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Zoroaster

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   Zoroaster ( Greek Ζωροάστρης, Zōroastrēs) or Zarathustra ( Avestan:
   Zaraθuštra), also referred to as Zartosht ( Persianزرتشت), was an
   ancient Iranian prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism, a religion
   that was the national religion of the Sassanian Empire of Persia; it is
   predominantly practiced today by the Parsi community of India.

   Zoroaster is generally accepted as an authentic historical figure, but
   the period in which he lived remains unclear. Many scholarly estimates
   place him circa 1200 B.C., making him a candidate to be the founder of
   the earliest religion based on revealed scripture, while others place
   him anywhere between the 18th and the 6th centuries B.C.

Name

   The name Zaraθ-uštra is probably a Bahuvrihi compound in the Avestan
   language, which has been interpreted in the following ways:
     * zarəta- ("old") + uštra ("camel)," meaning "having old camels; the
       one who owns old camels."
     * Avestan zaray/ Modern Persian zærd ("yellow" or "golden") + uštra
       ("camel"), meaning "having yellow camels" or possibly "having
       golden camels; he who obtains wealth by trading with goods carried
       on camels."
     * zara ("shine"; "gold"; "light") + tushtra/tusht ("friend";
       "lover"), meaning "he who loves the light."
     * zara ("gold") + Ushas (" dawn"), a wrongly presumed Avestic cognate
       of Vedic Sanskrit, meaning "[bringer of the] golden dawn." A
       variant of this is "Golden Star," which assumes the second part of
       his name is a variant of "Aster" or "Akhtar": "star."

   The latter two interpretations seem to have derived from a desire to
   give a more fitting meaning to the prophet's name than "owner of feeble
   camels."

Possible dates of existence

   Estimates for the lifetime of Zoroaster vary widely, depending upon the
   sources used.
     * 1400 B.C. to 1000 B.C., which represents the current scholarly
       consensus, is cited by Mary Boyce in her A History of
       Zoroastrianism ( 1989).
     * "Before 458 B.C." is cited by H.S. Nyberg in Die Religionen des
       Alten Iran ( 1938).
     * The Bundahišn or Creation, an important Zoroastrian religious text,
       cites the time of Zoroaster as 258 years before Alexander the
       Great's invasion of Persia (i.e., 588 B.C.). This "Traditional Date
       of Zoroaster" was accepted by many 19th century scholars, among
       them Taghizadeh and W. B. Henning.

   Though other scholars such as Darmesteter, who placed Zoroaster around
   100 B.C., have argued for later dates, these theories are now widely
   rejected.

Linguistic evidence

   From an early time, scholars such as Bartholomea and Christensen noted
   problems with the "Traditional Date;" namely in the linguistic
   difficulties that it presents. Tradition holds that Zoroaster composed
   the eighteen poems that make up the oldest parts of the Avesta, the
   Gāthās. The language of the Gāthās and the text known as Yasna
   Haptanghaiti (the "Seven Chapter Sermon") is called Old Avestan, and is
   significantly more archaic than the language of the later parts of the
   Avesta, Young Avestan. Gathic Avestan was still etymologically similar
   to the Vedic Sanskrit of the Rigveda. Sound changes separating the two
   branches, which both descended independently from Proto-Indo-Iranian,
   include the loss of z, the development of a retroflex series in
   Indo-Aryan, and loss of aspiration and of prevocalic s in Iranian.

   Since Rigvedic Sanskrit is slightly more conservative than Gathic
   Avestan, the Avesta is usually dated to a few centuries after the
   Rigveda. Based on the date of the Rigveda’s composition, commonly
   stated as between the 15th and 12th centuries B.C., and a date of
   Proto-Indo-Iranian of roughly 2000 B.C., the Gāthās are commonly dated
   within two hundred years of 1000 B.C..

