Eternal Fire
A small group of people, standing on a hilltop, dressed in white, dancing around a big fire. These people are known as Zoroastrians, a religion that was founded in the Persian Empire, which is now Iran. This religion used to be one of the biggest religions, as the Persian Empire spanned from what is now Afghanistan to Greece, until Persia was taken over by the Prophet Mohammad in the 7th century and the Persians became Muslim. Today, there is a lack of knowledge about Zoroastrianism, most importantly about the beliefs of its followers, its history and its influence on other religions.
The Zoroastrian faith spanned a wide part of the world, consequently influencing other beliefs within the Persian Empire. One of such influences …show more content…
from the Zoroastrian teaching concerning the work of the Saoshyant” (Rose). The Zoroastrian beliefs however, are more naturalistic than the Abrahamic religions, and have caused confusion about them. The Zoroastrians are wrongfully known to be fire worshippers, or even pyromaniacs. This stems from their beliefs, that "Fire, a symbol of life, is kept burning in the temple at all times" (Williams). As Zoroastrianism is a very nature-oriented faith, they also care a lot about nature. The dead are not buried, as that is viewed as polluting the earth, but rather “exposed to birds of prey and are held in special towers to avoid defiling the earth, fire, or water” (Williams). These are just some of the beliefs Zoroastrianism holds. Many of these beliefs and traditions stem from early Zoroastrianism.
This peculiar religion began its emergence in the early days of the Persian Empire, when Zoroaster went to Parthia and “converted the governor, Hystaspes, the father of the Persian emperor Darius I" (Williams). Zoroastrianism then thrived for 1200 years in the Persian Empire, but “with the expansion of Islam eastwards into Iran in the seventh century CE, Zoroastrianism was largely replaced by Islam” (Williams). Zoroastrianism is still around today, in the area of Mumbai in India and small pockets in
A small group of people, standing on a hilltop, dressed in white, dancing around a big fire. These people are known as Zoroastrians, a religion that was founded in the Persian Empire, which is now Iran. This religion used to be one of the biggest religions, as the Persian Empire spanned from what is now Afghanistan to Greece, until Persia was taken over by the Prophet Mohammad in the 7th century and the Persians became Muslim. Today, there is a lack of knowledge about Zoroastrianism, most importantly about the beliefs of its followers, its history and its influence on other religions.
The Zoroastrian faith spanned a wide part of the world, consequently influencing other beliefs within the Persian Empire. One of such influences …show more content…
from the Zoroastrian teaching concerning the work of the Saoshyant” (Rose). The Zoroastrian beliefs however, are more naturalistic than the Abrahamic religions, and have caused confusion about them. The Zoroastrians are wrongfully known to be fire worshippers, or even pyromaniacs. This stems from their beliefs, that "Fire, a symbol of life, is kept burning in the temple at all times" (Williams). As Zoroastrianism is a very nature-oriented faith, they also care a lot about nature. The dead are not buried, as that is viewed as polluting the earth, but rather “exposed to birds of prey and are held in special towers to avoid defiling the earth, fire, or water” (Williams). These are just some of the beliefs Zoroastrianism holds. Many of these beliefs and traditions stem from early Zoroastrianism.
This peculiar religion began its emergence in the early days of the Persian Empire, when Zoroaster went to Parthia and “converted the governor, Hystaspes, the father of the Persian emperor Darius I" (Williams). Zoroastrianism then thrived for 1200 years in the Persian Empire, but “with the expansion of Islam eastwards into Iran in the seventh century CE, Zoroastrianism was largely replaced by Islam” (Williams). Zoroastrianism is still around today, in the area of Mumbai in India and small pockets in