Of those few remaining, the plurality 70,000 live in india and are known as. The precise date of the founding of zoroastrianism is uncertain. I make obeisance to the mazdaworshipping religion which is opposed to the demons and is the ordinance of ohrmazd. With zoroastrianism on the decline, there is a chance the ancient religion may eventually disappear. Jun 25, 2005 zoroastrianism is a religion that developed in iran from about the sixth century bc, generally ascribed to zoroaster zarathustra, who was born in iran 258 years before alexander. Zoroastrianisms influence on judaism, christianity, islam. Abc news the ancient religion of zoroastrianism facebook. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. The parsis believe in the existence of one invisible god.
Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and. During his life, he received a vision from ahura mazda, the good god, of the reality occuring in this world. It is definitely one of the first monotheist religions. The religious books give khosrow the unique title of anoshirvan, with the. Full text of the religion of the good life zoroastrianism see other formats. Zoroastrians are the followers of the first revealed religion of mankind taught by a great thinker manthran known to greeks as zoroaster and to the persians as zarathushtra. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it is roughly estimated to be around the 7th century bce. He says that this is certainly the book to know more about the parsi way of life. Zoroastrianism also goes by other names such as mazdesianism, after ahura mazda, the highest god of zoroastrians. Jafarey foreword good conscience, the religion of zarathushtra, is, historically, the first and foremost monotheistic religion in the world. I have not read that book it is in two volumes i believe, so i cannot judge its arguments, but from a purely historical point of view, if zoroastrianism really said all the aforementioned material before jesus was around and then it traveled to babylon.
Ahuramazda, the sun god mithras, and the most important archangel, spenta mainyu holy spirit, formed a holy trinity. Ahura mazda is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the yasna. The avesta is the analogue of the bible for zoroastrians. Zoroastrianism was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran approximately 3500 years ago.
However, as herodotus reports in his first book paragraph 1 the persians had no images of their gods and considered the use of them as a sign of folly. Zoroastrianism is often referred to as the earliest christianity. The discrimination and harassment began in the form of sparse violence and forced conversions. What is the religious book of zoroastrianism and islam. The date of zoroasters birth has been given variously as 6000 bc, 1400 bc, and bc, but herzfeld accepts the traditional date, approximately, as now confirmed. In his visions, zarathustra was taken up to heaven, where ahura mazda revealed that he had an opponent, aura mainyu, the spirit and promoter of evil. Both have separate gods who have their own independent orders of management. N persian history, the most noteworthy contribution to religious philosophy is made by zoroastrianism. The corpus of religious texts in zoroastrianism is called the avesta, which is written. The most important texts of the religion are those of the avesta, which.
Zoroastrians living under muslim rule were required to pay a tax called jizya. Modern zoroastrian priest wearing mouth cover while tending a temple fire. Zoroastrianism, like other religions is a religion with a book or rather a religion possessing written texts. Zoroastrianism, the ancient pre islamic religion of iran that survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in india, where the descendants of zoroastrian iranian persian immigrants are known as parsis, or parsees. Zoroastrianism views the world as having been created by ahura mazda and as meant to evolve to perfection according to the law or plan of asha, the divine order of things. Muslims are recorded to have destroyed fire temples. Zoroastrianism was the first religion of its kind and although it is monotheistic, it is described as dualism as well. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down in the 3rd century. There are very few zoroastrians in the world today but it still holds an important place. The best current book on zoroastrianism is the zoroastrian tradition by farhang mehr, published by element books, 1991. It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. The matter of the fourth book of the denkard is composed from sentences selected from ayinin amuk vazin by adurfarnbag i farroxzadan, the leader of the faith 1 of the family of the educatedinthefaith, and saintly adarbad mahraspandan. Hinduism dominates in the indus valley civilization because of the aryan invasion into the dravidian civilization where the aryan had brought the oldest scriptures of. This has been a question of constant debate for long.
Zoroastrianism at a glance zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Feb 09, 2017 zoroastrianism is the ancient, preislamic religion of persia modernday iran. Have you ever wondered when popular religions started to develop. Monotheism is the belief in one ultimate reality or god. There are many aspects of christianity that were not drawn from judaism, although that religion was the major predecessor of christianity. Zoroastrian god ahura mazda the god on the verge of. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic faith, and in many regards, represents the origins of the concept. Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion older than christianity, buddhism and judaism that still exists today. This is a little red book in the wisdom of the east series, published by charles e. But some more recent researches date zoroastrianism to around 1200 b. May 27, 2005 i have not read that book it is in two volumes i believe, so i cannot judge its arguments, but from a purely historical point of view, if zoroastrianism really said all the aforementioned material before jesus was around and then it traveled to babylon, it does seem like a good argument against christianity.
