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{{Short description|Iranian religion founded by Zoroaster}}
{{pp|small=yes}}{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox religion
| name               = Zoroastrianism
| native_name        = {{nobold|{{Script/Avestan|𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬯𐬥𐬀}}}}
| native_name_lang   = ae
| image              = Zoroastrian Fire Temple, Yazd 02.jpg
| imagewidth         = 250px
| caption            = The [[Fire Temple of Yazd]] in Iran
| type               = [[Ethnic religion]]
| main_classification = [[Iranian religions|Iranian]]
| scripture          = [[Avesta]]
| theology           = [[Dualism in cosmology|Dualistic]]<ref name="Boyd-1979">{{cite journal |last1=Boyd |first1=James W. |first2=Donald A. |last2=Crosby |title=Is Zoroastrianism Dualistic or Monotheistic? |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=47 |number=4 |date=1979 |pages=557–88 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/XLVII.4.557 |jstor=1462275 |quote=In brief, the interpretation we favor is that Zoroastrianism combines cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism in a manner unique to itself among the major religions of the world. This combination results in a religious outlook which cannot be categorized as either straightforward dualism or straightforward monotheism, meaning that the question in the title of this paper poses a false dichotomy. The dichotomy arises, we contend, from a failure to take seriously enough the central role played by time in Zoroastrian theology. Zoroastrianism proclaims a movement through time from dualism toward monotheism, i.e., a dualism which is being made false by the dynamics of time, and a monotheism which is being made true by those same dynamics of time. The meaning of the [[eschaton]] in Zoroastrianism is thus the triumph of monotheism, the good God Ahura Mazdä having at last won his way through to complete and final ascendancy. But in the meantime there is vital truth to dualism, the neglect of which can only lead to a distortion of the religion's essential teachings.|issn=0002-7189 }}</ref><ref name="Skjærvø 2005">{{harvnb|Skjærvø|2005|pp=14–15}}: Ahura Mazdâ's companions include the six 'Life-giving Immortals' and great gods, such as Mithra, the sun god, and others [...]. The forces of evil comprise, notably, Angra Manyu, the Evil Spirit, the bad, old, gods (''daêwas''), and Wrath (''aêshma''), which probably embodies the dark night sky itself. Zoroastrianism is therefore a dualistic and polytheistic religion, but with one supreme god, who is the father of the ordered cosmos."</ref>
| area               = [[Greater Iran]] (historically)
| language           = [[Avestan]]
| founder            = [[Zoroaster]] (traditional)
| founded_date       = {{c.|mid-6th century BCE}}
| founded_place      = [[Iranian Plateau]]
| separated_from     = [[Proto-Indo-Iranian paganism|Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]]
| number_of_followers = 100,000–120,000 ([[List of countries by Zoroastrian population|Zoroastrians]])
}}
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{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}

'''Zoroastrianism''' ({{langx|fa|دین زرتشتی|rtl=yes}} {{Transliteration|fa|Dīn-e Zartoshtī}}), also called '''Mazdayasnā''' ({{langx|ae|𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬯𐬥𐬀|rtl=yes}}) or '''Beh-dīn''' ({{langx|fa|بهدین|label=none|rtl=yes}}), is an [[Iranian religions|Iranian religion]] centred on the [[Avesta]] and the teachings of [[Zoroaster|Zarathushtra Spitama]], who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ({{Langx|grc|Ζωροάστρις|label=[[Ancient Greek|Greek]]}} {{Transliteration|grc|Zōroastris}}). Among the world's oldest organized faiths, its adherents exalt an [[Creator deity|uncreated]], [[Omnibenevolence|benevolent]], and [[List of knowledge deities#Persian mythology|all-wise deity]] known as [[Ahura Mazda]] ({{langx|ae|𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬁|label=none|rtl=yes}}), who is hailed as the supreme being of the universe. Opposed to Ahura Mazda is [[Ahriman|Angra Mainyu]] ({{langx|ae|𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎|label=none|rtl=yes}}), who is personified as a [[List of death deities#Persian-Zoroastrian|destructive spirit]] and the adversary of all things that are good. As such, the Zoroastrian religion combines a [[Dualism in cosmology|dualistic cosmology]] of [[good and evil]] with an eschatological outlook predicting the [[Frashokereti|ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil]].<ref name="Boyd-1979"/> Opinions vary among scholars as to whether Zoroastrianism is [[monotheistic]],<ref name="Boyd-1979"/> [[polytheistic]],<ref name="Skjærvø 2005"/> [[henotheistic]],{{sfn|Skjærvø|2005|p=15 with footnote 1}} or a combination of all three.<ref>{{harvnb|Hintze|2014}}: {{qi|The religion thus seems to involve monotheistic, polytheistic and dualistic features simultaneously.}}</ref> Zoroastrianism shaped [[Culture of Iran|Iranian culture]] and [[History of Iran|history]], while scholars differ on whether it significantly influenced [[Western philosophy|ancient Western philosophy]] and the [[Abrahamic religions]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=6 July 2024 |title=Heard of Zoroastrianism? The ancient religion still has fervent followers |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/zoroastrianism-ancient-religion-followers |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=5 June 2023 |title=Zoroastrianism |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> or gradually reconciled with other religions and traditions, such as [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]].<ref>The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies | IRANIAN COSMOGONY & DUALISM | By: Gherardo Gnoli.</ref>

Originating from Zoroaster's reforms of the [[ancient Iranian religion]], Zoroastrianism began during the [[Avestan period]] (possibly as early as the 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE), but was first recorded in the mid-6th century BCE. For the following millennium, it was the official religion of successive Iranian polities, beginning with the [[Achaemenid Empire]], which formalized and institutionalized many of its tenets and rituals, and ending with the [[Sasanian Empire]], which revitalized the faith and standardized its teachings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avesta {{!}} Definition, Contents, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Avesta-Zoroastrian-scripture |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In the 7th century CE, the [[rise of Islam]] and the ensuing [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim conquest of Iran]] marked the beginning of the decline of Zoroastrianism. The [[persecution of Zoroastrians]] by the [[early Muslims]] in the nascent [[Rashidun Caliphate]] prompted much of the community to migrate to the [[Indian subcontinent]], where they were granted asylum and became the progenitors of today's [[Parsis]]. Once numbering in the millions, the world's total Zoroastrian population is estimated to comprise [[List of countries by Zoroastrian population|between 100,000 and 120,000 people]], with most of them residing either in [[Zoroastrianism in India|India]] (50,000–60,000), in [[Zoroastrianism in Iran|Iran]] (15,000–25,000), or in [[FEZANA|North America]] (22,000). The [[Zoroastrian population decline|religion is declining]] due to restrictions on conversion, strict [[endogamy]], and low birth rates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romey |first=Kristin |date=6 July 2024 |title=Heard of Zoroastrianism? The ancient religion still has fervent followers |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/zoroastrianism-ancient-religion-followers |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=National Geographic |language=en |department=Culture}}</ref>

The central beliefs and practices of Zoroastrianism are contained in the Avesta, a compendium of sacred texts assembled over several centuries. Its oldest and most central component are the [[Gatha (Zoroaster)|Gathas]], purported to be the direct teachings of Zoroaster and his account of conversations with Ahura Mazda. These writings are part of a major section of the ''Avesta'' called the [[Yasna]], which forms the core of Zoroastrian liturgy. Zoroaster's religious philosophy divided the early Iranian gods of [[Proto-Indo-Iranian paganism]] into emanations of the natural world—the ''[[ahura]]'' and the ''[[daeva]]''; the former class consisting of divinities to be revered and the latter class consisting of divinities to be rejected and condemned. Zoroaster proclaimed that Ahura Mazda was the supreme creator and sustaining force of the universe, working in ''gētīg'' (the visible material realm) and ''mēnōg'' (the invisible spiritual and mental realm) through the [[Amesha Spenta]], a class of seven divine entities that represent various [[Aspect (religion)|aspects]] of the universe and the highest moral good. Emanating from Ahura Mazda is Spenta Mainyu (the Holy or Bountiful Spirit), the source of life and goodness,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spenta Mainyu {{!}} Ahura Mazda, Supreme Being, Zoroastrianism {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spenta-Mainyu |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> which is opposed by Angra Mainyu (the Destructive or Opposing Spirit), who is born from ''[[Aka Manah]]'' (evil thought). Angra Mainyu was further developed by [[Middle Persian literature]] into Ahriman ({{Langx|pal|𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩|label=none|rtl=yes}}), Ahura Mazda's direct adversary.

Zoroastrian doctrine holds that, within this cosmic dichotomy, human beings have the choice between ''[[Asha]]'' (truth, cosmic order), the principle of righteousness or "rightness" that is promoted and embodied by Ahura Mazda, and ''Druj'' (falsehood, deceit), the essential nature of Angra Mainyu that expresses itself as greed, wrath, and envy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Angra Mainyu {{!}} Definition & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ahriman |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Thus, the central moral precepts of the religion are good thoughts (''hwnata''), good words (''hakhta''), and good deeds (''hvarshta''), which are recited in many prayers and ceremonies.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/intejethi.7.1.2375373 The Moral and Ethical Teachings of the Ancient Zoroastrian Religion] ''University of Chicago,'' '''pp. 58–59.'''</ref><ref>Masani, Sir Rustom. ''Zoroastrianism: The Religion of the Good Life''. New York: Macmillan, 1968.</ref> Many of the practices and beliefs of ancient Iranian religion can still be seen in Zoroastrianism, such as reverence for nature and its elements, such as water (''[[aban]]''). Fire (''[[atar]]'') is held by Zoroastrians to be particularly sacred as a symbol of Ahura Mazda himself'','' serving as a focal point of many ceremonies and rituals, and serving as the basis for Zoroastrian places of worship, which are known as [[fire temple]]s.

== Etymology ==
The name ''Zoroaster'' ({{lang|grc|Ζωροάστηρ}}) is a [[Greek language|Greek]] rendering of the [[Avestan]] name ''Zarathustra''. He is known as ''Zartosht'' and ''Zardosht'' in [[Persian language|Persian]] and ''Zaratosht'' in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]].<ref name="Schmitt-2002">{{Cite encyclopedia|first=Rüdiger|last=Schmitt|date=20 July 2002|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-i-the-name|title=Zoroaster i. The Name|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116171119/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-i-the-name|url-status=live}}</ref> The Zoroastrian name of the religion is ''Mazdayasna'', which combines ''Mazda-'' with the Avestan word ''[[yasna]]'', meaning "worship, devotion".<ref name="Boyce 1983">{{harvnb|Boyce|1983}}.</ref> In [[English language|English]], an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian. An older expression still used today is ''Behdin'', meaning "of the good religion", deriving from ''beh'' < Middle Persian ''weh'' 'good' + ''din'' < Middle Persian ''dēn'' < Avestan ''daēnā''".<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|first=James R.|last=Russell|date=15 December 1989|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/behdin-the-good-religion|title=Behdīn|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|volume=IV|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=5 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005114549/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/behdin-the-good-religion|url-status=live}}</ref> In the Zoroastrian [[liturgy]], this term is used as a title for a lay individual who has been formally inducted into the religion in a ''[[Navjote]]'' ceremony, in contrast to the priestly titles of ''osta'', ''osti'', ''[[ervad]]'' (hirbod), ''[[mobed]]'' and ''[[dastur]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Karanjia|first=Ramiyar P.|date=14 August 2016|title=Understanding Our Religious Titles|url=https://parsi-times.com/2016/08/understanding-religious-titles/|access-date=30 January 2021|website=Parsi Times|language=en-GB|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321000816/https://parsi-times.com/2016/08/understanding-religious-titles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first surviving reference to Zoroaster in English scholarship is attributed to [[Thomas Browne]] (1605–1682), who briefly refers to Zoroaster in his 1643 ''[[Religio Medici]]''.<ref>Browne, T. (1643) "Religio Medici"</ref> The term ''Mazdaism'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|æ|z|d|ə|.|ɪ|z|əm}}) is an alternative form in English used as well for the faith, taking ''Mazda-'' from the name [[Ahura Mazda]] and adding the suffix ''-ism'' to suggest a belief system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100142763|title=Mazdaism|work=Oxford Reference|language=en|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228225529/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100142763|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Theology ==
{{See also|Criticism of Zoroastrianism|Religious influences on Zoroastrianism}}
The theological category of Zoroastrianism is hard to define. The reasons are the difficulties in assigning precise dates to the principal texts and the fact that many contain much older material. Furthermore, Zoroastrianism shaped only slowly over time and was not complete even by the time of the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. Polytheistic, monotheistic, and dualistic strands can be identified in the wider Zoroastrian tradition, with dualism being the dominant tendency. The major difference to [[Manichaeism]] lies in the insistence of good in the creation account.<ref>Berkey, Jonathan P. The formation of Islam: Religion and society in the Near East, 600–1800. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2003. p. 27</ref>

Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism started as an Indo-Iranian polytheistic religion: according to Yujin Nagasawa, {{qi|like the rest of the Zoroastrian texts, the Old [[Avesta]] does not teach monotheism}}.<ref>{{Citation |last=Nagasawa |first=Yujin |title=Panpsychism Versus Pantheism, Polytheism, and Cosmopsychism |date=10 December 2019 |work=The Routledge Handbook of Panpsychism |pages=259–268 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315717708-22 |isbn=978-1-315-71770-8}}</ref> By contrast, Md. Sayem characterizes Zoroastrianism as being one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last=Sayem |first=Md. Abu |year=2011 |title=A Brief Historical Survey Of The Monotheistic Concept In Religious Belief |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=33–44 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216576996 |journal=International Journal of History and Research |via=ResearchGate}}</ref>

Zoroastrians treat [[Ahura Mazda]] as the supreme god, but believe in lesser divinities known as [[Yazata|yazatas]] ("beings worthy of worship"), who share some similarities with the [[angels]] in Abrahamic religions.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1007/s41412-021-00113-4 | title=From Polytheism to Monotheism: Zoroaster and Some Economic Theory | date=2021 | last1=Ferrero | first1=Mario | journal=Homo Oeconomicus | volume=38 | issue=1–4 | pages=77–108 | doi-access=free }}</ref> These yazatas include [[Anahita]], [[Sraosha]], [[Mithra]], [[Rashnu]], and [[Tishtrya]]. Historian [[Richard Foltz]] has put forth evidence that [[History of Iran|Iranians of the pre-Islamic era]] worshipped all these figures; especially the gods [[Mithra]] and [[Anahita]].{{sfn|Foltz|2013|p=xiv}} 

[[Prods Oktor Skjærvø]] states Zoroastrianism is henotheistic, and {{qi|a dualistic and polytheistic religion, but with one supreme god, who is the father of the ordered cosmos}}.{{sfn|Skjærvø|2005|p=15 with footnote 1}} Brian Arthur Brown states that this is unclear, because historic texts present a conflicting picture, ranging from Zoroastrianism's belief in {{qi|one god, two gods, or a best god henotheism}}.<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Arthur Brown|title=Four Testaments: Tao Te Ching, Analects, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita: Sacred Scriptures of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MsvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA347|year=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-6578-3|pages=347–349}}</ref> Economist Mario Ferrero suggests that Zoroastrianism transitioned from polytheism to monotheism due to political and economic pressures.<ref name="Ferrero-2021">{{cite journal |last1=Ferrero |first1=Mario |date=2021 |title=From Polytheism to Monotheism: Zoroaster and Some Economic Theory |journal=Homo Oeconomicus |volume=38 |issue=1–4 |pages=77–108 |doi=10.1007/s41412-021-00113-4 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In the 19th century, through contact with Western academics and missionaries, Zoroastrianism experienced a massive theological change that still affects it today. The [[John Wilson (Scottish missionary)|Rev. John Wilson]] led various missionary campaigns in India against the Parsi community, disparaging the Parsis for their "[[Dualistic cosmology|dualism]]" and "polytheism" and as having unnecessary rituals while declaring the Avesta to not be "divinely inspired". This caused mass dismay in the relatively uneducated Parsi community, which blamed its priests and led to some conversions towards [[Christianity]].{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

