Zoroaster became the court
prophet of the King Vishtaspa, after winning over the king and the court to
convert and become Zoroastrians when he was forty years old. Zoroaster's preach
towards King Vishtaspa was enhanced by a series of miracles, especially the
healing of a paralyzed horse.
According to what might be a mere
symbolic legend or a misbelief, Zoroaster had six children; three boys
(Isat-Vastra, Urva-tatnar and Hvara-chithra) and three girls (Farin, Thrity and
Pouru-chishti). Since the last Gatha talks about the marriage of Zoroaster's
daughter Pouruchista (Full of Wisdom) to King Vishtaspa's prime minister, itis
generally acknowledged that Zoroaster had at least one daughter.
Zoroaster also had three wives, and
the last of them was Hvovi (Good Cattle), the daughter of King Vishtaspa's prime
minister. As can be figured out, he didn't live in a so-called 'religious
vacuum.'
During his years at the court,
Zoroaster compiles his teachings in the Gathas, seventeen great hymns, which
have been faithfully preserved by Zoroastrian community.However, since these
hymns were only understood by limited groups of people, he had to orally preach
in plain language for his followers to pass down the messages, he believed, the
God has entrusted upon him.
How Zoroaster died still remains a
mystery. Some people say that he was killed by the foreign enemy of the king,
but if he were, there should've been some kind of holiday commemorating this
event there isn't any. Therefore, it is believed that he died rather
peacefully.
4.2. Earliest Zoroastrian Faith
- Zoroastrian
Dualism
Dualism in general is defined as a
'theory that in any domain of reality
there are two independent underlying principles, e.g. mind and matter, form and
content.' Especially, dualism when used in association with a religion is
defined as 'the theory that the forces of
good and evil are equally balanced in the universe.
(
Although Zoroastrianism, as the
earliest world-religion, was the first to introduce the concept of dualism, the
current dictionary definition of dualism is not the same as what the Zoroastrian
dualism directs. In fact, Zoroastrians themselves don't have a single, clear and
universally approved definition of dualism, since the teaching tended to be
changed over its over 2500 years of history.
Looking at the Zoroastrian dualism
defined from the sacred texts, it sounds similar to the modern definition. Two
places in Zarathustra's Gathas are there statements about the dualism.
First goes; 'Then each man and woman, for his or her
self, selects either of the two. Awaken to this Doctrine of ours before the
Great Event of Choice ushers in. Now, the two foremost mentalities, known to be
imaginary twins, are the better and the bad in thoughts, words, and deeds. Of
these the beneficent choose correctly, but not the maleficent. Now, when the two
mentalities first got together, they created "life" and "not-living". Until the
end of existence, the worst mind shall be for the wrongful, and the best mind
shall be for the righteous… (Yasna 30)'
Second goes; 'Now, I shall proclaim the two foremost
mentalities of life. Of these, the more progressive one told the retarding one
thus: Neither our thoughts, nor teachings, nor intellects, nor choices, nor
words, nor deeds, nor consciences, nor souls agree. (Song 3 of the 17 Gantha
hymns)'
Both passages suggest that there are
two 'foremost' opposite forces acting on the universe, but the interesting thing
here is that they do not 'balance', as modern definition of dualism suggests. In
Zoroastrian belief, although the responsibility of choice lies on each person,
the good side is generally more progressive one and is predestined to prevail.
First passage describes the two
extremes as 'imaginary twins'. Why call them twins, who are supposed to come
from the same source and be identical to each other, when they are the two
completely opposite forces? Doesn't the second passage make it clear that they
have nothing in common whatsoever?
The key to understand this
contradiction is to understand that in Zoroastrian belief, onlyconscious beings
can make a choice between Good and Evil, thus it is consciousness that
essentially links them. Although Good and Evil are completely opposite, they
have a third party, consciousness, to link between them. In the end, the concept
of Good and Evil in Zoroastrianism is like two sides of the same coin, both
directing two completely opposite sides, but essentially of one.
An attempt to reconcile the Two
Spirits had already been made in ancient time. 'Zurvanism', a branch of
Zoroastrianism, identified the Two Spirits as the twin sons of a single divine
father Survan (personification of Time).
