The oldest texts are the gathas, 16 or perhaps 17 short hymns written in an archaic form of an old iranian language called avestan, named for the avesta, the holy book of zoroastrianism. A manual of khsnoom the zoroastrian occult knowledge is a near 500 pages long introduction to zoroastrian cosmology, occultism, spirituality and fantastic tales. It, like many religious texts, was originally composed orally and was learned from memory for centuries until it was finally transcribed in sassanian times. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. Avesta is the name the mazdean mazdayasnian religious tradition gives to the collection of its sacred texts. In outlines of parsi history, dasturji hormazdyar dastur kayoji mirza, bombay 1987, pp. Sharp darts radio amazing discoveries africa rediscover america audio podcast sports show 1204 pc holy cross catholic church. It does not flow either quickly or smoothly, but boyce masterfully puts order into that imperfectly documented flowthe fresh reader into zoroastrianism will be helped greatly by the forward section of this volume in that forward, she. The zorastrian holy book is called the avesta and it is a compilation of all zoroastrian prayers, which were composed over several centuries, some dating back to more than 3500 years.
The gathas have been handed down as a part of the avesta along with several more recent texts. The literature appears to designate the period and condition of the church. The avesta contains scriptures, versus, prayers, and. Whether a vast collection of semireligious texts written on parchment in gold. Well, the easy answer would be that the holy book of zoroastrianism is primarily the avesta, and then some other traditional scriptures. Zoroastrianism, history, boyce collection opensource. What is the name of the holy book of zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. With possible roots dating back to the second millennium bce, zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th century bce. The yasts and vendidad are said to compose the younger avesta. This missionary activity shows that zoroastrianism was really a universal religion and not an ethnic religion, limited to one people. Marjan measured bahars unpredictable temperament according to the ancient and treasured zoroastrian practice of gastronomic balancing, which pitted light. Younger avestan periods of the history of zoroastrianism.
A history of zoroastrianism vol i internet archive. This book should be at least 25% bigger than it is, and the. Professor almut hintze explores its history and some of the key components of the religion. It is composed in the avestan language and it is only known and attested because of that.
It is one of only two festivals mentioned by zoroaster in the avesta, the only holy zoroastrian scriptures written by zoroaster himself. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. Less than 100 years later, though, the parthians 247 bcad 224 came to power in persia and initiated a dynasty that patronized zoroastrianism as the state religion. It is a cute, animated, and short, covering all the basics of the religion. Zoroastrianism and world history amazing bible timeline.
This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. Zoroastrianism download books, sacred, spiritual texts. Topics zoroastrianism, history, boyce collection opensource. The gathas documents, a set of hymns written in the old avestan language and attributed to zoroaster, are. The gathas, the most ancient, describe zoroasters followers often as depressed and endangered. Religious texts are to be found in the avesta, which is the holy book of zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism the phenomenon of death, or nonlife as it is called in the zoroastrian holy scripture the gathas, is a concept accompanying the advent of creation.
Zoroastrianism and world history zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that was founded by the prophet zoroaster in persia modern day iran. Nawruz, also spelled nowruz as well as other variants, is an ancient persian holiday celebrating the new year. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. According to zoroastrianism, followers can pray as often as they like.
Zoroastrianism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Along with a mithraic median prototype and a zurvanist sassanid successor, it served as the state religion of the ancient iranian empires for more than a millennium, from around 600 bce to 650 ce. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran. There are, likewise, scattered passages in the vedas, brahmanas, smriti, and puranas that refer to the iranians and their religion. Download the zend avesta in full text pdf download free here. Other names for zoroastrianism are mazdaism and parsiism. This is the complete zend avesta in english, a public. Firealong with waterare seen as symbols of purity in zoroastrian religion.