The arrival of the German orientalist and philologist [[Martin Haug]] led to a rallied defense of the faith through Haug's reinterpretation of the Avesta through Christianized and European orientalist lens. Haug postulated that Zoroastrianism was solely monotheistic with all other divinities reduced to the status of angels while Ahura Mazda became both omnipotent and the source of evil as well as good. Haug's thinking was subsequently disseminated as a Parsi interpretation, thus corroborating Haug's theory, and the idea became so popular that it is now almost universally accepted as doctrine (though being re-evaluated in modern Zoroastrianism and academia).<ref name="Hinnells-2007" /> It has been argued by Almut Hintze that this designation of monotheism is not wholly perfect and that Zoroastrianism instead has its "own form of monotheism" which combines elements of dualism and polytheism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=HINTZE|first=ALMUT|year=2014|title=Monotheism the Zoroastrian Way|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43307294|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=24|issue=2|pages=225–49|jstor=43307294|issn=1356-1863|access-date=5 April 2021|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422024327/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43307294|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Farhang Mehr]] asserts that Zoroastrianism is principally monotheistic with some dualistic elements.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mehr|first=Farhang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g53XAAAAMAAJ|title=The Zoroastrian Tradition: An Introduction to the Ancient Wisdom of Zarathushtra|publisher=Mazda Publishers|year=2003|isbn=978-1-56859-110-0|page=44|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331132945/https://books.google.com/books?id=g53XAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lenorant and Chevallier assert that Zoroastrianism's concept of divinity covers both being and mind as [[immanent]] entities, describing Zoroastrianism as having a belief in an immanent self-creating universe with consciousness as its special attribute, thereby putting Zoroastrianism in the [[pantheistic]] fold sharing its origin with [[Hinduism in India|Indian Hinduism]].<ref>François Lenormant and E. Chevallier [https://books.google.com/books?id=l0NtAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA38 ''The Student's Manual of Oriental History: Medes and Persians, Phœnicians, and Arabians''], p. 38</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwIkZaZvItAC&pg=PA81|title=General Sketch of the History of Pantheism|author=Constance E. Plumptre|page=81|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=14 June 2017|isbn=9781108028011}}</ref>

== Nature of the divine ==
Zoroastrianism contains multiple classes of divine beings, who are typically organised into tiers and spheres of influence.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== Ahuras ===
{{Main|Ahura}}

The [[Ahura]] are a class of divine beings {{qi|inherited by Zoroastrianism from the prehistoric Indo-Iranian religion. In the ''Rig Veda'', ''asura'' denotes the "older gods", such as the "Father Asura", [[Varuna]], and [[Mithraism|Mitra]], who originally ruled over the primeval undifferentiated Chaos.}}<ref name="AHURA"/>

==== Ahura Mazda ====
{{Main|Ahuramazda}}
[[Ahura Mazda]], also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ormazd, Ormusd, Hoormazd, Harzoo, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmz, is the [[creator deity]] and the supreme god in Zoroastrianism. [[Ahura Mazda]] stands for the dual deity ''Mitrāˊ-Váruṇā'' of the [[Hindu]] holy book known as the [[Rigveda]].<ref name="AHURA" />

According to scholars, Ahura Mazda is an uncreated, omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent God who has created the spiritual and material existences out of infinite light, and maintains the cosmic law of Asha. He is the first and most invoked spirit in [[Yasna]], and is unrivaled, has no equals and presides over all creation.<ref name="Boyce-1983">{{citation|last=Boyce|first=Mary|title=Ahura Mazdā|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|location=New York|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|year=1983|volume=1|pages=684–687|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-mazda|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517005441/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-mazda|url-status=live}}</ref> In Avesta, Ahura Mazda is the only true God, and the representation of goodness, light, and truth. He is in conflict with the evil spirit Angra Mainyu, the representation of evil, darkness, and deceit. Angru Mainyu's goal is to tempt humans away from Ahura Mazda. Notably, Angra Mainyu is not a creation of Ahura Mazda but an independent entity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-mazda |title=Ahura Mazdā |access-date=16 July 2024 |archive-date=16 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716061526/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-mazda |url-status=live}}</ref> The belief in Ahura Mazda, the "Lord of Wisdom" who is considered an all-encompassing Deity and the only existing one, is the foundation of Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/27409859 |title=(PDF) Zoroastrianism and the Bible: Monotheism by Coincidence? &#124; Erhard Gerstenberger - Academia.edu |doi=10.1111/J.1749-8171.2011.00266.X |access-date=17 March 2024 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317080555/https://www.academia.edu/27409859/Zoroastrianism_and_the_Bible_Monotheism_by_Coincidence |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Ahura Mithra ====
{{Main|Mithraism}}

[[Mitra]], also called [[Mithraism|Mithra]], was originally an Indo-Iranian god of {{qi|covenant, agreement, treaty, alliance, promise.}} Mitra is considered a being worthy of worship and is "characterized by riches".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Mithra i – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mithra-i |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Yazata ===
{{Main|Yazatas}}
The [[Yazata]] (Avestan: 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) are divine beings worshiped by song and sacrifice in Zoroastrianism, in accordance with the [[Avesta]]. The word '[[Yazatas|Yazata']] is derived from 'Yazdan', the Old Persian word for 'god',<ref name="Büchner 1934">{{harvnb|Büchner|1934|p=1161}}.</ref> and literally means "divinity worthy of worship or veneration". As a concept, it also contains a wide range of other meanings; though generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity.<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|2001|p=xxi}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Geiger|1885|p=xlix}}.</ref>

The origins of [[Yazata]] are varied, with many also being featured as gods in [[List of Hindu deities|Hinduism]], or other [[Iran]]ian religions. In modern Zoroastrianism, the Yazata are considered holy emanations of the creator, always devoted to him and obey the will of [[Ahura Mazda]]. While subject to repression by the [[Islamic Caliphate]], the [[Yazata]] were often framed as "[[angel]]s" to counter accusation of [[Shirk (Islam)|polytheism]] (''shirk'').{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=a6gbxVfjtUEC&pg=PA157 157]}} According to the [[Avesta]] The [[Yazata]] assist [[Ahura Mazda]] in his battle against the evil spirit, and are hypostases of moral or physical aspects of creation. The yazatas collectively are {{qi|the good powers under Ahura Mazda}}, who is {{qi|the greatest of the yazatas}}.<ref name="Büchner 1934" />

==== Notable Yazata ====
* [[Ahura Mazda]]
* [[Mitra]] or [[Mithra]]
* [[Anahita]] – formerly an Iranian water goddess
* Ātar (Fire)
* [[Rashnu]], one of the three judges who pass judgment on the souls of people after death
* [[Sraosha]] or Srōsh
* [[Verethragna]] – who may be the Vedic god [[Indra]]

==== Amesha Spentas ====
Yazatas are further divided into Amesha Spentas, their "ham-kar" or "Collaborators" who are Lower Ranking divinities,<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/26226687 |title=The Amesha spentas and their helpers: The Zoroastrian ham-kars |access-date=17 March 2024 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317095624/https://www.academia.edu/26226687/The_Amesha_spentas_and_their_helpers_the_Zoroastrian_ham_kars |url-status=live |last1=Raffaelli |first1=Enrico G. }}</ref> and also certain healing plants, primordial creatures, the fravashis of the dead, and certain prayers that are themselves considered holy.

The Amesha Spentas and their "ham-kar" or "collaborator" Yazatas are as follows:
* [[Vohu Manah]] + Mah / Geush Urvan / Ram
* [[Asha Vahishta]] + Atar / Sraosha / Verethraghna
* [[Kshatra Vairya]] + Khwar / Mithra / Asman / Anaghran
* [[Spenta Armaiti]] + Ap / Daena / Ashi / Manthra Spenta
* [[Haurvatat]] + Tishtriya / Fravashi / Vata
* [[Ameretat]] + Rashnu / Arshtat / Zamyad<ref name="auto1"/>

== Principal beliefs ==
=== Tenets of faith ===
[[File:Faravahar.svg|thumb|[[Faravahar]], one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, believed to be the depiction of a ''[[Fravashi]]'' or the ''[[Khvarenah]]''.]]
In Zoroastrianism, [[Ahura Mazda]] is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything that can and cannot be seen, the eternal and uncreated, the all-good and source of Asha.<ref name="Boyce 1983"/> In the [[Gathas]], the most sacred texts of Zoroastrianism thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, Zoroaster acknowledged the highest devotion to Ahura Mazda, with worship and adoration also given to Ahura Mazda's manifestations ([[Amesha Spenta]]) and the other ahuras ([[Yazata]]) that support Ahura Mazda.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gathas|title=GATHAS|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630211448/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gathas|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Daena]]'' (''din'' in modern [[Persian language|Persian]] and meaning "that which is seen") is representative of the sum of one's spiritual conscience and attributes, which through one's choice Asha is either strengthened or weakened in the Daena.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/den|title=DĒN|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=10 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810024045/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/den|url-status=live}}</ref> Traditionally, the {{transliteration|ae|manthras}} (similar to the Hindu sacred utterance ''[[mantra]]'') prayer formulas, are believed to be of immense power and the vehicles of Asha and creation used to maintain good and fight evil.<ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrian-rituals|title=ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630212734/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrian-rituals|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Daena'' should not be confused with the fundamental principle of ''[[Asha]]'', believed to be the cosmic order which governs and permeates all existence, and the concept of which governed the life of the ancient Indo-Iranians. For these, ''asha'' was the course of everything observable—the motion of the planets and astral bodies; the progression of the seasons; and the pattern of daily nomadic herdsman life, governed by regular metronomic events such as sunrise and sunset, and was strengthened through truth-telling and following the Threefold Path.<ref name="AṦA"/>

All physical creation (''getig'') was thus determined to run according to a master plan—inherent to Ahura Mazda—and violations of the order (''druj'') were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda.<ref name="GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/getig-and-menog |access-date=13 July 2019 |archive-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624105733/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/getig-and-menog |url-status=live }}</ref> This concept of ''asha'' versus the ''druj'' should not be confused with Western and especially Christian notions of good versus evil, for although both forms of opposition express moral conflict, the ''asha'' versus ''druj'' concept is more systemic and less personal, representing, for instance, chaos (that opposes order); or "uncreation", evident as natural decay (that opposes creation); or more simply "the lie" (that opposes truth and goodness).<ref name="AṦA"/> Moreover, in the role as the one uncreated creator of all, Ahura Mazda is not the creator of ''druj'', which is "nothing", anti-creation, and thus (likewise) uncreated and developed as the antithesis of existence through choice.<ref name="Druj"/>

[[File:Parsee Wedding 1905.jpg|thumb|A ''[[Parsi people|Parsi]]'' Wedding, 1905]]
In this [[Model (abstract)|schema]] of ''asha'' versus ''druj'', mortal beings (both humans and animals) play a critical role, for they too are created. Here, in their lives, they are active participants in the conflict, and it is their spiritual duty to defend Asha, which is under constant assault and would decay in strength without counter''action''.<ref name="AṦA"/> Throughout the [[Gathas]], Zoroaster emphasizes deeds and actions within society and accordingly extreme [[asceticism]] is frowned upon in Zoroastrianism but moderate forms are allowed within.<ref name="DARVĪŠ"/>

''Humata'', ''Huxta'', ''Huvarshta'' (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds), the '''Threefold Path of Asha''', is considered the core maxim of Zoroastrianism especially by modern practitioners. In Zoroastrianism, good transpires for those who do righteous deeds for its own sake, not for the search of reward. Those who do evil are said to be attacked and confused by the druj and are responsible for aligning themselves back to Asha by following this path.<ref name="HUMATA HŪXTA HUVARŠTA"/> There is also a heavy emphasis on spreading happiness, mostly through charity,<ref name="CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONS"/> and respecting the spiritual equality and duty of both men and women.<ref name="WOMEN ii"/>

Central to Zoroastrianism is the emphasis on moral choice, to choose the responsibility and duty for which one is in the mortal world, or to give up this duty and so facilitate the work of ''druj''. Similarly, [[predestination]] is rejected in Zoroastrian teaching and the absolute free will of all conscious beings is core, with even divine beings having the ability to choose. Humans bear responsibility for all situations they are in, and in the way they act toward one another. Reward, punishment, happiness, and grief all depend on how individuals live their lives.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/>

In Zoroastrian tradition, life is a temporary state in which a mortal is expected to participate actively in the continuing battle between Asha and Druj. Prior to its incarnation at the birth of the child, the ''urvan'' (soul) of an individual is still united with its ''[[fravashi]]'' (personal/higher spirit), which has existed since Ahura Mazda created the universe. Prior to the splitting off of the ''urvan'', the fravashi participates in the maintenance of creation led by Ahura Mazda. During the life of a given individual, the fravashi acts as a source of inspiration to perform good actions and as a spiritual protector. The fravashis of ancestors cultural, spiritual, and heroic, associated with illustrious bloodlines, are venerated and can be called upon to aid the living.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fravasi-|title=FRAVAŠI|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717200523/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fravasi-|url-status=live}}</ref>

The religion states that active and ethical participation in life through good deeds formed from good thoughts and good words is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of [[free will]], and Zoroastrianism as such rejects extreme forms of [[asceticism]] and [[monasticism]] but historically has allowed for moderate expressions of these concepts.<ref name="DARVĪŠ">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/darvis|title=DARVĪŠ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517043903/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/darvis|url-status=live}}</ref> On the fourth day after death, the urvan is reunited with its fravashi, whereupon the experiences of life in the material world are collected for use in the continuing battle for good in the spiritual world. For the most part, Zoroastrianism does not have a notion of [[reincarnation]]; albeit Followers of [[Ilm-e-Kshnoom]] in India, among other currently non-traditional opinions, believe in reincarnation and practice vegetarianism.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=205}}<!-- the final renovation of the world includes the revival of the dead, and this revival may (subject to which tradition is being followed) be interpreted as a revival in corporeal form-->

Zoroastrianism's emphasis on the protection and veneration of nature and its elements has led some to proclaim it as the {{qi|world's first proponent of ecology.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parliamentofreligions.org/content/what-does-zoroastrianism-teach-us-about-ecology|title=What Does Zoroastrianism Teach Us About Ecology?|website=Parliament of the World's Religions|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713050627/https://parliamentofreligions.org/content/what-does-zoroastrianism-teach-us-about-ecology|url-status=live}}</ref> The Avesta and other texts call for the protection of [[Classical element|water, earth, fire, and air]] making it, in effect, an ecological religion: {{qi|It is not surprising that Mazdaism... is called the first ecological religion. The reverence for Yazatas (divine spirits) emphasizes the preservation of nature}} (Avesta: Yasnas 1.19, 3.4, 16.9; Yashts 6.3–4, 10.13).<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1558/jsrnc.v1i4.413|title=Is Zoroastrianism an Ecological Religion?|year=2008|last1=Foltz|first1=Richard|last2=Saadi-Nejad|first2=Manya|journal=Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture|volume=1|issue=4|pages=413–430 }}</ref> However, this particular assertion is limited to natural forces held as emanations of asha by the fact that early Zoroastrians had a duty to exterminate "evil" species, a dictate no longer followed in modern Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1163/156853010X524325|title=Zoroastrian Attitudes toward Animals|year=2010|last1=Foltz|first1=Richard|journal=Society & Animals|volume=18|issue=4|pages=367–78}}</ref> Although there have been various theological statements supporting vegetarianism in Zoroastrianism's history and those who believe that Zoroaster was vegetarian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.idausa.org/assets/files/campaign/Sustainable%20Activism/advocacykits/ud/adkitzoroastrianweb.pdf|title=Interfaith Vegan Coalition: ZoroastrIan KIt|website=In Defense of Animals|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=24 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924074958/https://www.idausa.org/assets/files/campaign/Sustainable%20Activism/advocacykits/ud/adkitzoroastrianweb.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Zoroastrianism is not entirely uniform in theological and philosophical thought, especially with historical and modern influences having a significant impact on individual and local beliefs, practices, values, and vocabulary, sometimes merging with tradition and in other cases displacing it.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06faith.html| title=Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling| newspaper=The New York Times| date=6 September 2008| access-date=3 October 2009| first=Laurie| last=Goodstein| archive-date=20 October 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020114630/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06faith.html| url-status=live}}</ref> The ultimate purpose in the life of a practicing Zoroastrian is to become an ''[[ashavan]]'' (a master of Asha) and to bring happiness into the world, which contributes to the cosmic battle against evil. The core teachings of Zoroastrianism include:
* Following the threefold path of Asha: ''Humata'', ''Hūxta'', ''Huvarshta'' ({{Literal translation|good thoughts, good words, good deeds}}).<ref name="HUMATA HŪXTA HUVARŠTA">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/humata-huxta-huvarsta|title=HUMATA HŪXTA HUVARŠTA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=5 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005101453/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/humata-huxta-huvarsta|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Charity (practice)|Practicing charity]] to keep one's soul aligned with Asha and thus with spreading happiness.<ref name="CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONS">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/charitable-foundations-mpers|title=CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONS|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=23 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723145357/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/charitable-foundations-mpers|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The spiritual equality and duty of men and women alike.<ref name="WOMEN ii">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/women-ii-avesta|title=WOMEN ii. In the Avesta|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117093524/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/women-ii-avesta|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Altruism|Being good for the sake of goodness and without the hope of reward]] (see ''[[Ashem Vohu]]'').