According to Zaehner, Zurvanists
believe that the Holy and Destructive Spirits are basically the same being. This
belief developed based on Yasna 30.3-4 (above) and Gathas. In Yasna, Holy Spirit
and Destructive Spirit are known to be the twins. Together they form the light
and darkness of the world, and they are incomplete when they are separate,
because each of them only represents a half side of the world. In Gathas, Ahura
Mazda is known to be the father of Holy Spirit, thus Ahura Mazda is supposed to
be the father of both Holy Spirit and Destructive Spirits. Zurvanists thought
that because later Zoroastrians regard the Holy Spirit and Ahura Mazda as the
same, later Zoroastrians'view of the God, Ahura Mazda, is limited to the good
side of the world, thus incomplete. Zurvanists, therefore, developed a new
concept of Ahura Mazda which is composed of both Holy Spirit and Destructive
Spirit, the God having both good and bad sides.
Another sect of Zoroastrianism is
monotheism. Monotheists are the most flourishing among Zoroastrians and have
formed the mainstream Zoroastrian most of the times. They believe that Ahura
Mazda, composed of only Holy Spirit, is the only being worth being God, and
Destructive Spirit can never be equal or override Ahura Mazda. This concept of
God Ahura Mazda is similar to that of Christianity, since Christians also regard
God as being omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient, but Satan as being
opposed to God but never able to win over God.
Although Zoroaster had never
specifically revealed the primary origin of the Two Spirits, Zurvanism
flourished along with mainstream Zoroastrianists for centuries. It seems to have
disappeared some time after Arab Conquest.
- Fire as a
Symbol
Lots of people often regard
Zoroastrianism as a worship of fire, presumably from misleading presentations of
the media. In fact, fire is regarded as a symbol of truth and existence of the
God in Zoroastrianism. It is one of the six physical 'elements' of Bounteous
Immortals that came to be identified after the death of Prophet, Zarathustra.
Since God himself is not only spenta, 'holy' or 'bounteous', but also asha-van,
meaning 'trustful', Zoroastrians conduct sacred rituals before a sacred fire as
a proof of God's presence.
Zarathustra also recognizes that 'Truth exists and is to be reverenced in the
sacred fire (pg 54, Zaehner)'. The fire-alter also becomes the center of the
Zoroastrian cult. By an ordeal of fire and molten metal, Zoroastrians believe,
the Prophet vindicates the truth of his message and all humanity will be judged
in last Judgement.
The second of the Seven Chapters in
Ganthas deals with the subject of fire, and it is believed that the God reaches
his worshippers through fire. Fire is identical with his Holy Spirit, as it
reads, 'As fire thou art a joy to the Wise Lord, as the Most Holy Spirit art
thou a joy to him'.
In addition, fire is regarded as the
male principle, while water was a female element. Since Zoroastrians attributed
the symbol of fire to the God, it might be the sign of andocentric society.
- Zoroastrian Sacred
Text
The Holy Book of Zoroastrianism is
called the Zend Avesta, believed to be written by Zoroaster himself. Zend Avesta
preserves the conversation between Zoroaster and the angel in a series of five
hymns, called the Ganthas. The book basically contains the core text and beliefs
of the religion.
The Ganthas are abstract sacred
poetry, teaching the followers to worship only One God, understand righteousness
and cosmic order, promote social justice and make a wise choice between good and
evil.
Some parts of Avesta were written
after Zoroaster (some argue many centuries later). These parts of Avestas deal
with laws of ritual and practice with the traditions of the faith. The followers
of Zoroastrianism are divided between those who would stick to the teachings of
the original Ganthas and those who regard the later traditions important as
well.
- Zoroastrian Influences on Other
Religions
1. Christianity and
Judaism
The points of resemblance between
Zoroastrianism and Judaism, and hence also between the former and Christianity,
are many and striking. The two major religions have adopted a lot of things from
Zoroastrianism. Some scholars even call Christianity a Mithric cult, since a lot
of Christianbeliefs, teachings and practices came from Zoroastrianism.