Historical evidence

   The historical approach compares social customs described in the Gāthās
   to what is known of the time and region from other historical studies.
   Since the Gāthās are cryptic and open to interpretation, this method
   also yields only rough estimates. The Gāthās seem to indicate a society
   of nomadic pastoralists, which contrasts sharply with the view of
   Zoroaster living in the court of an Achaemenid satrap such as Vištaspa.
   The absence in the Gāthās of any mention of Achaemenids or any West
   Iranian tribes such as Medes, Persians, or even Parthians, makes it
   unlikely that the historical Zoroaster ever lived in the court of a 6th
   century satrap. Though it is possible Zoroaster lived sometime between
   the 13th and 11th centuries B.C., before Iranian tribes settled in the
   central and western areas of the Iranian Plateau, it is just as likely
   for him to have lived in a rural society during the centuries
   immediately after the Iranian migration. Therefore, though the
   historical estimate is consistent with the linguistic one, it is just
   as vague; Gherardo Gnoli gives a date near 1000 B.C.

Archaeological evidence

   Archaeological evidence is usually inconclusive regarding questions of
   religion. However, a Russian archaeologist, Viktor Sarianidi, links
   Zoroaster to circa 2000 B.C. based upon excavations of the BMAC
   (Asgarov, 1984).

   Indo-Iranian religion is generally accepted to have begun in the late
   3rd millennium B.C. (e.g., the Soma cult), but Zoroaster himself
   already looked back on a long religious tradition. The Yaz culture
   (circa 1500-1100 B.C.) in the Afghan-Turkmen-Iranian border area is
   considered a likely staging ground for the development of East Iranian
   and early Zoroastrian practices.

Mythological evidence

   Zoroaster was famous in classical antiquity as the founder of the
   religion of the Magi. His name is mentioned by Xanthus, Plutarch, Pliny
   the Elder, Diogenes Laertius, and by Plato in the Alcibiades. Ancient
   Greek estimates are dependent upon Persian mythology, and give dates as
   early as the 7th millennium B.C., which are the dates to which Parsis
   subscribe.

   Persian mythology, primarily the Shahnama of Ferdowsi, and oral
   tradition place Zoroaster quite early. Manly Palmer Hall, in his book
   Twelve World Teachers, arrives at a rough estimate ranging from 10000
   B.C. to 1000 B.C..

Life

   Information about the life of Zoroaster primarily derives from the
   following sources: the Avesta, the Gāthās, Greek texts, oral history,
   and archaeological evidence.

   The Spena Nask, the 13th section of the Avesta, describes Zoroaster's
   life. However, this text has disappeared over the centuries, and the
   biographies in the seventh book of the Dēnkard (9th century) and the
   Shāhnāma are based on earlier texts which no longer extant.

   The Gāthās are poetic admonitions and prophecies cast in the form of
   dialogues with God and the Aməša Spəntas ( Pahlavi Amahraspandān), or
   "Immortals." They also contain allusions to personal events, such as
   Zoroaster’s triumph over obstacles imposed by competing priests and the
   ruling class. They also indicate he had difficulty spreading his
   teachings, and was even treated with ill-will in his mother's hometown,
   which was an exceptional insult in his culture.

   Important differences exist between the two texts. In the later Avesta,
   Zoroaster is depicted wrestling with the Daēvas ( Pahlavi Dēwān), or
   "evil immortals," and is tempted by Ahriman to renounce his faith
   (Yasht, 17,19). This account is comparable to the story of the
   Temptation of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels.

   The historical Zoroaster, however, eludes categorization as a legendary
   character. The Gāthās within the Avesta make claim to be the the
   literal word of the prophet. The Vendidad also gives accounts of the
   dialogues between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. They are the
   last-surviving account of his doctrinal discourses, presented at the
   court of King Vištāspa.

   From Greek accounts, it can be assumed that Zoroaster lived in the
   northeastern area of ancient Persian territory. The Greeks refer to him
   as Bactrian, because the area where Afghanistan now lies is where he
   preached his religion. These texts include many rote details of his
   life, such as a record of his family members: His father was
   Pourushaspa Spitāma, son of Haecadaspa Spitāma, and his mother was
   Dughdova. He and his wife Hvōvi had three daughters, Freni, Pourucista,
   and Triti; and three sons, Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara, and Hvare Ciθra.
   Zoroaster’s great-grandfather Haēcataspa was the ancestor of the whole
   family Spitāma, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears the surname
   Spitāma. His wife and children, and a cousin named Maidhyoimangha, were
   his first converts after his illumination from Ahura Mazdā at age 30.