=== Cosmology ===
{{Main|Zoroastrian cosmology}}

==== Cosmogony ====
According to the Zoroastrian [[creation myth]], there is one universal, [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]], all-good, and uncreated supreme [[creator deity]] Ahura Mazda,<ref name="Boyce 1983" /> or the "Wise Lord" (''Ahura'' meaning "Lord" and ''Mazda'' meaning "Wisdom" in [[Avestan]]).<ref name="Boyce 1983" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Duchesne-Guillemin|first=Jacques|title=Zoroastrianism|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/658081/Zoroastrianism|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=4 January 2024|access-date=3 August 2013|archive-date=22 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122162414/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/658081/Zoroastrianism|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Zoroaster]] keeps the two attributes separate as two different concepts in most of the [[Gathas]] yet sometimes combines them into one form. Zoroaster also proclaims that Ahura Mazda is omniscient but not omnipotent.<ref name="Boyce 1983"/> Ahura Mazda existed in light and goodness above, while [[Angra Mainyu]], (also referred to in later texts as "Ahriman"),<ref name="AHRIMAN">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=AHRIMAN |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahriman |access-date=13 July 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517083623/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahriman |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|pp=6–12}}.</ref> the destructive spirit/mentality,
existed in darkness and ignorance below. They have existed independently of each other for all time, and manifest contrary substances. In the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is noted as working through emanations known as the Amesha Spenta<ref name="AMƎŠA SPƎNTA">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=AMƎŠA SPƎNTA |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amesa-spenta-beneficent-divinity |access-date=13 July 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517003615/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amesa-spenta-beneficent-divinity |url-status=live }}</ref> and with the help of "other [[ahura]]s".<ref name="Hinnells-2007"/> These divine beings called ''Amesha Spentas'', support him and are representative and guardians of different aspects of creation and the ideal personality.<ref name="AMƎŠA SPƎNTA"/> Ahura Mazda is [[immanent]] in humankind and interacts with creation through these bounteous/holy divinities. In addition to these, He is assisted by a league of countless divinities called [[Yazata]]s, meaning "worthy of worship." Each Yazata is generally a [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostasis]] of a moral or physical aspect of creation. Asha<ref name="Boyce 1983" /><ref name="AṦA">{{cite encyclopedia |title=AṦA (Asha "Truth") |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asa-means-truth-in-avestan |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526212011/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asa-means-truth-in-avestan |url-status=live }}</ref> is the main spiritual force which comes from Ahura Mazda.<ref name="AṦA"/> It is the cosmic order and is the [[antithesis]] of chaos, which is evident as ''druj'', falsehood and disorder, that comes from Angra Mainyu.<ref name="Druj">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Druj |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/druj |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005075152/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/druj |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Boyce-1983"/> The resulting cosmic conflict involves all of creation, mental/spiritual and material, including humanity at its core, which has an active role to play in the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zoroastrianism: Holy text, beliefs and practices|date=1 March 2010|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrianism-i-historical-review|website=Encyclopedia Iranica|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=5 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205062939/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrianism-i-historical-review|url-status=live}}</ref> The main representative of Asha in this conflict is [[Spenta Mainyu]], the creative spirit/mentality.<ref name="AHRIMAN"/> Ahura Mazda then created the material and visible world itself in order to ensnare evil. He created the floating, egg-shaped universe in two parts: first the spiritual (''menog'') and 3,000 years later, the physical (''getig'').<ref name="GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG" /> Ahura Mazda then created [[Gayomard]], the archetypical perfect man, and [[Gavaevodata]], the primordial bovine.<ref name="Cavendish-1980">{{Citation|title=Mythology: an Illustrated Encyclopedia|pages=40–5|first1=Richard|last1=Cavendish|first2=Trevor Oswald|last2=Ling|publisher=Rizzoli|year=1980|isbn=978-0847802869|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdEnAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

While Ahura Mazda created the universe and humankind, Angra Mainyu, whose very nature is to destroy, miscreated demons, evil ''daevas'', and noxious creatures (''khrafstar'') such as snakes, ants, and flies. Angra Mainyu created an opposite, evil being for each good being, except for humans, which he found he could not match. Angra Mainyu invaded the universe through the base of the sky, inflicting Gayomard and the bull with suffering and death. However, the evil forces were trapped in the universe and could not retreat. The dying primordial man and bovine emitted seeds, which were protect by [[Mah]], the Moon. From the bull's seed grew all beneficial plants and animals of the world and from the man's seed grew a plant whose leaves became the [[Mashya and Mashyana|first human couple]]. Humans thus struggle in a two-fold universe of the material and spiritual trapped and in long combat with evil. The evils of this physical world are not products of an inherent weakness but are the fault of Angra Mainyu's assault on creation. This assault turned the perfectly flat, peaceful, and daily illuminated world into a mountainous, violent place that is half night.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/> According to Zoroastrian [[cosmology]], in articulating the [[Ahuna Vairya]] formula, Ahura Mazda made the ultimate triumph of good against Angra Mainyu evident.<ref name="AHUNWAR">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahunwar-middle-persian-form-of-avestan-ahuna-vairya-name-of-the-most-sacred-of-the-gathic-prayers-y|title=AHUNWAR|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=29 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529042646/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ahunwar-middle-persian-form-of-avestan-ahuna-vairya-name-of-the-most-sacred-of-the-gathic-prayers-y|url-status=live}}</ref> Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail over the evil [[Angra Mainyu]], at which point reality will undergo a cosmic renovation called [[Frashokereti]]<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/frasokrti|title=FRAŠŌ.KƎRƎTI|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=5 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005153239/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/frasokrti|url-status=live}}</ref> and limited time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation—even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to or chose to descend into "darkness"—will be reunited with Ahura Mazda in the [[Kshatra Vairya]] (meaning "best dominion"),<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sahrewar|title=ŠAHREWAR|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517162840/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sahrewar|url-status=live}}</ref> being resurrected to immortality.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==== Cosmography ====
Zoroastrian [[cosmography]], which refers to the description of the structure of the cosmos in Zoroastrian literature and theology, involves a primary division of the cosmos into heaven and earth.{{Sfn|Panaino|2019|p=58}} The heaven is composed of three parts: the lower-most part, which is where the fixed stars may be found; the middle part, where the domain of the moon is located, and the upper part, which is the domain of the sun and unreachable by Ahirman.{{Sfn|Panaino|2019|p=9}} Further above the highest level of the heaven/sky includes regions described as the Endless Lights, as well as the Thrones of Amahraspandān and Ohrmazd.{{Sfn|Panaino|2019|p=85}} Although this is the basic framework which occurs in Avestan texts, later Zoroastrian literature would elaborate on this picture by further subdividing the lowest part of heaven to achieve a total of six or seven layers.{{Sfn|Panaino|1995|p=205–208}} The Earth itself was described as possessing three primary mountains: Mount Hukairiia, whose peak was the focal point of the revolution of the star Sadwēs; Mount Haraitī, whose peak was the focal point of the revolution of the sun and the moon, and the greatest of them all, the Harā Bərəz whose peak was located at the center of the Earth and which was the first in a chain of 2,244 mountains which, together, encircled the Earth.{{Sfn|Panaino|2019|p=72–73}} Although the planets are not described in early Zoroastrian sources, they entered Zoroastrian thought in the Middle Persian period: they were demonized and took on the names ''Anāhīd'' (Pahlavi for [[Venus]]), ''Tīr'' ([[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]), ''Wahrām'' ([[Mars]]), ''Ohrmazd'' ([[Jupiter]]), and ''Kēwān'' ([[Saturn]]).{{Sfn|Panaino|2015|p=238–240}}

=== Eschatology ===
{{main|Frashokereti}}
Individual judgment at death is at the [[Chinvat Bridge]] ("bridge of judgement" or "bridge of choice"), which each human must cross, facing a spiritual judgment, though modern belief is split as to whether it is representative of a mental decision during life to choose between good and evil or an afterworld location. Humans' actions under their free will through choice determine the outcome. According to tradition, the soul is judged by the Yazatas [[Mithra]], [[Sraosha]], and [[Rashnu]], where depending on the verdict one is either greeted at the bridge by a beautiful, sweet-smelling maiden or by an ugly, foul-smelling old hag representing their [[Daena]] affected by their actions in life. The maiden leads the dead safely across the bridge, which widens and becomes pleasant for the righteous, towards the House of Song. The hag leads the dead down a bridge that narrows to a razor's edge and is full of stench until the departed falls off into the abyss towards the House of Lies.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cinwad-puhl-av|title=ČINWAD PUHL|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713150650/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cinwad-puhl-av|url-status=live}}</ref> Those with a balance of good and evil go to [[Hamistagan]], a purgatorial realm mentioned in the 9th century work ''[[Dadestan-i Denig]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/mp/dd.htm|title=Dadestan-i Denig ('Religious Decisions'): Chapters 1–41|website=Avesta|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=31 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731120448/http://www.avesta.org/mp/dd.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The House of Lies is considered temporary and reformative; punishments fit the crimes, and souls do not rest in eternal damnation. Hell contains foul smells and evil food, a smothering darkness, and souls are packed tightly together although they believe they are in total isolation.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/>

In ancient [[Zoroastrian eschatology]], a 3,000-year struggle between good and evil will be fought, punctuated by evil's final assault. During the final assault, the sun and moon will darken, and humankind will lose its reverence for religion, family, and elders. The world will fall into winter, and Angra Mainyu's most fearsome miscreant, [[Azi Dahaka]], will break free and terrorize the world.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/>

According to legend, the final savior of the world, known as the [[Saoshyant]], will be born to a virgin impregnated by the seed of Zoroaster while bathing in a lake. The Saoshyant will raise the dead—including those in all afterworlds—for final judgment, returning the wicked to hell to be purged of bodily sin. Next, all will wade through a river of molten metal in which the righteous will not burn but through which the impure will be completely purified. The forces of good will ultimately triumph over evil, rendering it forever impotent but not destroyed. The Saoshyant and Ahura Mazda will offer a bull as a final sacrifice for all time and all humans will become immortal. Mountains will again flatten and valleys will rise; the House of Song will descend to the moon, and the earth will rise to meet them both.<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/> Humanity will require two judgments because there are as many aspects to our being: spiritual (''menog'') and physical (''getig'').<ref name="Cavendish-1980"/>

== Practices and rituals ==
[[File:Dinastia tang, shanxi, straniero dal volto velato, 600-750 ca.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|An 8th century [[Tang dynasty]] [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese clay figurine]] of a [[Sogdia]]n man wearing a distinctive cap and face veil, possibly a camel rider or even a Zoroastrian priest engaging in a ritual at a [[fire temple]], since face veils were used to avoid contaminating the holy fire with breath or saliva; [[Museum of Oriental Art (Turin)]], Italy.<ref>Lee Lawrence. (3 September 2011). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904332804576540533071105892 "A Mysterious Stranger in China"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205105151/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904332804576540533071105892 |date=5 December 2017 }}. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. Accessed on 31 August 2016.</ref>]]

Throughout Zoroastrian history, shrines and [[fire temple|temples]] have been the focus of worship and pilgrimage for adherents of the religion. Early Zoroastrians were recorded as worshiping in the 5th century BCE on mounds and hills where fires were lit below the open skies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=131|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 131|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227110410/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=131|url-status=live}}</ref> In the wake of Achaemenid expansion, shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of [[Mithra]], [[Aredvi Sura Anahita]], [[Verethragna]] and [[Tishtrya]], alongside other traditional Yazata who all have hymns within the Avesta and also local deities and culture-heroes. Today, enclosed and covered fire temples tend to be the focus of community worship where fires of varying grades are maintained by the clergy assigned to the temples.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ataskada-new-persian-house-of-fire-mid|title=ĀTAŠKADA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728032103/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ataskada-new-persian-house-of-fire-mid|url-status=live}}</ref>

The incorporation of cultural and local rituals is quite common and traditions have been passed down in historically Zoroastrian communities such as herbal healing practices, wedding ceremonies, and the like.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/apr/11/iran-traditional-medicine-herbs-regulation-tehranbureau|title=Herbal life: traditional medicine gets a modern twist in Iran|last1=Ajiri|first1=Denise Hassanzade|date=11 April 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 July 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416204455/https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/apr/11/iran-traditional-medicine-herbs-regulation-tehranbureau|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/ritual/zwedding.htm|title=Zoroastrian Rituals: Wedding|website=Avesta|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521051350/http://avesta.org/ritual/zwedding.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/> Traditionally, Zoroastrian rituals have also included [[shamanic]] elements involving [[mystical]] methods such as [[spirit travel]] to the invisible realm and involving the consumption of [[fortified wine]], [[Haoma]], [[Bhang|mang]], and other ritual aids.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz|title=ARDĀ WĪRĀZ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518003556/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kartir|title=KARTIR|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=25 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625175526/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kartir|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bang-middle-and-new-persian-in-book-pahlavi-also-mang-arabicized-banj-a-kind-of-narcotic-plant|title=BANG|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713050625/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bang-middle-and-new-persian-in-book-pahlavi-also-mang-arabicized-banj-a-kind-of-narcotic-plant|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/magic-i-magical-elements-in-the-avesta-and-nerang-literature|title=MAGIC i. MAGICAL ELEMENTS IN THE AVESTA AND NĒRANG LITERATURE|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204355/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/magic-i-magical-elements-in-the-avesta-and-nerang-literature|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Ossuary, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7-8th century CE.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ossuary]] with reliefs of Zoroastrian priests attending a fire, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7–8th century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frantz |first1=Grenet |title=Splendeurs des oasis d'Ouzbékistan |date=2022 |publisher=Louvre Editions |location=Paris |isbn=978-8412527858 |page=159}}</ref>]]

According to former South Asian studies professor Bettina Robotika, purification ceremonies associated with water (''[[aban]]'') and fire (''[[atar]]'') are considered the basis of Zoroastrian ritual life. Some Zoroastrian communities practice [[Excarnation|ritual exposure]], mainly in regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]] where the practice is legal and there are healthy populations of scavenger birds. A corpse is considered a host for decay or ''[[Asha|druj]]'', and scripture enjoins that it be disposed in a manner that does not pollute the good creation. Structures called [[Towers of Silence]] are commonly identified with this practice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robotika |first=Bettina |last2=Sehgal |first2=Ikram |date=3 December 2021 |title=Zoroastrianism — Parsi |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/849398/zoroastrianism-parsi/ |access-date=29 May 2025 |work=[[Daily Times (Pakistan)]]}}</ref>