1) Use of candles in
worship
All the Zoroastrian
worship rituals are conducted before a sacred fire, because Zoroastrians regard
fire as a symbol of God. The presence of the fire in the worship represents that
theirGod, Ahura Mazda, is present with the worshippers. It seems that the use of
candles and lamps in Christian rituals came from Zoroastrian worship of the
fire.
2) The
serpent
In the Christian Bible,
it is mentioned how serpent seduced Eve to eat the forbidden apple in the Garden
of Eden. Thus, the serpent exists as the first and intrinsic evil in the Bible.
Zend Avesta, the holy
book of Zoroastrianism, shows a similar definition of the serpent. In the
Creation chapter of the Zend Avesta, Angra Mainyu, the evil spirit,
countercreates all the bad things against what Ahura Mazda, the Good God, has
created. The firstthing that Ahura Mazda created was Airyana Vaego (one of the
good lands and countries). Against this, Angra Mainyu created the serpent, which
in Zend Avesta is called 'a work of Devas.'
This resembles God's
creating Garden of Eden in the Bible and serpent's ruining it. Likewise, Ahura
Mazda creates Airyana Vaego, a sacred land, and the serpent becomes the first
evil spirit in the land.
3)
Dualism
Christian view of the God
and devil is similar to that of monotheist Zoroastrians. Monotheist Zoroastrians
and Christians believe that the God is only a good and supreme god, and the God
is predestined to prevail over the evil, although the evil is supposed to be
opposing and rival force of the good.
The idea of Satan and his
being an opposite force of good God yet ultimately weaker one came from
Zoroastrian concept of Angra Mainyu.
4) Free
Will
Zoroastrians and
Christians both focus on the importance of individual to choose between good and
evil. Although they both believe that the God is only good and is predestined to
prevail over the evil, both Zoroastrian and Christian Gods bestow free will to
human beings.
Zoroastrians believe that
from the lowest level of ox to the highest level of Ahura Mazda, every single
being has to make the choice between the Truth and the Lie. Christians, on the
other hand, believe that this blessed free will is only attributed to human
beings.
5) Heaven &
Hell
Heaven and Hell are both
described variously in Gathas. Gathas called heaven as being the 'best'
existence, while hell is described to be the 'worst' existence. By 'best' and
'worst', Zoroaster meant to describe the spiritual joy, but not physical one.
Heaven is the 'house of Good Mind' and Good Minded beings will enjoy rest there.
Description of the Hell
as being a place for punishment and resentment is much more vivid than that of
the Heaven as being a joyful place. The Hell is the 'House of Evil' and the
damned forever will be condemned to 'a
long age of darkness, foul food, and cries of woe (Ibid
30.20).'
6)
Savior
As Zoroaster worked as a
messenger of Ahura Mazda to teach and save other people, Jesus in Christianity
was the savior who came to Earth in order to teach and save other people.
7)
Resurrection
In Christianity,
resurrection of the body is commonly accepted concept, Jesus being a great
example as rising from the dead in three days and raising the dead from the
burial. In Zoroastrianism, the same concept of each existence getting back its
body and rising from the dead at the end of the time was suggested.
8) Final
Judgment
Zoroastrians hold a
belief that at the end of the time, a savior will come to renew all the life on
earth.
'He will raise the bodies of the
dead and unite them with their souls, there will be a mighty conflagration, and
all men will have to wade through a stream of molten metal which will seem like
warm milk to the just and be in very truth what it is to the wicked. The sins of
the damned, however, purged away in this terrible ordeal and all creation
returns to its Maker in joy.' (Ganthas)
The concept of the Final
Judgement in Christianity appears in the Bible as follows; 'Do not be amazed at this, for a time is
coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those
who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to
be condemned.' (John 5:28-29)
9)
Moses
Ahuramazda imparts his
revelation and pronounces his commandments to Zarathustra on "the Mountain of
the Two Holy Communing Ones." Christian God, Yahweh,holds a similar communion
with Moses on Sinai.
10) The Six Days of
Creation
The six days of Creation
in Genesis is similar to the six periods of Creation described in the
Zoroastrian scriptures.
11) Adam and
Eve
Mankind, according to
each religion, is descended from a single couple, and Mashya and Mashyana are
the Iranian Adam and Eve.