   Greek accounts additionally record some details regarding the childhood
   of Zoroaster and his hermitic lifestyle. According to tradition and
   Pliny's Natural History, Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth. He
   lived in the wilderness and enjoyed exploring it from a young age.
   Plutarch compares him with Lycurgus and Numa Pompilius (Numa, 4). Dio
   Chrysostom relates Zoroaster's Ahura Mazdā to Zeus. Plutarch, drawing
   partly on Theopompus, speaks of Zoroastrianism in Isis and Osiris: In
   this work, he is a mortal, empowered by trust in his god and the
   protection of his allies. He faces outward opposition and unbelief, and
   inward doubt.

   Textual evidence conflicts in regard to the birthplace of Zoroaster.
   While Yasnas 9 & 17 cite the Ditya River in Airyanem Vaējah ( Pahlavi
   Ērān Wēj), or "Homeland of the Aryans," as his home and the scene of
   his first appearance, the Būndahišn, or "Creation," (20, 32 and 24, 15)
   places his birth and his father’s home near the Dhraja River. This same
   text identifies Ērān Wēj with the district of Aran on the river Aras (
   Araxes), close by the north-western frontier of the Medes. According to
   Yasna 59, 18, the zaraθuštrotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian
   priesthood, resided in Ragha at a later time during the Sassanid
   dynasty. The Persian Muslim writer Shahrastani has endeavored to solve
   the conflict by arguing that Zoroaster’s father was from Atropatene,
   while his mother was from Rai.

   According to Yasnas 5 & 105, Zoroaster prayed for the conversion of
   King Vištaspa, and afterwards left his native district. Yasnas 53 & 9
   suggest that he ventured to Rai, where he was unwelcome. Eventually, he
   met Vištaspa, king of Bactria, who appears in the Gāthās as a
   historical personage.

   The court of Vištaspa included two brothers, Frašaōštra and Jamaspa,
   both of whom were viziers of Vištaspa according to legend. Zoroaster
   was closely related to both: his wife, Hvōvi, was the daughter of
   Frashaōštra, while Jamaspa was the husband of his daughter Pourucista.
   The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen Hutaōsa.
   Apart from this connection, the new prophet relied especially upon his
   own kindred (hvaētuš).

   Placing the date of King Vištaspa is difficult. Antiquated sources
   suggest Vištaspa was Hystaspes, father of Darius I. Hutaōsa could be
   Atossa, queen consort to Cambyses II, Smerdis, and Darius I. The
   matriarchal name is the only link to the Achaemenidian lineage.

   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, he estimates the date of Zoroaster at 1000 B.C., 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.

   Zoroaster’s death is not mentioned in the Avesta; in the Shahnama, he
   is said to have been murdered at the altar by the Turanians in the
   storming of Balkh.

Zoroastrian teachings

   The teachings of Zoroaster are presented in the yasna, seventeen
   liturgical texts or " hymns," which is divided into groups called
   Gāthās.

   The basic precept of Zoroastrianism is the maxim “Humata, Hukhta,
   Huvarshta” (Sanskrit sumata, sukta, suvartana)—“Good Thoughts, Good
   Words, Good Deeds.”

   The foundation of human existence is the cosmic struggle between Aša (
   Pahlavi Ahlāyīh), "The Truth," and Druj ( Pahlavi Druz), "The Lie."
   This may also be conceptualized as a battle between Darkness and Light,
   a structure parallel to the struggle between good and evil in Western
   paradigm. The two opposing forces in this battle are Ahura Mazdā (God)
   and Ahriman ( The Devil). In the yasnas, Zoroaster refers to these
   forces as “the Better and the Bad.”

   Zoroaster describes Ahura Mazdā in a series of rhetorical questions:
   "Who established the course of the Sun and stars?...Who feeds and
   waters the plants?...What builder created light and darkness?...Through
   whom does exist dawn, noon and night?" (Yasna 44, 4-6).