Greek historian and visitor to ancient persia, herodotus, described c. Why is zoroastrianism referred to as dualistic but is still monotheistic. Zoroastrianism teaches that the ultimate controlling will in the universe is good and that good will prevail if man resists evil. Its religious core is a collection of songs or hymns, the gathas, thought to be in the.
Eschatologically, they represent a cosmogonic dualism between g. The persecution of zoroastrians occurred throughout the religions history. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Also known as zarathustra, zoroaster was the founder of zoroastrianism. As desired, what is being desired is truth for him who r. Ahura mazda translates as wise lord, reflecting the belief that he is all powerful. It was founded by zoroaster and it believes in one god, ahura mazda. There are, likewise, scattered passages in the vedas, brahmanas, smriti, and puranas that refer to the iranians and their religion.
There is not much books available about zoroastrianism in english so this book by the eminent iranologist mary boyce is a great start and valuable resource. Oct 02, 2016 with zoroastrianism on the decline, there is a chance the ancient religion may eventually disappear. So using the traditional definition of monotheism, many religious. Zoroastrianism is a religion that developed in iran from about the sixth century bc, generally ascribed to zoroaster zarathustra, who was born in iran 258 years before alexander. A large part of their population is divided between iran and india. Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. Ahura mazda and angra mainyu are not opposing gods in a polytheistic sense. Dualism is the belief in two gods or supreme beings that are opposites of each other.
Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. Zoroastrians believe there is one god called ahura mazda. The customs which i know the persians to observe are the following. Little is known about the earliest days of zoroastrianism after its establishment by iranian prophet zarathustra zoroaster in western culture but during the 6th century bce and 7th century ce zoroastrianism was the most influential religion in three consecutive persian empires known as iran. Here is a link to the site for the textbook revealing world religions related to which these. According to this philosophy, not only are truth and goodness eternal, but falsehood and evil also share eternity with them.
Ascribed to the teachings of the iranianspeaking spiritual leader zoroaster also known. In a world of seven billion people, roughly 150,000 zoroastrians make up less than onepercent of onepercent of the global population. This priesthood introduced many prezoroastrian gods into the religion. The ethical religion of zoroaster by miles menander dawson. The religious texts of the zoroastrian faith of ancient persia are referred to as the avesta. Unlike many other religions, it re in this volume, sir rustom masani, a distinguished parsi one of the remaining members of this remarkable sect recounts the life of the prophet and describes the background. The zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith. It centers on the words of the prophet zarathushtra, called zoroaster by the ancient greeks, and focuses worship upon ahura mazda, the lord of wisdom. In ancient times, the modern country of iran was known as persia.
The similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity. The prophet zoroaster zarathrustra in ancient persian is regarded as the founder of zoroastrianism, which is arguably the worlds oldest monotheistic faith. Iran there are numinous roots written primary for the scholar and the serious researcher, this is of no exception. Similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity although these are two different religions, they have many things in common. School of oriental studies of the university of london, 1982. Similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity. Zoroaster taught that the forces of good in the world served the supreme god ahura mazda and his holy spirit spenta mainyu. Pages in category names of god in zoroastrianism the following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total.
Russell national association for armenian studies and research 1987 vi, 578 p. It is hard to state that christianity didnt come from this ancient religion who has its roots in n. Zoroastrian places of worship were desecrated, fire temples were destroyed and mosque. It survives there in isolated areas but primarily exists in india, where the descendants of zoroastrian persian immigrants are known as parsis, or parsees.
Zoroastrians believe that god is responsible for all good things that happen to people, and by worshiping him and studying the holy book, the avesta, followers. This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was. The only impact was that some roman soldiers are found worshipping the god mithra. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. Zoroastrianism derives its names from its founder zoroaster, the persian prophet, who is also known as zarathushtra. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. He was born in azerbaijan, what was then known as northern persia. The literal meaning of the word ahura is lord, and that of mazda is wisdom ahura mazda first appeared in the achaemenid period c. It is light and sketchy, giving only facts the author deem relevant. Exploring the religion of zoroastrianism religion essay. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran approximately 3500 years ago. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. Mithra was seen as the supreme god that all other gods worshipped, symbolized by the invincible sun, and associated with truth and lght.
