Zoroaster

Zarathushtra (Zara?u?tra), usually known in English as Zoroaster after the Greek version of the name, ??????????, was a Persian (Iranian) prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism, which was the national religion of Persia from the time of the Achaemenidae to the close of the Sassanid period. Zoroaster was probably born in the northeastern part of Persia (Iran), though there is also a tradition that he came from Balkh in modern day Afghanistan. In Modern Persian the name takes the form of Zarto?t or Zardo?t (?????).

Placing Zoroaster in a Historical Context

Textual evidence regarding the birthplace of Zoroaster is conflicting. Yasnas 9 & 17 cite Airyanem Va?jah, "Homeland of the Aryans" (Pahlavi ?r?n W?j), on the Ditya River, as the home of Zoroaster, and the scene of his first appearance. The B?ndahi?n or Creation (20, 32 and 24, 15) says the Dhraja River in ?r?n W?j was his birthplace and the home of his father. This same text identifies ?r?n W?j with the district of Arran on the river Aras (Araxes) close by the northwestern frontier of the Medes. According to Yasna 59, 18, the zara?u?trotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, had his residence in Ragha at a later (Sassanian) time. The Persian Muslim writer Shahrastani endeavours to solve the conflict by arguing that his father was a man of Atropatene, while the mother was from Rai.

Related Topics:
Airyanem Va?jah - Pahlavi - Ditya River - B?ndahi?n - Dhraja River - Arran - Araxes - Medes - Ragha - Sassanian - Muslim - Shahrastani - Atropatene - Rai

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According to Yasnas 5 & 105, he prayed for the conversion of King Vi?taspa. He then appears to have left his native district. Yasnas 53 & 9 suggest that he ventured to Rai and was unwelcome. Eventually he met Vi?taspa, king of Bactria. In the G?th?s he appears as a historical personage.

Related Topics:
Vi?taspa - Bactria

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The court of Vi?taspa included two brothers, Fra?a??tra and Jamaspa; both were, according to the later legend, viziers of Vi?taspa. Zoroaster was closely related to both: his wife, Hv?vi, was the daughter of Frasha??tra, and the husband of his daughter, Pourucista, was Jamaspa. The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen Huta?sa. Apart from this connection, the new prophet relies especially upon his own kindred (hva?tu?). His first disciple, Maidhyoima?ngha, was his cousin; his father was, according to the later Avesta, Pouru?aspa, his mother Dughdova, his great-grandfather Ha?cataspa, and the ancestor of the whole family Spitama, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears this surname. His sons and daughters are repeatedly mentioned. His death is not mentioned in the Avesta; in the ?ahn?ma, he is said to have been murdered at the altar by the Turanians in the storming of Balkh.

Related Topics:
Vi?taspa - Vizier - Avesta - ?ahn?ma - Turania - Balkh

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Placing the date of King Vi?taspa is difficult. Antiquated sources suggest Vi?taspa was Hystaspes, father of Darius I. Huta?sa is the same name as Atossa, who apparently was queen consort to Cambyses II, Smerdis and Darius I. The matriarchal name is the only link to the Achaemenidian lineage.

Related Topics:
Vi?taspa - Darius I - Atossa - Queen consort - Cambyses II - Smerdis - Darius I - Achaemenid

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According to the Book of Arda Viraf, Zoroaster taught an estimated 300 years before the invasion of Alexander the Great. Assyrian inscriptions relegate him to a more ancient period. Eduard Meyer maintains that the Zoroastrian religion must have been predominant among the Medes, therefore, estimates the date of Zoroaster at 1000 BC, in agreement with Duncker (Geschichte des Altertums, 44, 78). Zoroaster may have emanated from the old school of Median Magi and appeared first among the Medes as the prophet of a new faith, but met with sacerdotal opposition and turned eastward. Zoroastrianism then seems to have acquired a solid footing in eastern Iran, where it continues to survive in dwindling numbers.

Related Topics:
Book of Arda Viraf - Alexander the Great - Assyria - Medes - Zoroastrianism

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