Zoroastrianism is arguably the worlds oldest monotheistic religion. (Ahura means Being andMazda means Mind in a sacred Old Iranian language calledAvestan). It is the mid spring festival, comes in April or May each year. As the end of the world approaches, the dead will be resurrected into new bodies. HISTORICAL REVIEW: This article presents an overview of the history of Zoroastrianism from its beginnings up to the 9th and 10th centuries CE. The Abbasids zealously persecuted heretics, and although this was directed mainly at Muslim sectarians, it also created a harsher climate for non-Muslims. In Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything that can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth. Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, The Necessity Of Ascent And Descent In The Male Spiritual Life. Gherardo Gnoli, in The Encyclopaedia of Religion,says that we can assert that Manichaeism has its roots in the Iranian religious tradition and that its relationship to Mazdaism, or Zoroastrianism, is more or less like that of Christianity to Judaism. Here, two copies were created, one which was put in the house of archives, and the other put in the Imperial treasury. The overriding ethical principle of Zoroastrianism is Humata, Hukhta, Huveshta: "to think good, to speak good, to act good." This is the divine expectation of humans, and only through goodness will chaos be kept at bay. While theParseesin India have traditionally been opposed toproselytizing, and even considered it a crime for which the culprit may face expulsion, Iranian Zoroastrians have never been opposed to conversion, and the practice has been endorsed by the Council ofMobedsofTehran. Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. 556559 and 579591. Many Zoroastrians pray several times a day, always facing a source of fire or light. Ahura Mazda first created seven abstract heavenly beings called Amesha Spentas, who support him and represent beneficent aspects, along with numerousyazads, lesser beings worthy of worship. While the Iranian authorities do not permit proselytizing within Iran, Iranian Zoroastrians in exile have actively encouraged missionary activities, with The Zarathushtrian Assembly inLos Angelesand the International Zoroastrian Centre inParisas two prominent centres. This famous discovery was essential in the field of archaeology, as it became historians' primary source of knowledge about ancient Egyptian tombs and . Practicing Zoroastrians pray regularly, several times a day. It is said that the soldiers of Alexander, in the mad zeal of their conquest, put the torch to the magnificent royal establishments at Persepolis, the libraries of major religious works, and perhaps the writings of Zarathustra himself. Zoroastrianism was born in ancient Iran at least 3,500 years ago. 176 pages Yazd became the seat of the Iranian high priests during Mongol Il-Khanate rule, when the best hope for survival [for a non-Muslim] was to be inconspicuous.Crucial to the present-day survival of Zoroastrianism was a migration from the northeastern Iranian town ofSanjan in south-western Khorasan,toGujarat, in westernIndia. [1] Today, it is one of the world's smallest religions with . Along with these texts is the communal household prayer book called the Khordeh Avesta, which contains the Yashts and the Siroza. Individual judgment at death is by the Bridge of Judgment, which each human must cross, facing a spiritual judgment. Moreover, in his role as the one uncreated creator of all, Ahura Mazda is not the creator ofdruj, which is nothing, anti-creation, and thus (likewise) uncreated. The seven holy days of obligation 1.7. He then created the universe itself in order to ensnare evil. The prophet Zoroaster himself, though traditionally dated to the 6th century BCE, is thought by many modern historians to have been a reformer of the polytheistic Iranian religion who lived in the 10th century BCE. Sometimes their language is named for the cities in which it is spoken, such as YazdiorKermani. Daena(dinin modernPersian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through theMathra-Spenta(Holy Words). Irans figures of Zoroastrians have ranged widely; the last census (1974) before the revolution of 1979 revealed 21,400 Zoroastrians. It is a common sight to see a Zarathustri coming out from the Agiary with one hand over his head, not as a respect but to prepare himself/ herself to remove the cap/scarf before he/she reaches the main gate. All physical creation (geti) was thus determined to run according to a master planinherent to Ahura Mazdaand violations of the order (druj) were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda. Visitors to fire temples bring an offering of wood, which is placed in the fire by a masked priest. Main article: Yazatas and Angels in Zoroastrianism. According to Herodotus i.101, the Magi were the sixth tribe of theMedes(until the unification of the Persian empire underCyrus the Great, all Iranians were referred to as Mede or Mada by the peoples of the Ancient World), who appear to have been the priestly caste of the Mesopotamian-influenced branch of Zoroastrianism today known asZurvanism, and who wielded considerable influence at the courts of the Median emperors. Alexanders conquests largely displaced Zoroastrianism with Hellenistic beliefs, though the religion continued to be practiced many centuries following the demise of the Achaemenids in mainland Persia and the core regions of the former Achaemenid Empire, most notably Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus. Manichaeism equated evil with matter and good with spirit, and was therefore particularly suitable as a doctrinal basis for every form of asceticism and many forms of mysticism. The sacred texts of Zorastrianism are called The Avesta. The final savior of the world,Saoshyant, will be born to a virgin impregnated by the seed of Zoroaster while bathing in a lake. Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules, Switchboard: During Alexanders conquest of Persia, the Avesta was burned, and the scientific sections that the Greeks could use were dispersed among themselves. For example the battle between the good and evil and the return of a ''Messiah.''. Angra Mainyu will either be destroyed or made powerless, and everyone will live in paradise except perhaps the extremely wicked, which some sources believe will continue to suffer endlessly. Paitishahema Gahambar. Communities exist inTehran, as well as inYazd,KermanandKermanshah, where many still speak an Iranian language distinct from the usualPersian. Cyrus showed great respect for the nations he had conquered. Thus, according to scholar Mary Boyce, it was no longer the Zoroastrians alone who stood for patriotism and loyalty to the past.The damning indictment that becoming Muslim wasUn-Iranianonly remained an idiom in Zoroastrian texts. The philosophical minds of the two cultures may indeed have recognized each other as fellow monotheists, but this central Jewish doctrine is one which was . The first three times the citizens reverted to their old religion. All rights reserved. According to tradition,Ahura Mazdacreated the twenty-one nasks whichZoroasterbrought toVishtaspa. He is the creator as well as sustainer. If you read the description of Parsees from the past it is emphatically described that whether a child, female or male they all had their head(s) covered. The compilation of these ancient texts was successfully established underneath the Mazdean priesthood and the Sassanian emperors. 15, 1987, pp. TheOxford English Dictionaryrecords use of the termZoroastrianismin 1874 inArchibald SaycesPrinciples of Comparative Philology. In the country of KingVishtaspainBactria, the king and queen heard Zoroaster debating with the religious leaders of the land and decided to accept Zoroasters ideas as the official religion of their kingdom. The termMazdaism is a typical 19th century construct, takingMazda- from the name Ahura Mazda and adding the suffix-ismto suggest a belief system. . The Arabs adopted the Sassanid tax-system, both the land-tax levied on land owners and thepoll-taxlevied on individuals,calledjizya, a tax levied on non-Muslims (i.e., thedhimmis). Prefaced by a 27-page introduction, this anthology contains selections which offer a complete picture of Zoroastrian belief, worship and practice. The fires will purify creation and purge wickedness. However, the evil forces were trapped in the universe and could not retreat. Among migrations were those to cities in (or on the margins of) the great salt deserts, in particular to Yazd and Kerman, which remain centers of Iranian Zoroastrianism to this day. The world will burn but only the wicked will suffer any pain. Zoroastrians believe that when a person dies, the soul is divinely judged. Being good for the sake of goodness and without the hope of reward (see. As in many other faiths, Zoroastrians are encouraged to marry others of the same faith, but this is not a requirement. See also:Western Perceptions of Zoroastrianism, Painted clay and alabaster head of a Zoroastrian priest wearing a distinctive Bactrian-style headdress, Takhti-Sangin, Tajikistan, Greco-Bactrian kingdom, 3rd2nd century BCE. Zoroastrianism has survived into the modern period, particularly in India, where it has been present since about the 9th century. The texts that remain today are the Gathas, Yasna, Visperad and the Vendidad. The acceptance of Christianity in Georgia (Caucasian Iberia) saw the Zoroastrian religion there slowly but surely decline,but as late the 5th centurya.d. it was still widely practised as something like a second established religion. The people who tell the truth are on the side of Asha, and are known as the people of righteousness. | Zoroaster himself is not worshipped, but Zoroastrians believe that his visions were divine, including the previously mentioned Holy Immortals that he encountered at the same time he encountered God. While Ahura Mazda created the universe and humankind, Angra Mainyu, whose instinct is to destroy, miscreated demons, evilyazads, and noxious creatures (khrafstar) such as snakes, ants, and flies. SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies) 2022. The later manuscripts all date from this millennium, the latest being from 1288, 590 years after the fall of the Sassanian Empire. With possible roots dating back to the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th century BCE. Zoroastrian philosophy is identified as having been known toItalian RenaissanceEurope through an image of Zoroaster inRaphaels School of Athens byGiorgio Vasariin 1550. Zoroastrianism is often compared with Manichaeism. Other scholars assert that since Zoroastrianisms divinity covers both being and mind as immanent entities, it is better described as a belief in an immanent self-creating universe with consciousness as its special attribute, thereby putting Zoroastrianism in the pantheistic fold where it can be easily traced to its shared origin with Indian Brahmanism. The history of the Avesta is found in manyPahlavi texts. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit.
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