Loading ...Since I keep talking about Zoroastrianism and its effects on history, I thought I should come up with a brief overview:
Zoroastrianism is the common name for the religion inspired by Zarathushtra, who probably lived around 1500 to 1200 BC, based on the current understanding of the language used in the Gathas, the oldest parts of the Avesta, the collection of holy Zoroastrian books.
Mazdaism or Mazdayanism may be a more accurate name for Zoroastrianism. Zarathushtra was a prophet of Ahura Mazda, or Lord Wisdom, so a Zoroastrian or Zartoshti is a follower of Zarathushtra and a worshipper of Ahura Mazda.
In 559 BC, Cyrus the Great, a Zoroastrian, created the greatest empire the western world had known. Though Persia did not conquer Greece, the Greeks studied Persian ways. Some say that books that are generally believed to be Greek are actually Greek translations of Persian works.
Early Zoroastrianism was monotheistic, as the Gathas and the inscriptions of Cyrus and Darius show. It was also extremely tolerant. Cyrus wrote, “Now that I put on the crown of kingdom of Iran, Babylon, and the nations of the four directions with the help of Mazda, I announce that I will respect the traditions, customs and religions of the nations of my empire and never let any of my governors and subordinates look down on or insult them.”
From 538 to 332, Judea was a Persian state. In all probability, the polytheistic Jews became monotheists thanks to Persian governors like Ezra, which explains why the Zoroastrian Cyrus is called a messiah in the Jewish holy books.
Zoroastrian tolerance allowed offshoots of Zoroastrianism to develop that incorporated older gods. Mithra, one of the major pre-Zoroastrian gods of Persia, became part of a pantheon in which he was the son of Ahura Mazda and another older god, Anahita.
In 330 BC, Alexander conquered the Persian Empire. He burned Persepolis, destroying invaluable writings. The Seleucid Empire followed Alexander. Now the old roles were reversed, as the Greeks became the great influence in Persia.
About that time, Zurvanism began. It held that Zurvan (Time) was the father of twin brothers, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, who were the good and bad gods who ruled the world.
In the second century BC, Judea won its freedom from the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucids fell to Parthia, but the Parthian Empire did not claim Judea. Rome seized it in 63 BC.
In 53 BC, Rome invaded Parthia and suffered a major defeat. For centuries after that, Parthia and Rome met in battle. Perhaps the most significant consequence was that Roman soldiers brought home a new religion, Mithraism. While scholars argue about what Rome’s Mithraism owes to Persia’s, we know this: It began as a faith for soldiers and slaves. It became a faith of senators and emperors.
Early in the first century AD, Rome gave a rebel’s death to a man known as Jesus the Nazorean. His followers created a religion based on his sayings and his death.
As Mithraism changed in Rome, Zoroastrianism changed in Persia. The Parthians were replaced by the Sassanids. Extremely intolerant reformers promoted a form of Zoroastrianism that they claimed was the pure and original form. Its most famous priest was Kartir, who wrote, “Jews, Sramans (Buddhists), Brahmins, Nasoreans (Orthodox Christians), (Gnostic) Christians, Maktak (Baptisers), and Zandiks (Manichaeans) in the empire were smitten, and destruction of idols and scattering of the stores of the devs and god-seats and nests was abandoned.”
In Rome, the Mithraist Emperor Constantine encouraged the merger of Christianity and Mithraism, because he believed Jesus was another name for Mithra, who was Sol Invictus, the conquering sun. So the sabbath moved from Saturday to Mithra’s day, and Jesus’s birth was celebrated on the traditional birthday of Mithra.
In Sassanid Persia, Zoroastrianism became seen as the faith of bad rulers. When muslim armies conquered the Sassanid Empire, some Zoroastrians went to India and became known as Parsis, or Persians. Others stayed in Persia, where they are called Zartoshtis. Today, Zoroastrianism is tiny if you think it consists of Parsis and Zartoshtis. But if you think that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are Zoroaster’s children, Zoroaster’s teachings have never been stronger.
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