The central ritual of Zoroastrianism is the [[Yasna]], which is a recitation of the eponymous book of the Avesta and sacrificial ritual ceremony involving [[Haoma]].<ref name="YASNA">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yasna|title=YASNA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517022410/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yasna|url-status=live}}</ref> Extensions to the Yasna ritual are possible through use of the [[Visperad]] and [[Vendidad]], but such an extended ritual is rare in modern Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/visperad|title=VISPERAD|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702004517/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/visperad|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/vendidad-parent|title=VENDĪDĀD|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204357/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/vendidad-parent|url-status=live}}</ref> The Yasna itself descended from [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] sacrificial ceremonies and animal sacrifice of varying degrees are mentioned in the Avesta and are still practiced in Zoroastrianism albeit through reduced forms such as the sacrifice of fat before meals.<ref name="SACRIFICE i"/> High rituals such as the Yasna are considered to be the purview of the [[Mobad]]s with a corpus of individual and communal rituals and prayers included in the [[Khordeh Avesta]].<ref name="YASNA"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khordeh-avesta|title=KHORDEH AVESTĀ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804050329/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khordeh-avesta|url-status=live}}</ref>

A Zoroastrian is welcomed into the faith through the [[Navjote]]/Sedreh Pushi ceremony, which is traditionally conducted during the later childhood or pre-teen years of the aspirant, though there is no defined age limit for the ritual.<ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/><ref name="Avesta">{{Cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/ritual/navjote.htm|title=Zoroastrian rituals: Navjote/Sudre-Pooshi (initiation) ceremony|website=Avesta|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=25 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025221655/http://avesta.org/ritual/navjote.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> After the ceremony, Zoroastrians are encouraged to wear their ''[[sedreh]]'' (ritual shirt) and ''[[kushti]]'' (ritual girdle) daily as a spiritual reminder and for mystical protection, though reformist Zoroastrians tend to only wear them during festivals, ceremonies, and prayers.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kustig|title=KUSTĪG|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331132954/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/kustig|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/><ref name="Avesta"/>

Historically, Zoroastrians are encouraged to pray the five daily [[Gāh]]s and to maintain and celebrate the various holy festivals of the [[Zoroastrian calendar]], which can differ from community to community.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gah|title=GĀH|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=10 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210055036/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/gah|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/festivals-i|title=Festivals i. Zoroastrian|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111074500/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/festivals-i|url-status=live}}</ref> Zoroastrian prayers, called {{transliteration|ae|[[Mantra|manthras]]}}, are conducted usually with hands outstretched in imitation of Zoroaster's prayer style described in the Gathas and are of a reflectionary and supplicant nature believed to be endowed with the ability to banish evil.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yenhe-hatam-prayer|title=YEŊ́HĒ HĀTĄM|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204356/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yenhe-hatam-prayer|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asem-vohu-the-second-of-the-four-great-prayers|title=AŠƎM VOHŪ (Ashem vohu)|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713205853/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asem-vohu-the-second-of-the-four-great-prayers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AHUNWAR"/> Devout Zoroastrians are known to cover their heads during prayer, either with traditional [[Kufi|topi]], scarves, other headwear, or even just their hands. However, full coverage and veiling which is traditional in Islamic practice is not a part of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian women in Iran wear their head coverings displaying hair and their faces to defy mandates by the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cador-a-loose-female-garment-covering-the-body-sometimes-also-the-face|title=ČĀDOR (2)|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713150652/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cador-a-loose-female-garment-covering-the-body-sometimes-also-the-face|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Scripture ==
{{See also|Zoroastrian literature}}

=== ''Avesta'' ===
{{Main|Avesta|Avestan}}
The ''Avesta'' is a collection of the central religious texts of Zoroastrianism written in the old Iranian dialect of [[Avestan]]. The history of the Avesta is speculated upon in many [[Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi texts]] with varying degrees of authority, with the current version of the Avesta dating at oldest from the times of the Sasanian Empire.<ref name="AVESTA i">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avesta-holy-book|title=AVESTA i. Survey of the history and contents of the book|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=Kellens|first=Jeana|volume=3|location=New York|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |pages=35–44 |access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722141334/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avesta-holy-book|url-status=live}}</ref> The Avesta was {{qi|composed at different times, providing a series of snapshots of the religion that allow historians to see how it changed over time}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burger |first1=Michael |title=The Shaping of Western Civilization: From Antiquity to the Present |date=January 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442601901 |pages=20}}</ref> According to Middle Persian tradition, Ahura Mazda created the 21 Nasks of the original Avesta which Zoroaster brought to [[Vishtaspa]]. Here, two copies were created, one which was put in the house of archives and the other put in the Imperial treasury. During Alexander's conquest of Persia, the Avesta (written on 1200 ox-hides) was burned, and the scientific sections that the Greeks could use were dispersed among themselves. However, there is no strong historical evidence for this and they remain contested despite affirmations from the Zoroastrian tradition, whether it be the ''[[Denkard|Denkart]]'', ''Tansar-nāma'', ''[[Book of Arda Viraf|Ardāy Wirāz Nāmag]]'', ''[[Bundahishn|Bundahsin]]'', ''[[Zand-i Wahman yasn]]'' or the transmitted oral tradition.<ref name="AVESTA i"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=ALEXANDER THE GREAT ii. In Zoroastrianism – Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|access-date=30 January 2021|website=iranicaonline.org|archive-date=18 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118141455/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|url-status=live}}</ref>

As tradition continues, under the reign of King Valax (identified with a [[Vologases I of Parthia|Vologases]] of the [[Arsacid dynasty]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Vesta Sarkhosh|year=2016|chapter=Ancient Iranian Motifs and Zoroastrian Iconography|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/23810856|title=The ZoroastrianFlame. Exploring Religion, History and Tradition|editor1=Alan Williams|editor2=Sarah Stewart|editor3=Almut Hintze|publisher=I.B. Tauris|language=en|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201140/https://www.academia.edu/23810856|url-status=live}}</ref>), an attempt was made to restore what was considered the Avesta. During the [[Sassanid Empire]], Ardeshir ordered Tansar, [[Dastur|his high priest]], to finish the work that King Valax had started. [[Shapur I]] sent priests to locate the scientific text portions of the Avesta that were in the possession of the Greeks.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Greece iii. Persian Influence on Greek Thought |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-iii |access-date=14 July 2019 |archive-date=19 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519013822/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-iii |url-status=live }}</ref> Under [[Shapur II]], Arderbad Mahrespandand revised the canon to ensure its orthodox character, while under [[Khosrow I]], the Avesta was translated into Pahlavi.

The compilation of the Avesta can be authoritatively traced, however, to the Sasanian Empire, of which only fraction survive today if the [[Middle Persian literature]] is correct.<ref name="AVESTA i"/> The later manuscripts all date from after the fall of the Sasanian Empire, the latest being from 1288, 590 years after the fall of the Sasanian Empire. The texts that remain today are the [[Gathas]], [[Yasna]], [[Visperad]] and the [[Vendidad]], of which the latter's inclusion is disputed within the faith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/Is%20The%20Vandidad%20a%20%20Zarathushtrian%20Scripture.htm|title=Is The Vandidad a Zarathushtrian Scripture?|website=English Zoroastrian|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=7 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807004043/http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/Is%20The%20Vandidad%20a%20%20Zarathushtrian%20Scripture.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Along with these texts is the individual, communal, and ceremonial prayer book called the [[Khordeh Avesta]], which contains the [[Yasht]]s and other important hymns, prayers, and rituals. The rest of the materials from the Avesta are called "Avestan fragments" in that they are written in Avestan, incomplete, and generally of unknown provenance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bromiley |first1=Geoffrey W. |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume III: K-P |date=1979 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3783-7 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC |access-date=6 November 2022 |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331132949/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Middle Persian (Pahlavi) ===
Middle Persian and Pahlavi works created in the 9th and 10th century contain many religious Zoroastrian books, as most of the writers and copyists were part of the Zoroastrian clergy. The most significant and important books of this era include the [[Denkard]], [[Bundahishn]], [[Menog-i Khrad]], [[Wizidagiha-i Zadspram|Selections of Zadspram]], [[Jamasp Namag]], Epistles of Manucher, [[Rivayat]]s, Dadestan-i-Denig, and [[Arda Viraf Namag]]. All Middle Persian texts written on Zoroastrianism during this time period are considered secondary works on the religion, and not [[scripture]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

== History ==
=== Zoroaster ===
{{Main|Zoroaster}}
Zoroastrianism was founded by Zoroaster in ancient Iran. The precise date of the founding of the religion is uncertain and estimates vary wildly from 2000 BCE to {{qi|200 years before Alexander}}. Zoroaster was born – in either Northeast Iran or Southwest Afghanistan – into a culture with a [[polytheistic]] religion, which featured excessive [[animal sacrifice]]{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=26}} and the excessive ritual use of intoxicants. His life was influenced profoundly by the attempts of his people to find peace and stability in the face of constant threats of raiding and conflict. Zoroaster's birth and early life are little documented but speculated upon heavily in later texts. What is known is recorded in the [[Gathas]], forming the core of the Avesta, which contain hymns thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. Born into the [[Spitama]] clan, he refers to himself as a poet-priest and [[prophet]]. He had a wife, three sons, and three daughters, the numbers of which are gathered from various texts.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-index|title=ZOROASTER|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129112517/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-index|url-status=live}}</ref>

Zoroaster rejected many of the gods of the [[Bronze Age]] Iranians and their oppressive [[Caste system|class structure]], in which the Kavis and Karapans (princes and priests) controlled the ordinary people. He also opposed cruel animal sacrifices and the excessive use of the possibly [[hallucinogenic]] [[Haoma]] plant (conjectured to have been a species of [[Ephedra (genus)|ephedra]] or ''[[Peganum harmala]]''), but did not condemn either practice outright, providing moderation was observed.<ref name="SACRIFICE i">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sacrifice-i|title=SACRIFICE i. IN ZOROASTRIANISM|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010210718/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sacrifice-i|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haoma|title=HAOMA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801214521/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haoma|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Legendary accounts ===
According to later Zoroastrian tradition, when Zoroaster was 30 years old, he went into the Daiti river to draw water for a [[Haoma]] ceremony; when he emerged, he received a vision of [[Vohu Manah]]. After this, Vohu Manah took him to the other six Amesha Spentas, where he received the completion of his vision.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=19}} This vision radically transformed his view of the world, and he tried to teach this view to others. Zoroaster believed in one supreme creator deity and acknowledged this creator's emanations ([[Amesha Spenta]]) and other divinities which he called Ahuras ([[Yazata]]).<ref name="AHURA">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=AHURA |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-1-type-of-deity |access-date=13 July 2019 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902010040/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-1-type-of-deity |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of the deities of the old religion, the ''[[Daevas]]'' (etymologically similar to the [[Sanskrit]] ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]''), appeared to delight in war and strife and were condemned as evil workers of Angra Mainyu by Zoroaster.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=DAIVA |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/daiva-old-iranian-noun |access-date=13 July 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517064405/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/daiva-old-iranian-noun |url-status=live }}</ref>

Zoroaster's ideas were not taken up quickly; he originally only had one convert: his cousin Maidhyoimanha.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=30–31}}

==== Cypress of Kashmar ====
{{Main|Cypress of Kashmar}}
The Cypress of Kashmar is a mythical cypress tree of legendary beauty and gargantuan dimensions. It is said to have sprung from a branch brought by [[Zoroaster]] from Paradise and to have stood in today's [[Kashmar]] in northeastern Iran and to have been planted by Zoroaster in honor of the conversion of [[Vishtaspa|King Vishtaspa]] to Zoroastrianism. According to the Iranian physicist and historian [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]] King Vishtaspa had been a patron of Zoroaster who planted the tree himself. In his ''[[ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt]]'', he further describes how the [[Abbasid]] caliph [[Al-Mutawakkil]] in 247 AH (861 CE) caused the mighty cypress to be felled, and then transported it across Iran, to be used for beams in his new palace at [[Samarra]]. Before, he wanted the tree to be reconstructed before his eyes. This was done in spite of protests by the Iranians, who offered a very great sum of money to save the tree. Al-Mutawakkil never saw the cypress, because he was murdered by a [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] soldier (possibly in the employ of his son) on the night when it arrived on the banks of the Tigris.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenassay.com/tag/cypress-of-kashmar/|title=The Destruction of Sacred Trees|date=17 July 2012|publisher=www.goldenassay.com|access-date=6 February 2020|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306212314/http://www.goldenassay.com/tag/cypress-of-kashmar/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Library/The%20Cypress%20of%20Kashmar%20and%20Zoroaster.htm|title=The Cypress of Kashmar and Zoroaster|publisher=www.zoroastrian.org.uk|access-date=6 February 2020|archive-date=20 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520040613/http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Library/The%20Cypress%20of%20Kashmar%20and%20Zoroaster.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Fire Temple of Kashmar ====
Kashmar Fire Temple was the first Zoroastrian fire temple built by [[Vishtaspa]] at the request of Zoroaster in Kashmar. In a part of [[Ferdowsi]]'s [[Shahnameh]], the story of finding Zarathustra and accepting Vishtaspa's religion is regulated that after accepting Zoroastrian religion, Vishtaspa sends priests all over the universe And Azar enters the fire temples (domes) and the first of them is [[Adur Burzen-Mihr]] who founded in Kashmar and planted a cypress tree in front of the fire temple and made it a symbol of accepting the Bahi religion And he sent priests all over the world, and commanded all the famous men and women to come to that place of worship.<ref>{{cite web|title=تاریخچه و نقشه جامع شهر کاشمر در ویکی آنا|url=https://ana.press/fa/news/47/475017/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE%DA%86%D9%87-%D9%88-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B4%D9%87-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D9%86%D8%A7|access-date=27 October 2020|work=ana.press|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026195329/https://ana.press/fa/news/47/475017/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE%DA%86%D9%87-%D9%88-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B4%D9%87-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D9%86%D8%A7|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the [[Paikuli inscription]], during the [[Sasanian Empire]], Kashmar was part of [[Greater Khorasan]], and the Sasanians worked hard to revive the ancient religion. It still remains a few kilometers above the ancient city of Kashmar in the [[Atashgah Castle|castle complex of Atashgah]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ترشیز؛ دروازه ورود اسلام به خراسان|url=https://khorasan.iqna.ir/fa/news/3536211/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86|access-date=11 October 2020|work=khorasan.iqna.ir|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606205856/https://khorasan.iqna.ir/fa/news/3536211/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Early history ===
{{See also|Avestan period|Airyanem Vaejah}}
[[File:Young avestan geography.png|thumb|Geographical horizon of the Avestan people during the Young Avestan period. Sources for the different localizations are in the file description.]]
The roots of Zoroastrianism are thought to lie in a common prehistoric [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] religious system dating back to the early 2nd millennium BCE.{{sfn|Foltz|2013|pp=10–18}} The prophet Zoroaster himself, though traditionally dated to the 6th century BCE,<ref>{{cite web |title=Zarathustra – Iranian prophet |url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Zoroaster-Iranian-prophet |access-date=9 June 2017 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011224918/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zoroaster-Iranian-prophet |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schmitt-2002"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=ZOROASTRIANISM i. HISTORY TO THE ARAB CONQUEST – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrianism-i-historical-review |access-date=13 July 2019 |website=Encyclopædia Iranica |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205062939/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrianism-i-historical-review |url-status=live }}</ref> is thought by many modern historians to have been a reformer of the polytheistic Iranian religion who lived much earlier during the second half of the second millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Malandra |first=William W. |title=Encyclopædia Iranica |publisher=Iranica Foundation |year=2009 |chapter=Zoroaster ii. general survey |quote=Controversy over Zaraθuštra's date has been an embarrassment of long standing to Zoroastrian studies. If anything approaching a consensus exists, it is that he lived ca. 1000 BCE give or take a century or so, though reputable scholars have proposed dates as widely apart as ca.1750 BCE and "258 years before Alexander. |chapter-url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-ii-general-survey |access-date=6 May 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517174232/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroaster-ii-general-survey |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |title=A History Of Zoroastrianism: The Early Period |publisher=Brill |year=1996 |pages=3 |author-link=Mary Boyce}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Daniel |first=Elton L. |title=The History of Iran |publisher=Greenwood |year=2012 |isbn=978-0313375095 |pages=47 |quote=Recent research, however, has cast considerable doubt on this dating and geographical setting. [...] The similarity of the language and metrical system of the Gathas to those of the Vedas, the simplicity of the society depicted throughout the Avesta, and the lack of awareness of great cities, historical rulers, or empires all suggest a different time frame. [...] All in all, it seems likely that Zoroaster and the Avestan people flourished in eastern Iran at a much earlier date (anywhere from 1500 to 900 B.C.) than once thought.}}</ref><ref name="Atlas">Patrick Karl O'Brien, ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ffZy5tDjaUkC&dq= ''Atlas&pg=PA45 of World History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321163438/https://books.google.com/books?id=ffZy5tDjaUkC&dq= |date=21 March 2023 }}, concise edn. (NY: Oxford UP, 2002), 45.</ref> Zoroastrian tradition names [[Airyanem Vaejah]] as the home of Zarathustra and the birthplace of the religion. No consensus exists as to the localization of Airyanem Vaejah, but the region of [[Khwarezm]] has been considered by modern scholars as a candidate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vogelsang |first=Willhelm |date=2000 |title=The sixteen lands of Videvdat – Airyanem Vaejah and the homeland of the Iranians |journal=Persica |volume=16 |pages=9 |doi=10.2143/PERS.16.0.511 |quote=The land of Airyanem Vaejah, which is described in the text as a land of extreme cold, has often been identified with ancient Choresmia.}}</ref> Zoroastrianism as a religion was not firmly established until centuries later during the [[Avestan period|Young Avestan period]]. At this time, the Zoroastrian community was concentrated in the eastern portion of [[Greater Iran]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Witzel |first=Michael |url=http://michaelwitzel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AryanHome1.pdf |title=Festschrift für Johanna Narten zum 70. Geburtstag |publisher=J. H. Roell |year=2000 |editor-last1=Hinze |editor-first1=A. |pages=283–338 |chapter=The Home of the Aryans |doi=10.11588/xarep.00000114 |quote=Since the evidence of Young Avestan place names so clearly points to a more eastern location, the Avesta is again understood, nowadays, as an East Iranian text, whose area of composition comprised -- at least -- Sīstån/Arachosia, Herat, Merw and Bactria. |author-link=Michael Witzel |editor-last2=Tichy |editor-first2=E. |access-date=6 May 2023 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013194630/http://michaelwitzel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AryanHome1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Although no consensus exists on the chronology of the Avestan period, the lack of any discernable [[Achaemenid empire|Persian]] and [[Median empire|Median]] influence in the [[Avesta]] makes a time frame in the first half of the first millennium BCE likely.<ref>{{cite book |last=Skjaervø |first=P. Oktor |title=The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia |publisher=De Gruyter |year=1995 |isbn=9783110144475 |editor-last=Erdosy |editor-first=George |pages=166 |chapter=The Avesta as source for the early history of the Iranians |quote=The fact that the oldest Young Avestan texts apparently contain no reference to western Iran, including Media, would seem to indicate that they were composed in eastern Iran before the Median domination reached the area. |author-link=Prods Oktor Skjaervo}}</ref>

