Zoroastrianism
November 2011
Zoroastrianism
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Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion which was once widespread
in what is now Iran, Pakistan, India, and the Middle East
It was the state religion of the ancient Persian Empire, during
which time it was one of the most important religions of the
ancient world
It has under 200,000 practitioners today, mostly in India, and
much of its scripture and history has been lost
Zarathustra
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Zarathustra was an ancient prophet who may have lived in
Central Asia sometime between 1800 and 600 BCE
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In the fourth century BCE, Zoroastrian priests estimated the date of
Zarathustra’s lifetime to be around 600 BCE
Recent scholars argue that Zarathustra lived much earlier, based on the
language in which the Gathas, texts attributed to Zarathustra, are
composed
Scholars believe that Zarathustra lived in what is now eastern
Iran or Afghanistan
Zarathustra was known to the ancient Greeks, who called him
Zoroaster
Zarathustra belonged to a priestly family and was raised in the
ancient Indo-Iranian tradition, which was closely related to the
Vedic religion
Zarathustra
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Little is known about the life of Zarathustra, but
the Gathas indicate that he had an experience of
Ahura Mazda, the benevolent creator god, and
founded a new, monotheistic religion
Zarathustra apparently had difficulty winning
converts during his lifetime
According to legend, Zarathustra was murdered
by his enemies while performing a religious
ceremony
Sacred Texts
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Zarathustra is said to be the author of the Gathas, a
collection of sacred hymns dedicated to Ahura Mazda
The Gathas are written in Avestan, an ancient Persian
language that is now extinct, and are extremely difficult
to translate
They may be approximately as old as the Rig Veda
In addition to the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, a
number of texts were composed in the 9th to 11th
centures CE which supplement the fragmentary
Avestan material; however, only the Avestan texts are
considered sacred
History of Zoroastrianism
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By the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenid kings of the Persian
Empire made Zoroastrianism the religion of the land, and
compiled the Avesta canon
The religion appears to have been administered by a priestly class
called the Magi
The invasion of Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great) in
330 BCE brought an end to the Achaemenid Empire
According to legend, Alexander destroyed a library containing
many Zoroastrian texts and killed many Zoroastrian priests when
he reached the capital city of Persepolis
History of Zoroastrianism
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A smaller Persian Empire was established by the
Parthians following Alexander’s invasion
The Parthians were succeeded by the Sassanid dynasty
in the 3rd century CE
In the 7th century CE, the Zoroastrian Sassanids were
overthrown by Muslim Arab armies
In the centuries that followed, most Persians became
Muslim
Some Zoroastrians migrated to India
Today, Mumbai is the global centre of Zoroastrianism
Beliefs of Zoroastrianism
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According to Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is the one true god
Ahura Mazda created the world and imbued it with asha (truth,
good, order)
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However, an evil spirit, Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman)
opposes Ahura Mazda, and brought druj (falsehood, evil,
disorder) to the world
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Ahura Mazda first created the Amesha Spentas (heavenly beings), then
the material world, then the first human and the first bull
Angra Mainyu created various demons and also corrupted and destroyed
the first human and bull
The world is characterized by a struggle between asha and druj
All humans have free will and must choose asha over druj
Supernatural Beings
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Zoroastrian mythology includes a complex hierarchy of
supernatural beings
The highest of the heavenly beings are the six Amesha Spentas,
which are emanations or “divine sparks” of Ahura Mazda and
were responsible for the creation of the universe
Mithra is a divine being who is associated with contracts, justice,
cattle, and the Sun, and is sometimes worshipped as a deity in his
own right
Yazatas are divine beings which serve Ahura Mazda, and are
comparable to angels in the Abrahamic traditions
Daevas
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Daevas are demonic beings
In the Gathas, daevas are gods who are worshipped
by non-Zoroastrians and do not have the quality of
asha
 Later texts depict the daevas as evil beings who
follow Angra Mainyu
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Zoroastrian mythology lists six arch-daevas
which oppose the Amesha Spentas
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Two of these are Indar and Sarva
The End Times
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Those who live according to asha will enter into
the Kingdom of Light
A temporary hell exists for evildoers
At the end of history, the Saoshyant (saviour)
will lead an army of yazatas against Angra
Mainyu’s daevas
Good will triumph over evil and bring about the
“renovation” or “refreshment” of the world, in
which the dead will come back to life, and druj,
old age, and death will disappear
Rituals
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Zoroastrians wrap a sacred cord, called a kusti, around
their midsections five times per day and recite prayers
to Ahura Mazda
Water is used for purification
Zoroastrian worship often takes place in a fire temple,
which houses a sacred flame and also has access to a
source of water
When a Zoroastrian dies, his or her body is traditionally
taken to a Tower of Silence, where it is left in the open
to be devoured by vultures
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The only Tower of Silence that exists today is located in
Mumbai, India