Zoroaster in the West

   Zoroaster was known as a sage, magician, and miracle-worker in
   post-Classical Western culture. Though almost nothing was known of his
   ideas until the late 18th century, by that time his name was already
   associated with lost ancient wisdom and had been appropriated by
   Freemasons and other groups who claimed access to such knowledge.
   Zoroaster appears as “Sarastro” in Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte,
   which has been noted for its Masonic elements, where he represents
   moral order in opposition to the "Queen of the Night."

   Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire promoted research into
   Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational Deism,
   preferable to Christianity. With the translation of the Avesta by
   Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, Western scholarship of Zoroastrianism began.

   The 2005 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy places
   Zoroaster as first in the chronology of philosophers because he was the
   founder of Mazda-Yasna, which can be translated to "worship of wisdom."
   Zoroastrians later educated the Greeks, who used a similar term,
   philosophy, or “love of wisdom,” to describe the search for ultimate
   truth.

   In addition, Zoroaster is ranked #93 on Michael H. Hart’s list of the
   most influential figures in history.

Thus Spake Zarathustra

   German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used the name Zarathustra in his
   seminal work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra) ( 1885),
   in which he fictionalized the historical figure to meet his own
   literary and philosophical aims. Nietzsche presents Zoroaster as a
   returning visionary who repudiates the designation of good and evil and
   thus marks the observation of the death of God. Nietzsche asserted that
   he chose Zoroaster as a vehicle for his ideas because the historical
   prophet had been the first to proclaim the manicheic opposition between
   "good" and "evil" by rejecting the Daēva, who represent natural forces,
   in favour of a moral order represented by the Ahuras.

   Richard Strauss's Opus 30, inspired by Nietzsche's book, is also called
   Also sprach Zarathustra. Its opening theme, which corresponds to the
   book's prologue, was used to score the opening sequence of Stanley
   Kubrick's movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Zoroaster in the Bahá'í Faith

   Bahá'ís believe Zoroaster was a " Manifestation of God," one of a line
   of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a
   gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster therefore shares an exalted
   station with Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb,
   and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh.

   However, the Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith caution believers
   that, as with many Manifestations, few if any teachings of Zoroaster
   that have survived to the modern age can be authenticated, and any
   contradictions between the teachings of the Manifestations are ascribed
   to later corruptions or the differing needs of the age and culture.
   Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, wrote that Bahá'u'lláh
   fulfilled the Zoroastrian prophecy of the return of the Sháh-Bahrám:
   "To Him [Bahá'u'lláh] Zoroaster must have alluded when, according to
   tradition, He foretold that a period of three thousand years of
   conflict and contention must needs precede the advent of the
   World-Savior Sháh-Bahrám, Who would triumph over Ahriman and usher in
   an era of blessedness and peace." `Abdu'l-Bahá, one of the Bahá'í
   Faith's Central Figures, has stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1,000
   years before Jesus.

Zoroaster in Tajikistan

   In his book, The Tajiks in the Mirror of History, President Emomali
   Rahmonov of Tajikistan claims that Zoroaster was a Tajik from Bactria.
   Rahmonov, a Muslim who has performed the hajj, states in his work:

          "Many principles of the Zarathushtrian religion have left a deep
          imprint on the [Tajik] people's mind. The habit has been
          preserved prohibiting the killing of animals when they are
          pregnant and the cutting of trees in blossom. Water, earth and
          fire have to be protected from any impurity. The fumes of some
          fragrant herbs are still used to keep away sickness and the
          force of evil.

          These and many other examples give evidence that in every Tajik
          house we may find trace of Zarathushtra's teachings.

          Let us hope in the new millennium, the Tajik people will
          continue to live under the spiritual guidance of Zarathushtra,
          the prophet of truth and light."

   Rahmonov subsequently convinced UNESCO to declare 2002-2003 the third
   millennium since Zoroaster's birth. UNESCO’s nod to Tajikistan, an
   overwhelmingly Muslim nation, gave rise to an extraordinary show of
   support by Zoroastrian organizations worldwide, resulting in hundreds
   of large and small commemorative events to celebrate the declared
   anniversary from diverse locations such as Dushanbe, Tehran, Mumbai,
   New York, and Vancouver. UNESCO's secretary-general later declared
   UNESCO’s support for this worldwide collaboration in several speeches
   and texts.
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