=== Classical antiquity ===
{{See also|Zoroaster#Western references to Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism|Religion in the Achaemenid Empire|l1=Western references to Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism}}
[[File:Head of Bactrian ruler (Satrap), Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i-Sangin, 3rd-2nd century BC.jpg|thumb|Painted clay and [[alabaster]] head of a Zoroastrian priest wearing a distinctive [[Bactria]]n-style headdress, [[Takhti-Sangin]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], 3rd–2nd century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Litvinskij |first1=B. A. |last2=Pichikian |first2=I. R. |year=1994 |title=The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |publisher=[[Asia Institute]] |volume=8 |pages=47–66 |jstor=24048765 |issn=0890-4464}}</ref>]]
[[File:Pasargad_Tomb_Cyrus3.jpg|thumb|The [[Tomb of Cyrus|Tomb of Cyrus the Great]] at [[Pasargadae]], [[Iran]]]]

Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE. [[Herodotus]]' ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'' (completed {{c.|440&nbsp;BCE}}) includes a description of [[Greater Iran]]ian society with what may be recognizably Zoroastrian features, including exposure of the dead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D140|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 140|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=30 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230102010/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=140|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Histories'' is a primary source of information on the early period of the [[Achaemenid era]] (648–330&nbsp;BCE), in particular with respect to the role of the [[Magi]]. According to Herodotus, the Magi were the sixth tribe of the [[Medes]] (until the unification of the Persian empire under [[Cyrus the Great]], all Iranians were referred to as "Mede" or "Mada" by the peoples of the Ancient World) and wielded considerable influence at the courts of the Median emperors.<ref name="Perseus Digital Library">{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=67:section=3|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 3, chapter 67, section 3|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=3 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803033900/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=67:section=3|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the unification of the Median and Persian empires in 550 BCE, Cyrus the Great and later his son [[Cambyses II]] curtailed the powers of the Magi after they had attempted to sow dissent following their loss of influence. In 522 BCE, the Magi revolted and set up a rival claimant to the throne. The usurper, pretending to be Cyrus' younger son [[Smerdis]], took power shortly thereafter.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHIlhU4Gd5AC&q=cambises+and+smerdis+&pg=PA1|title=Resumen de la Historia Universal: escrito con su conocimiento, y aprobado ... – Joan Cortada i Sala|via=Google Libros|access-date=7 November 2012|year=1867|last1=Sala|first1=Joan Cortada I.}}</ref> Owing to the [[despotism|despotic rule]] of Cambyses and his long absence in Egypt, {{qi|the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations}} acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years.<ref name="Perseus Digital Library"/>

Darius I and later [[Achaemenid dynasty|Achaemenid emperors]] acknowledged their devotion to Ahura Mazda in inscriptions, as attested to several times in the [[Behistun]] inscription and appear to have continued the model of coexistence with other religions. Whether Darius was a follower of the teachings of Zoroaster has not been conclusively established as there is no indication of note that worship of Ahura Mazda was exclusively a Zoroastrian practice.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bisotun-iii|title=BISOTUN iii. Darius's Inscriptions|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=21 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921152507/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bisotun-iii|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to later Zoroastrian legend (''[[Denkard]]'' and the ''[[Book of Arda Viraf]]''), many sacred texts were lost when [[Alexander the Great]]'s troops invaded [[Persepolis]] and subsequently destroyed the royal library there. [[Diodorus Siculus]]'s ''Bibliotheca historica'', which was completed {{c.|60&nbsp;BCE}}, appears to substantiate this Zoroastrian legend.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bibliotheca Historica|last=Siculus|first=Diodorus|pages=17.72.2–6}}</ref> According to one archaeological examination, the ruins of the palace of [[Xerxes I]] bear traces of having been burned.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Persepolis|volume=21|page=186}}</ref> Whether a vast collection of (semi-)religious texts {{qi|written on parchment in gold ink}}, as suggested by the ''Denkard'', actually existed remains a matter of speculation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|title=ALEXANDER THE GREAT ii. In Zoroastrianism – Encyclopaedia Iranica|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=18 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518132829/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alexander's conquests largely displaced Zoroastrianism with [[Hellenistic religion|Hellenistic beliefs]],<ref name="Atlas"/> 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]]. In the [[Kingdom of Cappadocia|Cappadocian kingdom]], whose territory was formerly an Achaemenid possession, Persian colonists, cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper, continued to practice the faith [Zoroastrianism] of their forefathers; and there [[Strabo]], observing in the first century BCE, records (XV.3.15) that these "fire kindlers" possessed many {{qi|holy places of the Persian Gods}}, as well as fire temples.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=85}} Strabo further states that these were {{qi|noteworthy enclosures; and in their midst there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes and where the magi keep the [[fire ever burning]].}}{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=85}} It was not until the end of the [[Parthian Empire]] (247 BCE{{snd}}224 CE) that Zoroastrianism would receive renewed interest.<ref name="Atlas"/>

=== Late antiquity ===
{{See also|Religion in the Parthian era}}[[File:Zoroastrian ossuary, 7th-8th century CE, Hirman Tepe, Uzbekistan.jpg|thumb|A Zoroastrian [[ossuary]], 7–8th century CE, Hirman Tepe, Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frantz |first1=Grenet |title=Splendeurs des oasis d'Ouzbékistan |date=2022 |publisher=Louvre Editions |location=Paris |isbn=978-8412527858 |page=157}}</ref>]]
As late as the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] period, [[Armenian mythology|a form of Zoroastrianism]] was without a doubt the dominant religion in the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenian]] lands.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=84}} The [[Sassanids]] aggressively promoted the [[Zurvanite]] form of Zoroastrianism, often building fire temples in captured territories to promote the religion. During the period of their centuries-long [[suzerainty]] over the [[Caucasus]], the Sassanids made attempts to promote Zoroastrianism there with considerable successes.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Due to its ties to the Christian [[Roman Empire]], Persia's archrival since Parthian times, the Sassanids were suspicious of [[State church of the Roman Empire|Roman Christianity]], and after the reign of [[Constantine the Great]], sometimes persecuted it.<ref>{{Citation|page=34|author=Wigram, W. A.|title=An Introduction to the History of the Assyrian Church, or, The Church of the Sassanid Persian Empire, 100–640 A.D|publisher=Gorgias Press|isbn=978-1593331030|year=2004}}</ref> In 451 CE, the Sassanid authority clashed with their [[Persian Armenia|Armenian]] subjects in the [[Battle of Avarayr]], making them officially break with the Roman Church. But the Sassanids tolerated or even sometimes favored the Christianity of the [[Church of the East]]. The acceptance of Christianity in Georgia ([[Caucasian Iberia]]) saw the Zoroastrian religion there slowly but surely decline,<ref>Dr Stephen H Rapp Jr. [https://books.google.com/books?id=T8VIBQAAQBAJ&dq=zoroastrianism+in+georgia+decline&pg=PA160 ''The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404211849/https://books.google.com/books?id=T8VIBQAAQBAJ&dq=zoroastrianism+in+georgia+decline&pg=PA160 |date=4 April 2023 }} Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 28 September 2014. {{ISBN|1472425529}}, p. 160</ref> but as late the 5th century CE, it was still widely practised as something like a second established religion.<ref>Ronald Grigor Suny. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riW0kKzat2sC&dq=zoroastrianism+in+east+georgia+second+established+religion&pg=PA22 ''The Making of the Georgian Nation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407131541/https://books.google.com/books?id=riW0kKzat2sC&dq=zoroastrianism+in+east+georgia+second+established+religion&pg=PA22 |date=7 April 2023 }} [[Indiana University Press]], 1994, {{ISBN|0253209153}}, p. 22</ref><ref>Roger Rosen, Jeffrey Jay Foxx. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mEAjAQAAMAAJ&q=zoroastrianism+widely+practised+in+georgia ''The Georgian Republic, Volume 1992''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407131538/https://books.google.com/books?id=mEAjAQAAMAAJ&q=zoroastrianism+widely+practised+in+georgia |date=7 April 2023 }} Passport Books, 1992 p. 34</ref>

=== Decline in the Middle Ages ===
{{See also|Persecution of Zoroastrians}}
[[File:Hamza Burns Zarthust’s Chest and Shatters the Urn with his Ashes.jpg|thumb|A scene from the [[Hamzanama]] where [[Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib]] Burns Zarthust's Chest and Shatters the Urn with his Ashes]]
Over the course of 16 years during the 7th century, most of the Sasanian Empire was [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquered by the emerging Muslim caliphate]].{{sfn|Hourani|1947|p=87}} Although the administration of the state was rapidly Islamicized and subsumed under the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], in the beginning {{qi|there was little serious pressure}} exerted on newly subjected people to adopt Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=150}}.</ref> Because of their sheer numbers, the conquered Zoroastrians had to be treated as ''[[dhimmi]]s'' (despite doubts of the validity of this identification that persisted down the centuries),<ref name="Boyce 1979"/> which made them eligible for protection. Islamic jurists took the stance that only Muslims could be perfectly moral, but {{qi|unbelievers might as well be left to their iniquities, so long as these did not vex their overlords.}}<ref name="Boyce 1979">{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=146}}.</ref> In the main, once the conquest was over and {{qi|local terms were agreed on}}, the Arab governors protected the local populations in exchange for tribute.<ref name="Boyce 1979"/>

The Arabs adopted the Sasanian tax-system, both the land-tax levied on landowners and the [[poll-tax]] levied on individuals,<ref name="Boyce 1979"/> called ''[[jizya]]'',<!-- Boyce 1979:146 --> a tax levied on non-Muslims (i.e., the ''dhimmis''). In time, this poll-tax came to be used as a means to humble the non-Muslims, and a number of laws and restrictions evolved to emphasize their inferior status. Under the early orthodox [[caliphs]], as long as the non-Muslims paid their taxes and adhered to the ''dhimmi'' laws, administrators were enjoined to leave non-Muslims {{qi|in their religion and their land}}.<ref>([[Abu Bakr]], qtd. in {{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=146}}).</ref>

Under [[Abbasid]] rule, Muslim Iranians (who by then were in the majority) in many instances showed severe disregard for and mistreated local Zoroastrians. For example, in the 9th century, a deeply venerated [[cypress tree]] in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] (which Parthian-era legend supposed had been planted by Zoroaster himself) was felled for the construction of a palace in Baghdad, {{convert|2000|mi|km}} away. In the 10th century, on the day that a [[Tower of Silence]] had been completed at much trouble and expense, a Muslim official contrived to get up onto it, and to call the ''[[adhan]]'' (the Muslim call to prayer) from its walls. This was turned into a pretext to annex the building.<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=158}}.</ref>

Ultimately, Muslim scholars like [[Al-Biruni]] found few records left of the belief of for instance the [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khawarizmians]] because figures like [[Qutayba ibn Muslim]] {{qi|extinguished and ruined in every possible way all those who knew how to write and read the Khawarizmi writing, who knew the history of the country and who studied their sciences.}} As a result, {{qi|these things are involved in so much obscurity that it is impossible to obtain an accurate knowledge of the history of the country since the time of Islam...}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lib.iium.edu.my/mom2/cm/content/view/view.jsp?key=CkX1cftLSG76ALezab2WfMEBoHrJ63pJ20091104105517625|title=Kamar Oniah Kamaruzzaman, Al-Biruni: Father of Comparative Religion|website=Lib.iium.edu.my|access-date=9 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713061658/http://lib.iium.edu.my/mom2/cm/content/view/view.jsp?key=CkX1cftLSG76ALezab2WfMEBoHrJ63pJ20091104105517625|archive-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

==== Conversion ====
Though subject to a new leadership and harassment, the Zoroastrians were able to continue their former ways, although there was a slow but steady social and economic pressure to convert,<ref>{{harvnb|Bulliet|1979|pp=37, 138}}.</ref><ref name="Boyce 1979-2">{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|pp=147}}.</ref> with the nobility and city-dwellers being the first to do so, while Islam was accepted more slowly among the peasantry and landed gentry.<ref>{{harvnb|Bulliet|1979|p=59}}.</ref> {{qi|Power and worldly-advantage}} now lay with followers of Islam, and although the {{qi|official policy was one of aloof contempt, there were individual Muslims eager to [[proselytize]] and ready to use all sorts of means to do so.}}<ref name="Boyce 1979-2"/>