12) Great
Flood
In the Bible a deluge
destroys all people except Noah and his ark. In the Avesta, a winter depopulates
the earth except in the Vara ("enclosure") of the blessed Yima, the first one to
converse with Ahura Mazda before Zoroaster.
13)
Christmas
The birthday of Mithra, a
Zoroastrian God, is known to be December 25th, the same as the date that is
known as baby Jesus' birthday.
14)
Others
Worship on Sundays,
Angels and Archangels, Systems of angelology and demonology, the Coming of
Messiah, Celibate priests linking between the God and the normal people, and so
on.
2. Buddhism
Buddhism seems to have borrowed a
lot of its idea about 'prophet' from Zoroastrianism. Zoroaster experienced the
visions of Ahura Mazda while in wilderness and attained perfect knowledge of
past, present, and future. This process of 'enlightenment' is very similar, if
not identical, to that of Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism.
Also Buddha is known to have smiled
at his birth and glowed with lights surrounding him. Gathas mentions exactly
same things about Zoroaster's birth.
'His mother glowed with the divine
Glory usually reserved for kings; the soul of the prophet was placed by God in
the sacred Haoma plant and the prophet was conceived through the essence of
Haoma in milk (though the birth is not a virgin birth, but the natural product
of two special, but earthly parents.). The child laughed at his birth instead of
crying, and he glowed so brightly...' (Hannah)
Zoroaster goes into nature and then
meditates before he attains complete knowledge ofpast, present and future.
Therefore, meditation is highly regarded as the best way to reach God in
Zoroastrianism, while Buddhism also mentions that Buddha achieved Nirvana
through meditation, thus meditation is a very effective and good way to improve
oneself.
Even the life spans of these two
founders overlap, both being around 6C BC and Zoroaster's preceding Buddha's.
Considering that it was in Zoroaster's days when the Iranian peoples had fanned
out throughout not only modern
3. Islam
Islam has also been greatly
influenced by Zoroastrianism. Due to the similarities between these two
religions, some Muslims even claim that Zarathustra himself was one of Allah's
prophets, but this is not widely accepted.
1)
Dualism
The presence of good God
and the evil was also adopted in Islam. Muslims talk about the inner struggle
against the evil within oneself (Jihad 7), which sounds similar to the
Zoroastrian idea of the cosmic dualism, which refers to a universal conflict
between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu through struggles within
individuals.
2) Ritual
Cleanliness
In Islam, the performance
of ritual ablutions of all exposed skin with water or sand is necessary to
purify the body in order to protect the holy space that Muslims pray in from
dirtiness of the world. Similarly, Zoroastrians regard ritual cleanliness very
important as well, both in spiritual and physical senses.
3) Holy War
Islam permits or rather
glorifies fighting in defense of one's country, community and faith (Jihad 9).
This belief also most likely has its origins in Zoroastrianism, as also in
Zoroastrianism it is held that one must constantly fight against evil to further
the cause of good. Zoroastrians also believe that all the people on Earth, being
the creations of Ahura Mazda, should aid Ahura Mazda in his fight against Angra
Mainyu. Thus, in Zoroastrianism, the notion of actively fighting against evil is
more than acceptable.
When Cyrus the Great established the
Persan Empire, conquering large areas including Asian Minors, he extended his
rule over non-Iranian peoples. He also subjugated the Iranian tribes to the
east, thereby extinguishing the Chorasmian royal house of Vishtaspa, the patron
of Zoroaster.
King Darius adopted at least the
basic doctrines of the Zoroastrianism. He and his successors worshipped ‘Ahura
Mazda and the other gods who exist’ or ‘Ahura Mazda, the greatest God’. Later
on, King Xerxes publicly adhered to the Zoroastrianism. However, it was the time
of Artaxerxes I (465-425 BC) when the King publicly became adhered to the
religion and when the Zoroastrianism became the official religion of the royal
house.
Until the time of Macedonian
conquest in 330 BC, Zoroastrianism remained as the official religion of the
royal house and prevalent belief of the Persian people. Until this time,
Zoroastrianism remained as a form of ‘primitive Zoroastrianism’, a term used to
mean the original teachings of Zoroaster himself.
VI.