Zoroastrianism clearly has had a large influence on christianity. Major features of zoroastrianism, such as messianism, heaven and hell, and free will have, some believe, influenced other religious systems, including second temple judaism, gnosticism, christianity, and islam. Apr 08, 20 zoroastrianism is a monotheistic faith, and in many regards, represents the origins of the concept. Zoroastrian god ahura mazda the god on the verge of extinction. Zoroastrian scriptures presentation at north american mobed. A widely available translation of the gathas is by the belgian scholar duchesneguillemin, translated from the french by henning. Zoroastrianism is a religion much commented upon by a few enthusiastic oriental scholars, and less understood by the general public. Zoroastrianism was founded by the prophet zoroaster in the sixth century bce and was one of the first monotheistic faiths in the world. Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed worldreligions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith.
The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. Zoroastrianism an overview of zoroastrian religion. Its followers believe we are connected to the environment and that good and evil exist in all of us. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran.
I will give you my points 1 zoroastrianism is a monotheist reli. The religious philosophy of zoroaster divided the early iranian gods of the. The basics of zoroastrianism zoroastrianism is arguably the worlds oldest monotheistic religion. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. The good religion and the institutionalized zoroastrianism. In zoroastrianss view, because god created nature, it is pure and should.
One of the most obvious tenets of christianity that has its roots in zoroastrianism is the concept of dualism. From the beginning, zarathushtras prophetic teachings were embodied in words, though they were not written down until more than a millennium later. They were opposed by the demonic spirit angra mainyu, the head of evil forces in the world. Oct 02, 2009 zoroastrianism at a glance zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Zoroastrianism, ancient preislamic religion of iran that likely influenced. Religion a thousand years of the persian book exhibitions. Persian prophet whose visions are the basis of zoroastrianism. The law of asha is the principle of righteousness or rightness by which all things are exactly what they should be.
Get equipped to defend the gospel of jesus christ and the truth of gods word. Zoroastrianism, once the dominant religion of ancient persia, has been all but wiped off the face of the planet today. The description of zoroastrianism reflects the authors personal. The teachings of zoroaster and the philosophy of the parsi. John mckenzie states in his foreword that this book stands out from the many works written about the parsis and zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism teaches that god is the supreme power in the universe and is wholly good and pure. It might indeed be said that zoroaster was the discoverer, or at least the uncoverer, of individual morals. Nov 06, 2015 zoroastrian beliefs the zoroastrian concept of god incorporates elements of both monotheism and dualism. This book covers not just the history of zoroastrianism but also some of its theology and background information crucial to understanding this obscure major religion. The iranian prophet and religious reformer zarathustra flourished before the 6th century bcemore widely known outside iran as zoroaster, the greek form of his nameis traditionally regarded as the founder of the religion. A small religious community, which exists mostly in mumbai, is zoroastrianism.
Persecution of zoroastrians is the religious persecution inflicted upon the followers of the zoroastrian faith. Younger avestan periods of the history of zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism obviously has aspects similar to christianity and may have. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism british library cataloguing in publication data boyce, mary zoroastrians. But like other religions, it also has continually changed from its pristine purity to the present institutionalized form of zoroastrianism. Russell, james r zoroastrianism in armenia by james r. Key figures important sites bibliography zoroaster. Quotes tagged as zoroastrianism showing 17 of 7 truth is best of all that is good. Founded by the iranian prophet and reformer zoroaster in the 6th. Zoroastrianism is one the oldest religions in the world.
Out of the millions of believers of this faith in the by gone ages, there now remains a handful of devout followers, known as the parsis. According to a legend preserved in the book of arda viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the zend avesta had existed in the. The primary collection of zoroastrian religious texts is called the avesta. As desired, what is being desired is truth for him who represents the best truth. Full text of the religion of the good life zoroastrianism. The religious philosophy of zoroaster divided the early iranian gods of the protoindoiranian tradition into ahuras and daevas, the latter of which were not considered worthy of worship.
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