In time, a tradition evolved by which Islam was made to appear as a partly Iranian religion. One example of this was a legend that [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]], son of the fourth caliph [[Ali]] and grandson of Islam's prophet [[Muhammad]], had married a captive Sassanid princess named [[Shahrbanu]]. This "wholly fictitious figure"<ref name="Boyce 1979-3">{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=151}}.</ref> was said to have borne Husayn [[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin|a son]], the historical fourth [[Shi'a]] [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|imam]], who insisted that the caliphate rightly belonged to him and his descendants, and that the [[Umayyad]]s had wrongfully wrested it from him. The alleged descent from the Sassanid house counterbalanced the [[Arab nationalism]] of the Umayyads, and the Iranian national association with a Zoroastrian past was disarmed. Thus, according to scholar [[Mary Boyce]], {{qi|it was no longer the Zoroastrians alone who stood for patriotism and loyalty to the past.}}<ref name="Boyce 1979-3"/> The "damning indictment" that becoming Muslim was [[Aniran|un-Iranian]] only remained an idiom in Zoroastrian texts.<ref name="Boyce 1979-3"/>

With Iranian support, the [[Abbasids]] overthrew the Umayyads in 750, and in the subsequent caliphate government—that nominally lasted until 1258—Muslim Iranians received marked favor in the new government, both in Iran and at the capital in [[Baghdad]]. This mitigated the antagonism between Arabs and Iranians but sharpened the distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Abbasids zealously persecuted heretics, and although this was directed mainly at Muslim [[sectarians]], it also created a harsher climate for non-Muslims.<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=152}}.</ref>

==== Survival ====
[[File:USSHER(1865) p012 BAKU, FIRE TEMPLE (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|The [[Ateshgah of Baku|fire temple]] of [[Baku]], {{c.|1860}}]]
Despite economic and social incentives to convert, Zoroastrianism remained strong in some regions, particularly in those furthest away from the Caliphate capital at Baghdad. In [[Bukhara]] (present-day [[Uzbekistan]]), resistance to Islam required the 9th-century Arab commander [[Qutayba ibn Muslim|Qutaiba]] to convert his province four times. The first three times the citizens reverted to their old religion. Finally, the governor made their religion {{qi|difficult for them in every way}}, turned the local fire temple into a mosque, and encouraged the local population to attend Friday prayers by paying each attendee two [[dirhams]].<ref name="Boyce 1979-2"/> The cities where Arab governors resided were particularly vulnerable to such pressures,<!--147--> and in these cases the Zoroastrians were left with no choice but to either conform or migrate to regions that had a more amicable administration.<ref name="Boyce 1979-2"/>

The 9th century came to define<!--e.g., Bailey's ''Zoroastrian problems in the ninth-century books''--> the great number of Zoroastrian texts that were composed or re-written during the 8th to 10th centuries (excluding copying and lesser amendments, which continued for some time thereafter). All of these works are in the [[Middle Persian]] dialect of that period (free of Arabic words) and written in the difficult [[Pahlavi script]] (hence the adoption of the term "Pahlavi" as the name of the variant of the language, and of the genre, of those Zoroastrian books). If read aloud, these books would still have been intelligible to the [[laity]]. Many of these texts are responses to the tribulations of the time, and all of them include exhortations to stand fast in their religious beliefs.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Atashkadeh.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Fire Temple of Yazd]]

 | image2 = Museum of Zoroastrians - Kerman.jpg
 | caption2 = [[Fire Temple of Kerman|Museum of Zoroastrians]] in [[Kerman]]
}}
In [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] in northeastern Iran, a 10th-century Iranian nobleman brought together four Zoroastrian priests to transcribe a Sassanid-era Middle Persian work titled ''Book of the Lord'' (''Khwaday Namag'') from Pahlavi script into Arabic script. This transcription, which remained in Middle Persian prose (an Arabic version, by [[Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa|al-Muqaffa]], also exists), was completed in 957 and subsequently became the basis<!-- so Boyce 159 --> for [[Firdausi]]'s ''[[Shahnameh|Book of Kings]]''. It became enormously popular among both Zoroastrians and Muslims, and also served to propagate the Sassanid justification for overthrowing the Arsacids.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Among migrations were those to cities in (or on the margins of) the [[Dasht-e Kavir|great salt deserts]], in particular to [[Yazd]] and [[Kerman]], which remain centers of Iranian Zoroastrianism to this day. Yazd became the seat of the Iranian high priests during [[Ilkhanate|Mongol Ilkhanate]] rule, when the {{qi|best hope for survival [for a non-Muslim] was to be inconspicuous.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=163}}.</ref> Crucial to the present-day survival of Zoroastrianism was a migration from the northeastern Iranian town of [[Sanjan (Khorasan)|"Sanjan in south<!-- hyphen-->-<!--per literal quote-->western Khorasan"]],<ref name="Boyce 1979-4">{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=157}}.</ref> to [[Gujarat]], in western India. The descendants of that group are today known as the ''[[Parsi]]s''—"as the [[Gujaratis]], from long tradition, called anyone from Iran"<ref name="Boyce 1979-4"/>—who today represent the larger of the two groups of Zoroastrians in India.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/What-sets-Zoroastrian-Iranis-apart/articleshow/572604.cms | title=What sets Zoroastrian Iranis apart | publisher=Times of India | work=21 March 2004 | accessdate=12 October 2021 | author=Shastri, Padmaja | date=21 March 2004 | archive-date=19 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419124238/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/What-sets-Zoroastrian-Iranis-apart/articleshow/572604.cms | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Special Container Carrying The Holy Fire from Aden at Lonavala.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A special container carrying the holy fire from [[Aden]] to the Lonavala Agiary, India]]
The struggle between Zoroastrianism and Islam declined in the 10th and 11th centuries. Local Iranian dynasties, "all vigorously Muslim,"<ref name="Boyce 1979-4"/> had emerged as largely independent [[vassals]] of the Caliphs. In the 16th century, in one of the early letters between Iranian Zoroastrians and their co-religionists in India, the priests of [[Yazd]] lamented that "no period [in human history], not even [[Hellenistic period|that of Alexander]], had been more grievous or troublesome for the faithful than 'this millennium of the [[Aeshma|demon of<!--caps cause hypostasis-->Wrath<!-- and because this is a literal quotation-->]]'."<ref>{{harvnb|Boyce|1979|p=175}}.</ref>

=== Modern ===
{{further|Parsis|Irani (India)|Zoroastrianism in Iran|Zoroastrianism in India}}
[[File:Pundole Agiary Udvada.jpg|thumb|upright|A modern Zoroastrian [[fire temple]] in Western India<!-- please don't name it, could be confused with the Iranshah -->]]
[[File:Sadeh.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sadeh]] in [[Tehran]], 2011]]
Zoroastrianism has survived into the modern period, particularly in India, where the Parsis are thought to have been present since about the 9th century.{{sfn|Skjærvø|2005}}

Today Zoroastrianism can be divided in two main schools of thought: reformists and traditionalists. Traditionalists are mostly [[Parsi]]s and accept, beside the Gathas and Avesta, also the [[Middle Persian literature]] and like the reformists mostly developed in their modern form from 19th century developments. They generally do not allow [[Religious conversion|conversion]] to the faith and, as such, for someone to be a Zoroastrian they must be born of Zoroastrian parents. Some traditionalists recognize the children of mixed marriages as Zoroastrians, though usually only if the father is a born Zoroastrian.<ref name="CONVERSION vii">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/conversion-vii|title=CONVERSION vii. Zoroastrian faith in mod. per.|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221103853/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/conversion-vii|url-status=live}}</ref> Not all Zoroastrians identify with either school. Notable examples gaining traction include Neo-Zoroastrians/Revivalists, which are usually reinterpretations of Zoroastrianism appealing towards Western concerns,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Parsis in India and their Diasporas|last=Stausberg|first=Michael|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|editor-last=Hinnels|editor-first=John|location=London|pages=236–54|chapter=Para-Zoroastrianisms: Memetic transmissions and appropriations|editor-last2=Williams|editor-first2=John}}</ref> and centering the idea of Zoroastrianism as a living religion. These advocate the revival and maintenance of old rituals and prayers while supporting ethical and social progressive reforms. Both of these latter schools tend to center the Gathas without outright rejecting other texts except the [[Vendidad]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

From the 19th century onward, the Parsis gained a reputation for their education and widespread influence in all aspects of society. They played an instrumental role in the economic development of the region over many decades; several of the best-known business conglomerates of India are run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the [[Tata Group|Tata]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=They Helped Build Modern India But Are Shrinking As A Race |url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/global-news/they-helped-build-modern-india-but-are-shrinking-as-a-race/70797/1 |access-date=22 December 2023 |website=Forbes India |language=en |archive-date=22 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222184324/https://www.forbesindia.com/article/global-news/they-helped-build-modern-india-but-are-shrinking-as-a-race/70797/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Godrej family|Godrej]], [[Wadia]] families, and others.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 November 2020 |title=The journey of India's Parsi business community |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/the-journey-of-indias-parsi-business-community/680440 |access-date=22 December 2023 |website=www.timesnownews.com |language=en |archive-date=22 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222184324/https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/the-journey-of-indias-parsi-business-community/680440 |url-status=live }}</ref>

For a variety of social and political factors, the Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent, namely the Parsis and Iranis, have not engaged in conversion since at least the 18th century. Zoroastrian high priests have historically opined there is no reason to not allow conversion, which is also supported by the [[Revayats]] and other scripture, though later priests have condemned these judgements.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Writer|first=Rashna|url=|title=Contemporary Zoroastrians: An Unstructured Nation|year=1994|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-8191-9142-7|page=146|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Hinnells-2007">{{Cite book|last1=Hinnells|first1=John|url=|title=Parsis in India and the Diaspora|last2=Williams|first2=Alan|year=2007|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-134-06752-7|page=165|language=en}}</ref> Within Iran, many of the beleaguered Zoroastrians have been also historically opposed or not practically concerned with the matter of conversion. Currently though, The Council of Tehran Mobeds (the highest ecclesiastical authority within Iran) endorses conversion but conversion from Islam to Zoroastrianism is illegal under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.<ref name="CONVERSION vii"/><ref name="Hinnells-2007"/>

Though the Armenians share a rich history affiliated with Zoroastrianism (that eventually declined with the advent of Christianity), reports indicate that there were Zoroastrians in Armenia until the 1920s.<ref>Anne Sofie Roald, Anh Nga Longva. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ab0yAQAAQBAJ&dq=armenians+were+zoroastrian&pg=PA313 ''Religious Minorities in the Middle East: Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420202358/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ab0yAQAAQBAJ&dq=armenians+were+zoroastrian&pg=PA313 |date=20 April 2023 }} Brill, 2011, {{ISBN|9004216847}}, p. 313</ref>

At the request of the government of [[Tajikistan]], [[UNESCO]] declared 2003 a year to celebrate the "3000th anniversary of Zoroastrian culture", with special events throughout the world. In 2011, the Tehran Mobeds Anjuman announced that for the first time in the history of modern Iran and of the modern Zoroastrian communities worldwide, women had been ordained in Iran and North America as mobedyars, meaning women assistant [[mobed]]s (Zoroastrian clergy).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://parsikhabar.net/religion/the-jury-is-still-out-on-women-as-parsi-priests/2968/|title=The Jury Is Still Out On Women as Parsi Priests|publisher=Parsi Khabar|date=9 March 2011|access-date=12 October 2013|archive-date=14 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014115450/http://parsikhabar.net/religion/the-jury-is-still-out-on-women-as-parsi-priests/2968/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amordad6485.blogfa.com/post-7098.aspx|title=A group of 8 Zartoshti women received their Mobedyar Certificate from Anjoman Mobedan in Iran|website=Amordad6485.blogfa.com|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927204603/http://www.amordad6485.blogfa.com/post-7098.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parsinews.net/sedreh-pooshi-by-female-mobedyar-in-toronto-canada/3922.html|title=Sedreh Pooshi by Female Mobedyar in Toronto Canada|website=Parsinews.net|date=19 June 2013|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=9 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009105723/http://www.parsinews.net/sedreh-pooshi-by-female-mobedyar-in-toronto-canada/3922.html?fb_source=pubv1|url-status=live}}</ref> The women hold official certificates and can perform the lower-rung religious functions and can initiate people into the religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amordad6485.blogfa.com/post-7098.aspx|title=گزارش تصویری-موبدیاران بانوی زرتشتی، به جرگه موبدیاران پیوستند (بخش نخست)|access-date=10 August 2013|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927204603/http://www.amordad6485.blogfa.com/post-7098.aspx|archive-date=27 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="Rivetna" />

The current Zoroastrian population is said be around 100,000 to 200,000 and reportedly declining.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 June 2023 |title=Zoroastrianism |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311142019/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism |url-status=live }}</ref> However, further studies are needed to confirm this, as numbers have also been rising in some areas, such as Iran.<ref>{{cite web |date=6 September 2006 |title=Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06faith.html |access-date=25 September 2017 |work=Laurie Goodstein |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020114630/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06faith.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=Deena Guzder |date=9 December 2008 |title=The Last of the Zoroastrians |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1864931,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605162107/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1864931,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Disenchanted Iranians are turning to other faiths |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/01/21/disenchanted-iranians-are-turning-to-other-faiths |access-date=10 June 2023 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811150330/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/01/21/disenchanted-iranians-are-turning-to-other-faiths |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{further|List of countries by Zoroastrian population|List of Zoroastrians}}
[[File:Zoroastrian Persian Shrine chak-chak Republic Ardakan.jpg|thumb|left|The sacred Zoroastrian pilgrimage shrine of [[Chak Chak, Yazd|Chak Chak]] in [[Yazd]], [[Iran]]]]
Zoroastrian communities internationally tend to comprise mostly two main groups of people: [[Parsi people|Indian Parsis]] and [[Zoroastrians in Iran|Iranian Zoroastrians]]. <!-- What about the original communities in Iran/ Western Asia? -->According to a study in 2012 by the [[Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America]], the number of Zoroastrians worldwide was estimated to be between 111,691 and 121,962. The number is imprecise because of diverging counts in Iran.<ref name="Rivetna">{{cite web|last1=Rivetna|first1=Roshan|title=The Zarathushti World, a 2012 Demographic Picture|url=http://fezana.org/downloads/ZoroastrianWorldPopTable_FEZANA_Journal_Fall_2013.pdf|website=Fezana.org|access-date=2 August 2019|archive-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816062002/http://fezana.org/downloads/ZoroastrianWorldPopTable_FEZANA_Journal_Fall_2013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Iran and Central Asia ===
{{Main|Zoroastrians in Iran}}
[[File:Parsi-navjote-sitting.jpg|thumb|[[Parsi people|Parsi]] ''[[Navjote]]'' ceremony (rites of admission into the Zoroastrian faith)|226x226px]]
Iran's figures of Zoroastrians have ranged widely; the last census (1974) before the [[revolution of 1979]] revealed 21,400 Zoroastrians.<ref>{{cite web|author=K. E. Eduljee|url=http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/demographics/|title=Zoroastrian Demographics & Group Names|website=Heritageinstitute.com|date=28 June 2008|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801085511/http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/demographics/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some 10,000 adherents remain in the Central Asian regions that were once considered the traditional stronghold of Zoroastrianism, i.e., [[Bactria]] (see also [[Balkh]]), which is in Northern Afghanistan; [[Sogdiana]]; [[Margiana]]; and other areas close to [[Zoroaster#Place|Zoroaster's homeland]]. In Iran, emigration, out-marriage and low birth rates are likewise leading to a decline in the Zoroastrian population. Zoroastrian groups in Iran say their number is approximately 60,000.<ref>{{cite web|author=U.S. State Department|title=Iran – International Religious Freedom Report 2009|publisher=The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair|date=26 October 2009|url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127347.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029231558/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127347.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 October 2009|access-date=1 December 2009}}</ref> According to the Iranian census data from 2011 the number of Zoroastrians in Iran was 25,271.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/census-iran-young-urbanised-and-educated|title=Census: Iran young, urbanised and educated|work=Egypt Independent|date=29 July 2012|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=2 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202010150/http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/census-iran-young-urbanised-and-educated|url-status=live}}</ref>