Time of Interruption – Under
Macedonians
Following the conquest of Alexander
the Great, although Macedonians didn’t force Iranians to make any serious
religious contribution, the influence of Hellenistic culture in Iranian world
was great after the introduction of Greek ways and Greek manners. The unity of
Iranian people and the privileged position of Zoroastrian faith were destroyed
by the collapse of the First Persian Empire.
Soon the Iranian religion
reappeared. However, during the later Achaemenian period, Zoroastrianism seems
to have transformed itself. The original teachings of Zoroaster was very much
distorted and diverged. Gods grew to bear combinations of Greek and Iranian
names. Zeus Ormazdes, Appolo Mithra, Helios Hermes, and Artagnes Herakles Ares
and so on.
This is also a period when
Zoroastrianism went through the re0paganization, where some of the old gods were
readmitted alongside the Ahura Mazda. This form of Zoroastrianism is called as
‘catholic Zoroastrianism’, meaning the syncretism of Zoroaster’s doctrine with a
revived nature-sorchip and polytheism, which was common trait of ancient Iranian
and Indian people.
The Sasanid Dynasty (the Second
Persian Empire) was established by the last of the Achaemenids who rose in
rebellion against his Parthian overlord and overthrew him. Desiring to establish
the former glory of the First Persian Empire, the Persian people restored the
Zoroastrian faith as the official religion of the land.
As Zoroastrianism came back up the
national religion of all
Stil, Sasanid Dynasty helped other
religions such as Manichaeism to rise up. The founder of Manichaeism was Mani.
Manichaeism was a faith which looks something like a combination of the
Zoroastrianism and Christianity.
Two persons are recorded as having
helped to re-established Zoroastrian faith: Karter and Tansar. The former is
known through contemporary inscriptions, whereas the latter is only remembered
in later book. Tansar, under Ardashir’s command, collected the sacred texts of
Zoroastrianism before it was distorted and changed under Hellenistic and outside
influences. Karter, on the other hand, flourished in the reign of Shapur I
(241-272) and some more time after his death, putting an effort into
establishing orthodoxy and enforcing it.
In the Sasanid period,
Zoroastrianism reached its third phase, after ‘primitive Zoroastrianism’ before
Macedonians and ‘catholic Zoroastrianism under Macedonians, ‘reformed
Zoroastrianism’.
VIII.
Zoroastrianism in Islamic World
Even after the fall of
Sasanid Dynasty by Muslims, the Islamic world in principle tolerated the ancient
Iranian religion to exist, only with additional head tax. In many provinces,
however, it is said that conversions by persuasion or force. Therefore the
Muslim conquest of the
Unlike Macedonians,
Muslims came in the name of Allah, and with the notion of one god who would
tolerated neither a rival nor an equal. Their doctrine was simple and new, and
their power was great. Zoroastrianism, its people already being disunited and
lacking an official support, slowly began to fall behind.
However, it is not only
unidirectional process. Zoroastrianism also affected by a lot of parts in Islam
as a religion. Therefore, new branches of Islamic doctrines came up, including
many parts of Zoroastrian beliefs.
Zoroastrians started
rebellions, and as a result, brought persecutions upon itself. Books were
produced to save the essentials of the religion from a threatened disaster.
Zoroastrians, called Garbars by the Muslims, survived in
Until the end of the
fifteenth century, Zoroastrians settled in
At the end of
15th century, the connection between Zoroastrians in
Under British rule, the
Zoroastrians in
Zoroastrianism nowadays is a
comparatively small religion with only about 10,000 followers, concentrated in
[1] R. C. Zaehner, Dawn and Twilight
of Zoroastrianism, A
[2] Zarathustra, Zend Avesta,
[3] The Everything Development
Company, "The Influence of Zoroastrianism on Christianity and Islam,"
<http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=783087>
[4] Willey, Mark. "Zoroastrianis,."
4 Jan, 2005,
<http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/religion/zoro.html>
[5] BuddhaNet, Buddha Dharma
Education Association,
[6] Zoroastrian Archives,
[7] Zoroastrian Web Page,
[8] Zoroastrianism Page,
<http://coulomb.ecn.purdue.edu/~bursara/ZOROASTRIAN>
[9] Hannah M.G. Shapero,