Arguably the worlds first monotheistic faith, its one of the oldest religions still in. History of zoroastrianism including thus spake zarathustra, wise men. Zoroastrianism the zendavesta pahlavi texts links not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity. The oldest zoroastrian religious scripture, as preserved at present, is known as the avesta. Its also a sacred language because the texts are written in it an. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free. Zoroasters original concept of ahura mazda is found in what are believed to have been his own discourses, the gathas, which form the opening section of the avesta, the holy book of zoroastrianism. The long history of zoroastrianism from about bce to the present does not flow either quickly or smoothly, but boyce, in these 3 volumes, masterfully puts order into that imperfectly documented flow. It is so named because of the language in which it was written.
Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. Zoroastrianism was made the state religion of the empire, and conversions were actively made to counteract the proselytizing zeal of christians. Avesta is a repository of oral texts, transmitted orally in fixed linguistic form until it was written down. Pliny, in his natural history, speaks of 2,000,000 verses of zoroaster.
Hopefully this video will help you get a simple understanding of the zoroastrian faith and its history. We provide the complete text of the extant avesta, the most ancient scriptures of zoroastrianism, as well as many pahlavi scriptures. The book is written by phiroz nasarvanji tavaria assisted by burjor ratanji panthaki m. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Many traits of zoroastrianism can be traced back to the culture and beliefs of the prehistorical indoiranian period, that is, to the time before the. A section of this avesta is known as the khordehavesta which means the smaller or selected avesta. The earliest form of zoroastrianism, known as gathic zarathustrianism, was founded during zoroasters lifetime, perhaps as early as 1500 bce. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free online library.
The holy book is on a throne positioned at the front of the hall. Zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Judaism under the exile was influenced by zoroastrian teachings and furnishes us with points of resemblance between the. Most people would naturally expect that avesta is simply a set of prophecie. It is now certain that for most of their long history the avestas various texts were handed down orally, and independently of one another, and that. The description of zoroastrianism reflects the authors personal beliefs and should be read with a critical mind and a large dose of sound skepticism. The gathas have been handed down as a part of the avesta along with several more recent. What is the religious book of zoroastrianism and islam. Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the mid5th century bce.
Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. At the dawn of creation, twin primal spirits manifested themselves. Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. Survey of the history and contents o encyclopaedia. Zoroaster is credited with authorship of the gathas as well as the yasna haptanghaiti, hymns composed in his native dialect, old avestan, and which comprise the core of zoroastrian thinking. Founded by the iranian prophet and reformer zoroaster in the 6th century bc, zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Biography of zarathustra, founder of zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of three persian dynasties, until the muslim conquest of persia in the seventh century a. The corpus of religious texts in zoroastrianism is called the avesta, which is. It is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deciphered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayerbook of zoroaster, the prophet of ancient iran. Ahura mazda, he says, created a pair of twin spirits as his sons. West 1897 late zoroastrian texts of traditional history and prophecy. The holy book of zoroastrianism is the avesta, which contains the gathas, or the seventeen hymns by zoroaster, and the the younger avesta, which includes commentaries, myths, ritual descriptions, and more. Zoroastrian refugees, called parsis, escaped muslim persecution in.
The holy book of zoroastrianism is the zend avesta. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. Its concepts of one god, judgment, heaven and hell. The holy book of zoroastrianism is known as the avesta. The fresh reader into zoroastrianism will be helped greatly by the forward. It also includes information about the avestan language, and other useful information for students of zoroastrian religion. Zoroastrianism for kids this video is one of the only ones on zoroastrianism i found aimed at young kids. It may fairly be said that the sacred books of no other people, outside. Zoroaster, who lived in eastern ancient iran around bc, created zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism eventually became the official religion of ancient persia and its distant subdivisions from the 6th century bce to the 7th century ce. According to a legend preserved in the book of arda viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the zend avesta had existed in the palace library of the achaemenid kings 559330 bc, but which was then supposedly lost in a fire caused by the troops of alexander the great. The exact date as to its foundation is still not clear although it is placed on the bible timeline around 2000 2200 bc. The parthians preserved the oral hymns and verses that would later comprise the holy book of zoroastrianism, the avesta, as well as the exegesis texts known as the zand. The history of zoroastrianism by colleen messina zoroastrianism is the one of the oldest religions in the world.
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