Communities exist in [[Tehran]], as well as in [[Yazd]], [[Kerman]] and [[Kermanshah]], where many still speak an Iranian language distinct from the usual [[Persian language|Persian]]. They call their language [[Dari (Zoroastrian)|Dari]], not to be confused with the [[Dari (Persian)|Dari spoken in Afghanistan]]. Their language is also called ''Gavri'' or ''Behdini'', literally "of the Good Religion". Sometimes their language is named for the cities in which it is spoken, such as ''Yazdi'' or ''Kermani''. Iranian Zoroastrians were historically called ''[[Gabr]]''s.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The number of Kurdish Zoroastrians, along with those of non-ethnic converts, has been estimated differently.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fatah|first1=Lara|title=The curious rebirth of Zoroastrianism in Iraqi Kurdistan|url=https://projects21.org/2015/11/26/the-curious-rebirth-of-zoroastrianism-in-iraqi-kurdistan/|website=Projects21.org|access-date=27 February 2018|date=26 November 2015|archive-date=17 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417160225/https://projects21.org/2015/11/26/the-curious-rebirth-of-zoroastrianism-in-iraqi-kurdistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Zoroastrian Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has reported that as many as 100,000 people in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] have converted to Zoroastrianism recently, with some community leaders speculating that even more Zoroastrians in the region are practicing their faith secretly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.w-z-o.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Hamazor-Issue-2-2017-2.pdf|title=Hamazor Issue #2 2017: "Kurdistan reclaims its ancient Zoroastrian Faith|work=Hamazor|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=30 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930035935/https://www.w-z-o.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Hamazor-Issue-2-2017-2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020620153|title=Zoroastrian faith returns to Kurdistan in response to ISIS violence|publisher=Rudaw|date=2 June 2015|access-date=17 May 2016|archive-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825182620/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020620153|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/culture/321804d4-5b58-4008-848d-e1cc263230b4/kurdistan--the-only-government-in-middle-east-that-recognizes-religious-diversity|title=Kurdistan, the only government in Middle East that recognizes religious diversity|publisher=Kurdistan24|language=en|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713150647/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/culture/321804d4-5b58-4008-848d-e1cc263230b4/kurdistan--the-only-government-in-middle-east-that-recognizes-religious-diversity|url-status=live}}</ref> However, this has not been confirmed by independent sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020620153|title=Zoroastrian faith returns to Kurdistan in response to ISIL viole|publisher=Rudaw|access-date=18 September 2015|archive-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825182620/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020620153|url-status=live}}</ref>

The surge in Kurdish Muslims converting to Zoroastrianism is largely attributed to disillusionment with Islam after experiencing violence and oppression perpetrated by [[ISIS]] in the area.<ref>{{cite news|date=23 October 2019|title=Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith, identity entwine|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200413224346/https://www.france24.com/en/20191023-iraqi-kurds-turn-to-zoroastrianism-as-faith-identity-entwine|archive-date=13 April 2020|url-status=live|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191023-iraqi-kurds-turn-to-zoroastrianism-as-faith-identity-entwine|newspaper=France24|access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref>

=== South Asia ===
{{Main|Parsis|Irani (India)}}
{{Historical populations
| title = Historical population of Parsis in India
| footnote = Sources:<ref name="Census1872">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057647 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057647 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Memorandum on the census of British India of 1871–72. |year=1872 |pages=50–54 |last1=Waterfield |first1=Henry |author2=Great Britain India Office Statistics AND Commerce Department }}</ref><ref name="Census1881">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057654 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057654 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Report on the census of British India, taken on the 17th February 1881 ..., Vol. 2 |year=1881 |pages=9–18 }}</ref><ref name="Census1891">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25318666 |jstor=saoa.crl.25318666 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India, 1891. General tables for British provinces and feudatory states. |year=1891 |pages=87–95 |last1=Baines |first1=Jervoise Athelstane |author2=India Census Commissioner |volume=1 }}</ref><ref name="Frazer 1897 p.">{{cite book | last=Frazer | first=R.W. | title=British India | publisher=G. P. Putnam's sons | series=The story of nations | year=1897 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9F8qAAAAYAAJ | page=355 | access-date=8 May 2023 | archive-date=8 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508025115/https://books.google.com/books?id=9F8qAAAAYAAJ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1901">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25352838 |jstor=saoa.crl.25352838 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India 1901. Vol. 1A, India. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1901 |pages=57–62 }}</ref><ref name="Census1911">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25393779 |jstor=saoa.crl.25393779 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India, 1911. Vol. 1., Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1911 |pages=37–42 |last1=Edward Albert Gait |first1=Sir |author2=India Census Commissioner |volume=2 |publisher=Calcutta, Supt. Govt. Print., India, 1913. }}</ref><ref name="Census1921">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25394121 |jstor=saoa.crl.25394121 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India 1921. Vol. 1, India. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1921 |pages=39–44 }}</ref><ref name="Bureau of Manufactures">{{cite book |author=United States Department of Commerce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYA0AQAAMAAJ |title=Trade and Economic Review for 1922 No.34 |publisher=Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce |year=1924 |edition=Supplement to Commerce Reports |page=46 |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=13 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513164851/https://books.google.com/books?id=PYA0AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1931">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25793234 |jstor=saoa.crl.25793234 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India 1931. Vol. 1, India. Pt. 2, Imperial tables. |year=1931 |pages=513–519 }}</ref><ref name="Census1941">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215532 |jstor=saoa.crl.28215532 |access-date=20 May 2024 |title=Census of India, 1941. Vol. 1, India |year=1941 |pages=97–101 |author1=India Census Commissioner |volume=1 }}</ref><ref name="The Hindu-2016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|title=Parsi population dips by 22 per cent between 2001–2011: study|newspaper=The Hindu|date=26 July 2016 |access-date=3 November 2021|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106014327/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/06/last-of-the-zoroastrians-parsis-mumbai-india-ancient-religion|title=The last of the Zoroastrians|date=6 August 2020|website=the Guardian|access-date=16 November 2021|archive-date=27 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127022704/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/06/last-of-the-zoroastrians-parsis-mumbai-india-ancient-religion|url-status=live}}</ref>
| percentages = pagr
| 1872 | 69476
| 1881 | 85397
| 1891 | 89904
| 1901 | 94190
| 1911 | 100096
| 1921 | 101778
| 1931 | 109752
| 1941 | 114890
| 1971 | 91266
| 1981 | 71630
| 2001 | 69601
| 2011 | 57264
| 2019 | 69000
}}
India is considered to be home to a large Zoroastrian population – the descendants of migrants from Iran and today known as the [[Parsi]]s. In India's 2001 census, the Parsi population numbered at 69,601, representing about 0.006% of the total population of India, with a concentration in and around the city of [[Mumbai]]. By 2008, the birth-to-death ratio was 1:5; 200 births per year to 1,000 deaths.<ref>{{Citation|title=Doomed by faith|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/doomed-by--faith-856095.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/doomed-by--faith-856095.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Independent|date=28 June 2008|access-date=28 June 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref> India's 2011 census recorded 57,264 Parsi Zoroastrians.<ref name="The Hindu-2016"/>

The Zoroastrian population in Pakistan was estimated to number 1,675 people in 2012,<ref name="Rivetna"/> mostly living in [[Sindh]] (especially [[Karachi]]) followed by [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-11-28/parsi-community-karachi-pakistan|title=The Parsi Community in Karachi, Pakistan|work=Public Radio International|date=15 August 2013 |access-date=7 February 2015|archive-date=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207094744/http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-11-28/parsi-community-karachi-pakistan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1410442|title=Number of non-Muslim voters in Pakistan shows rise of over 30pc|first=Iftikhar A.|last=Khan|date=28 May 2018|website=Dawn|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-date=4 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604024431/https://www.dawn.com/news/1410442|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[National Database and Registration Authority]] (NADRA) of Pakistan reported that there were 3,650 Parsi voters during the elections in Pakistan in 2013 and 4,235 in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/430059/over-35000-buddhists-bahais-call-pakistan-home/|title=Over 35,000 Buddhists, Baháʼís call Pakistan home|date=2 September 2012|website=The Express Tribune|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-date=2 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102005352/https://tribune.com.pk/story/430059/over-35000-buddhists-bahais-call-pakistan-home/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[2023 Pakistani census]], there were 2,348 Parsis across the nation, with 1,656 (70.5%) being located in the [[Karachi Division]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=TABLE 9 : POPULATION BY SEX, RELIGION AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS – 2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_9.pdf |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=TABLE 9 : POPULATION BY SEX, RELIGION AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS – 2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/pcr/table_9.pdf |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref>

=== Western world ===
{{see also|Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America|Zoroastrianism in the United States}}
[[North America]] is thought to be home to 18,000–25,000 Zoroastrians of both South Asian and Iranian backgrounds. As of 2012, the population of Zoroastrians in US was 15,000, making it the third-largest Zoroastrian population in the world after those of India and Iran.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.niacinsight.com/2016/12/16/an-old-faith-in-the-new-world-zoroastrianism-in-the-united-states/|title=An Old Faith in the New World – Zoroastrianism in the United States|first=Washington insights for the Iranian-American community from the National Iranian American Council|last=NIAC inSight|website=NIAC inSight|date=16 December 2016|access-date=26 August 2018|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805074435/https://www.niacinsight.com/2016/12/16/an-old-faith-in-the-new-world-zoroastrianism-in-the-united-states/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> According to the [[2021 Canadian census]], the Zoroastrian Canadian population stood at 7,285, of which 3,630 were Parsis (of [[South Asian Canadians|South Asian descent]]) and a further 2,390 of [[West Asian Canadians|West Asian origin]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 |title=Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201 |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305220639/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201 |url-status=live }}</ref> A further 3,500 live in [[Australia]] (mainly in [[Sydney]]). Stewart, Hinze & Williams write that 3,000 Kurds have converted to Zoroastrianism in Sweden.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition|last1=Stewart|first1=Sarah|last2=Hintze|first2=Almut|last3=Williams|first3=Alan|publisher=I.B Tauris|year=2016|isbn=9781784536336|location=London}}</ref> According to the [[2021 UK census]], there were 4,105 Zoroastrians in [[England and Wales]], of which 4,043 were in England. The majority (51%) of these (2,050) were in [[London]], most notably the boroughs of [[London Borough of Barnet|Barnet]], [[London Borough of Harrow|Harrow]] and [[Westminster]]. The remaining 49% of English Zoroastrians were scattered relatively evenly throughout the country, with the second and third largest concentrations being [[Birmingham]] (72) and [[Manchester]] (47).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=www.ons.gov.uk |archive-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129100449/https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, [[Historic England]] published ''A Survey of Zoroastrianism Buildings in England'' with the aim of providing information about buildings that Zoroastrians use in England so that HE can work with communities to enhance and protect those buildings now and in the future. The scoping survey identified four buildings in England.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tomalin, Emma|year=2020|title=A Survey of Zoroastrianism Buildings in England. Historic England Research Report 203/2020|url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=16739&ru=%2FResults.aspx%3Fn%3D10&ry=2020&p=2|access-date=16 June 2020|website=research.historicengland.org.uk|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616143555/https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=16739&ru=%2FResults.aspx%3Fn%3D10&ry=2020&p=2|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Relation to other religions and cultures ==
[[File:Iran-achaemenids (darius the great).jpg|thumb|left|Map of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BCE|301x301px]]

=== Indo-Iranian origins ===
{{See also|Indo-Iranians|Proto-Indo-Iranian religion}}
The religion of Zoroastrianism is closest to [[historical Vedic religion]] to varying degrees.{{clarification needed|date=November 2023}}<!--What does "varying degrees" mean here?--> Some historians believe that Zoroastrianism, along with similar philosophical revolutions in South Asia were interconnected strings of reformation of a common Indo-Aryan thread. Many traits of Zoroastrianism can be traced to prehistoric Indo-Iranian culture and beliefs, that is, before the migrations that separated the [[Indo-Aryans]] and [[Iranics|Iranic]] peoples. Thus, Zoroastrianism shares elements with the [[historical Vedic religion]] that also originated in that era. Some examples include cognates between the [[Avestan]] word ''Ahura'' ("Ahura Mazda") and the Vedic [[Sanskrit]] word ''[[Asura]]'' ('demon', 'evil demigod'); as well as ''[[daeva]]'' ("demon") and ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|deva]]'' ("god") and they both descend from a common [[Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Zoroastrianism inherited ideas from other belief systems and, like other "practiced" religions, contains [[syncretism]].<ref>e.g., {{harvnb|Boyce|1982|p=202}}.</ref> Specifically, Zoroastrianism in [[Sogdia]], the [[Kushan Empire]], Armenia, China, and other places incorporates local and foreign practices and deities.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2015|isbn=9781444331356|pages=83–191}}</ref>

Conversely, Zoroastrian influenced [[Hungarian mythology|Hungarian]], [[Slavic mythology|Slavic]], [[Ossetian mythology|Ossetian]], [[Turkic mythology|Turkic]] and [[Mongol mythology|Mongol]] mythologies, all of which bear extensive light-dark dualisms and possible sun god theonyms related to [[Hvare-khshaeta]].<ref>Š. Kulišić; P.Ž. Petrović; N. Pantelić. "Бели бог". Српски митолошки речник (in Serbian). Belgrade: Nolit. pp. 21–22.</ref><ref>Juha Pentikäinen, Walter de Gruyter, Shamanism and Northern Ecology 11 July 2011</ref><ref>Diószegi, Vilmos (1998) [1958]. A sámánhit emlékei a magyar népi műveltségben (in Hungarian) (1. reprint kiadás ed.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. {{ISBN|963-05-7542-6}}. The title means: "Remnants of shamanistic beliefs in Hungarian folklore".</ref>

=== Abrahamic religions ===
Zoroastrianism is sometimes credited with being the first monotheistic religion in history,<ref name="auto"/> antedating the Israelites and leaving a lasting and profound imprint on [[Second Temple Judaism]] and, through it, on later monotheistic religions such as early Christianity and Islam.<ref name="Ferrero-2021"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism |title=Zoroastrianism &#124; Definition, Beliefs, Founder, Holy Book, & Facts &#124; Britannica |access-date=1 March 2024 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408140014/http://britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism |url-status=live }}</ref>
There are clear commonalities and similarities between Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity, such as: monotheism, dualism (i.e., a robust notion of a Devil—but with a positive appraisal of material creation), symbolism of the divine, heaven(s) and hell(s), angels and demons, eschatology and final judgment, a messianic figure and the idea of a savior, a holy spirit, concern with ritual purity, an idealization of wisdom and righteousness, and other doctrines, symbols, practices, and religious features.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/41617347 |title=Zoroastrian Influence on Post-Exilic Jewish Belief and Practice |date=January 2009 |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225144004/https://www.academia.edu/41617347/Zoroastrian_Influence_on_Post_Exilic_Jewish_Belief_and_Practice |url-status=live |last1=Fredrickson |first1=Nathan }}</ref>

According to [[Mary Boyce]], {{qi|Zoroaster was thus the first to teach the doctrines of an individual judgement, Heaven and Hell, the future resurrection of the body, the general last judgement, and life everlasting for the reunited soul and body. These doctrines were to become familiar articles of faith to much of mankind, through borrowing by Judaism, Christianity and Islam; yet it is in Zoroastrianism itself that they have their fullest logical coherence. Since Zoroaster insisted both on the goodness of material creation, and hence of the physical body, and on the unwavering impartiality of divine justice.}}<ref>{{cite book |last= Boyce |first= Mary |date= 2000 |title= Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices |publisher= Routledge |page=50}}</ref>

The interactions between Judaism and Zoroastrianism resulted in transfer of religious ideas between the two religions and as a result, it is believed that Jews under Achaemenid rule were influenced by Zoroastrian angelology, demonology, eschatology, as well as Zoroastrian ideas about compensatory justice in life and after death.<ref>{{cite book |last= Dhalla |first= Maneckji Nusservanji |date= 1985 |title= History of Zoroastrianism |publisher= K.R. Cama Oriental Institute |page=24,198}}</ref> It is also postulated that the Jewish high monotheistic concept of God developed during and after the period of the [[Babylonian captivity]], when the Jews had a prolonged exposure to sophisticated Zoroastrian beliefs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/34653 |title=The impact of Zoroastrianism upon Judaism and Christianity |date=1965 |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226160333/https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/34653 |url-status=live |last1=Patchell |first1=Herbert Sidney }}</ref>

In addition, Zoroastrian concepts seeded dualistic ideas in [[Jewish eschatology]], such as the belief in a savior, the final battle between good and evil, the triumph of good and the resurrection of the dead. These ideas later passed on to Christianity via Zoroastrian-inspired texts of the Old Testament.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/34733252 | title=Kuehn, S., "The Dragon Fighter: The Influence of Zoroastrian Ideas on Judaeo-Christian and Islamic Iconography," in: Zoroastrianism in the Levant, ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 26, 1/2 (2014), 65–101 | last1=Kuehn | first1=Sara }}</ref>

According to some sources, such as ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (1906),<ref name="A. V. Williams Jackson-1906">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Zoroastrianism ("Resemblances Between Zoroastrianism and Judaism" and "Causes of Analogies Uncertain") |encyclopedia=The Jewish Encyclopaedia |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15283-zoroastrianism |access-date=3 February 2022 |date=1906 |author2=[[A. V. Williams Jackson]] |author1=[[Kaufmann Kohler]] |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207214342/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15283-zoroastrianism |url-status=live }}</ref> there exist many similarities between Zoroastrianism and Judaism. This has led some to propose that key Zoroastrian concepts influenced Judaism. However, other scholars disagree, finding that the general social influence of Zoroastrianism was much more limited, and that no link can be found in Jewish or Christian texts.<ref name="Basile-2021">{{Cite journal |last=Basile |first=Cam |date=1 January 2021 |title=Zoroastrian Influence on Old Testament Monotheism and Eschatology? A Scriptural and Sociological Analysis |url=https://www.academia.edu/62728102 |journal=Zoroastrian Influence on Old Testament Monotheism and Eschatology? A Scriptural and Sociological Analysis |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225142442/https://www.academia.edu/62728102/Zoroastrian_Influence_on_Old_Testament_Monotheism_and_Eschatology_A_Scriptural_and_Sociological_Analysis |url-status=live }}</ref>

Proponents of a link cite similarities between the two: such as dualism (good and evil, divine twins Ahura Mazda "God" and Angra Mainyu "Satan"), image of the deity, [[Zoroastrian eschatology|eschatology]], resurrection and [[Judgement (afterlife)|final judgment]], [[messianism]], [[revelation]] of Zoroaster on a mountain with [[Moses]] on [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]], three sons of [[Fereydun]] with three [[sons of Noah]], [[heaven]] and [[hell]], angelology and demonology, cosmology of six days or periods of creation, and [[Free will in theology|free will]], among others. Other scholars diminish or reject such influences,<ref name="Nigosian-1993">{{cite book |last=Nigosian |first=Solomon Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6c-TdNc69QC |title=Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research |date=1993 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=9780773511330 |pages=95–97, 131}}</ref><ref name="Grabbe-2006">{{cite book |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1cPeBAAAQBAJ |title=A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period (vol. 1): The Persian Period (539-331BCE) |date=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9780567216175 |pages=361–364 |author-link=Lester L. Grabbe |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331133546/https://books.google.com/books?id=1cPeBAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="A. V. Williams Jackson-1906" /><ref>{{harvnb|Black|Rowley|1982|p=607b}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Duchesne-Guillemin|1988|p=815}}.</ref><ref name="Basile-2021"/> noting that {{qi|Zoroastrianism has a unique theistic doctrine which combines dualism, polytheism and pantheism}}, rather than being a monotheistic religion.<ref name="Basile-2021" /> Others say {{qi|there is little concrete evidence about the precise origin and development of}} Zoroastrianism,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nigosian |first=Solomon Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6c-TdNc69QC |title=Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research |date=1993 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP |isbn=978-0-7735-1133-0 |language=en |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226163727/https://books.google.com/books?id=p6c-TdNc69QC&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}</ref> and that {{qi|Zoroastrianism does not compare with the Jewish belief in the sovereignty of God over the whole of creation.}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1cPeBAAAQBAJ&q=Zorua |title=A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period (vol. 1): The Persian Period (539-331BCE) |date=27 July 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-21617-5 |language=en |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226163721/https://books.google.co.uk/books?redir_esc=y&id=1cPeBAAAQBAJ&q=Zoroa#v=onepage&q=Zorua&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

Others, such as [[Lester L. Grabbe]], have said {{qi|there is general agreement that Persian religion and tradition had its influence on Judaism over the centuries}} and the {{qi|question is where this influence was and which of the developments in Judaism can be ascribed to the Iranian side as opposed to the effect of the Greek or other cultures}}.<ref name="Grabbe-2006" /> There exist distinctions but also similarities between Zoroastrian and [[Jewish law]] regarding marriage and procreation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weisberg |first=Dvora E. |date=2000 |title=The Annual of Rabbinic Judaism: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern |chapter=The Babylonian Talmud's Treatment of Levirate Marriage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=96HbcFxuTWkC |publisher=BRILL |pages=63–65 |isbn=9789004118935 |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203065704/https://books.google.com/books?id=96HbcFxuTWkC |url-status=live }}</ref> While Mary Boyce claims, besides Abrahamic religions, Zoroastrian influence also extended to [[Northern Buddhism]].{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=1, 77}}

==== Islam ====
Zoroastrians are considered to be a "[[People of the Book]]" by Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2016 |title=Ahl al-Kitāb |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ahl-al-Kitab |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Manichaeism ===
Zoroastrianism is often compared with [[Manichaeism]]. Nominally an Iranian religion, Manichaeism was heavily inspired by Zoroastrianism{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} because of [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]]'s Iranian origin, and it was also rooted in prior [[Middle-East]]ern [[Gnostic]] beliefs.<ref name="Nigosian-1993" />{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=1, 77}}<ref name="Grabbe-2006" />

Manichaeism adopted many of the [[Yazata]]s for its own pantheon.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} Gherardo Gnoli, in ''The Encyclopaedia of Religion'',<ref>Gherardo Gnoli, "Manichaeism: An Overview", in ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', ed. Mircea Eliade (NY: MacMillan Library Reference USA, 1987), 9: 165.</ref> says that {{qi|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}}.<ref>Contrast with Henning's observations: Henning, W.B., ''The Book of Giants'', BSOAS, Vol. XI, Part 1, 1943, pp. 52–74:
{{blockquote|It is noteworthy that Mani, who was brought up and spent most of his life in a province of the Persian empire, and whose mother belonged to a famous Parthian family, did not make any use of the Iranian mythological tradition. There can no longer be any doubt that the Iranian names of Sām, Narīmān, etc., that appear in the Persian and Sogdian versions of the Book of the Giants, did not figure in the original edition, written by Mani in the Syriac language}}</ref>

The two religions have substantial differences.<ref>{{harvnb|Zaehner|1961|pp=53–54}}.</ref>

=== Present-day Iran ===
Many aspects of Zoroastrianism are present in the culture and mythologies of the peoples of [[Greater Iran]], not least because Zoroastrianism was a dominant influence on the people of the cultural continent<!-- What is "cultural continent"? --> for a thousand years. Even after the rise of Islam and the loss of direct influence, Zoroastrianism remained part of the cultural heritage of the [[Iranian language]]-speaking world, in part as festivals and customs, but also because [[Ferdowsi]] incorporated a number of the figures and stories from the [[Avesta]] in his epic ''[[Shāhnāme]]'', which is pivotal to Iranian identity. One notable example is the incorporation of the Yazata [[Sraosha]] as an angel venerated within [[Shia Islam]] in Iran.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sraosa|title=SRAOŠA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801183300/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sraosa|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{columns-list|
* [[Mandaean cosmology]]
* [[Proto-Indo-European mythology]]
* [[Zurvan]]
}}

== References ==
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Black|editor-first=Matthew|editor2-last=Rowley|editor2-first=H. H.|title=Peake's Commentary on the Bible|year=1982|publisher=Nelson|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-05147-7|title-link=Peake's Commentary on the Bible}}
* {{citation|last=Boyce|first=Mary|title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=1979|isbn=978-0-415-23903-5}} (note to catalogue searchers: the spine of this edition misprints the title "Zoroastrians" as "Zoroastians", and this may lead to catalogue errors; there is a second edition published in 2001 with the same ISBN)
* {{citation|last=Boyce|first=Mary|title=The History of Zoroastrianism|volume=2|year=1982|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-06506-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Boyce |first1=Mary |title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0415239028}}
* {{citation|last=Büchner|first=V. F.|chapter=Yazdān|title=Encyclopedia of Islam|volume=IV|edition=1st|year=1934|editor-last=Houtsma|editor-first=Martijn Theodor|location=Leyden|publisher=Brill|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.73272/page/n1203/mode/1up}}.
* {{citation|last=Bulliet|first=Richard W.|title=Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period: An Essay in Quantitative History|year=1979|location=Cambridge|publisher=Harvard UP|isbn=978-0-674-17035-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conversiontoisla0000bull}}
* {{citation|last=Duchesne-Guillemin|first=Jacques|chapter=Zoroastrianism|title=Encyclopedia Americana|location=Danbury|publisher=Grolier|year=1988|volume=29}} pp.&nbsp;813–815
* {{Citation|first=Richard|last=Foltz|author-link=Richard Foltz|title=Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present|publisher=Oneworld publications|location=London|year=2013|isbn=978-1-78074-308-0}}
* {{citation|last=Geiger|first=Wilhelm|title=Civilization of the Eastern Iranians in Ancient Times|year=1885|location=Oxford|publisher=OUP/H. Frowde}}
* {{citation |author-link=Almut Hintze |last=Hintze |first=Almut |title=Monotheism the Zoroastrian Way |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=24 |number=2 |date=2014 |pages=225–49 |doi=10.1017/S1356186313000333|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18346/1/078%202014%20JRAS%2024%20225-249%20Monotheism.pdf }}
* {{citation|last=Hourani|first=Albert|author-link=Albert Hourani|title=Minorities in the Arab World|location=New York|publisher=AMS Press|year=1947}}
* {{Cite book |last=Panaino |first=Antonio |url=https://www.academia.edu/36391486 |title=Au carrefour des religions. Mélanges offerts à Philippe Gignoux |date=1995 |publisher=Peeters |editor-last=Gyselen |editor-first=R. |pages=205–225 |chapter=Uranographia Iranica I. The Three Heavens in the Zoroastrian Tradition and the Mesopotamian Background}}
* {{Cite book |last=Panaino |first=Antonio |url=https://www.academia.edu/35271653 |title=Studies on Iran and The Caucasus in Honour of Garnik Asatrian |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |editor-last=Bläsing |editor-first=U. |pages=229–244 |chapter=The Classification of Astral Bodies in the framework of an Historical Survey of Iranian traditions |doi=10.1163/9789004302068_016 |isbn=978-90-04-30201-3 |editor-last2=Arakelova |editor-first2=V.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Panaino |first=Antonio C.D. |title=A Walk through the Iranian Heavens: Spherical and Non-Spherical Cosmographic Models in the Imagination of Ancient Iran and Its Neighbors |date=2019 |publisher=Brill}}
* {{citation |last=Skjærvø |first=Prods Oktor |year=2005 |title=Introduction to Zoroastrianism |url=https://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Zoroastrianism/Zoroastrianism1_Intro.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224194438/https://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Zoroastrianism/Zoroastrianism1_Intro.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2021 |access-date=13 July 2019 |website=Iranian Studies at Harvard University}}
* {{citation|last=Zaehner|first=Robert Charles|title=The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism|location=London|publisher=Phoenix Press|year=1961|isbn=978-1-84212-165-8}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |author-link=Mary Boyce |title=The History of Zoroastrianism |publisher=Brill |year=1975 |isbn=978-90-04-10474-7 |volume=1 |location=Leiden}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |title=Textual sources for the study of Zoroastrianism |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-226-06930-2 |location=Manchester}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |title=Zoroastrianism: A Shadowy but Powerful Presence in the Judaeo-Christian World |publisher=William's Trust |year=1987 |location=London}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |title=The History of Zoroastrianism |publisher=Brill |year=1991 |isbn=978-90-04-09271-6 |volume=3 |location=Leiden}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Peter |title=Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-898723-78-3 |location=Brighton}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dastur |first=Francoise |title=Death: An Essay on Finitude |publisher=A&C Black |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-485-11487-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dhalla |first=Maneckji Nusservanji |title=History of Zoroastrianism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1938 |location=New York}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Eliade |first1=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |title=The Eliade Guide to World Religions |last2=Couliano |first2=Ioan P. |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1991 |location=New York}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kment |first=Petr |date=February 2018 |title=Zoroastrian tradition at Mangyshlak: underground mosque Shakpak-Ata |url=https://kulturnistudia.cz/zoroastrian-tradition-at-mangyshlak-underground-mosque-shakpak-ata/ |journal=Kulturní studia / Cultural Studies |volume=6 |issn=2336-2766 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210021440/https://kulturnistudia.cz/zoroastrian-tradition-at-mangyshlak-underground-mosque-shakpak-ata/ |archive-date=10 December 2022 |number=11}}
* {{Cite book |last=Malandra |first=William W. |title=An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion: Readings from the Avesta and Achaemenid Inscriptions |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-8166-1114-0 |location=Minneapolis}}
* {{cite EncIranica|last=Malandra |first=William W. |year=2005 |article-id=zoroastrianism-i-historical-review |access-date=17 September 2012 |article=ZOROASTRIANISM i. HISTORICAL REVIEW UP TO THE ARAB CONQUEST}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moulton |first=James Hope |title=The Treasure of the Magi: A Study of Modern Zoroastrianism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1917 |isbn=1-564-59612-5 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rose |first=J. |title=The Image of Zoroaster: The Persian Mage Through European Eyes |publisher=Bibliotheca Persica Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-933273-45-0 |series=Persian Studies Series}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rose |first=J. |title=Zoroastrianism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4411-4950-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rose |first=J. |title=Zoroastrianism: An Introduction |publisher=I. B.Tauris |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-85773-548-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Russell |first=James R. |url=https://archive.org/stream/JamesRussellZoroastrianismInArmenia |title=Zoroastrianism in Armenia |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-674-96850-9 |series=Harvard Iranian Series |location=Oxford |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Spirit of Zoroastrianism |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-300-17035-1 |editor-last=Skjærvø |editor-first=Prods Oktor}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjZAxuRgBnsC&dq=zoroastrian+studies+dualism&pg=PA217 |title=The Inconceivable Polytheism: Studies in Religious Historiography |publisher=Harwood Academic |year=1987 |isbn=978-3-7186-0367-1 |pages=217–219}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stoyanov |first=Y. |title=The Other God: Dualist Religions from Antiquity to the Cathar Heresy |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-300-19014-4}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Chronicle of World History |publisher=Konecky & Konecky |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-56852-680-5 |location=Old Saybrook, CT |oclc=298782520}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zeini |first=A. |title=Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity: The Pahlavi Version of the Yasna HaptaA Haiti |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4744-4291-6}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links|d=Q9601|commons=Category:Zoroastrianism|voy=no|species=no|mw=no|m=no|n=no|q=Zoroastrianism|s=Portal:Religion#Zoroastrianism|b=no|v=no}}
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* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p005bc5v Zoroastrianism], BBC Radio 4 discussion with Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Farrokh Vajifdar & Alan Williams (''In Our Time'', 11 November 2004)
* [https://fezana.org/ FEZANA – Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America]

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