Founded by the Prophet Zarathushtra (‘Zoroaster’ in Greek) in Persia, now modern-day Iran around 3500 years ago, Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. It was a dominant world religion during the time of Jesus and in the Persian empires from 651 B.C.E. until around 226 B.C.E. Zoroastrianism’s theologies have had a major influence on other monotheistic religions, including Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, and has influenced mankind more than any other faith. Today, Zoroastrianism is still practiced in certain remote regions of India and Iran with a following of about 200,000 adherents, which has been steadily declining (Boyce, 11). While much of the information surrounding the founder of Zoroastrianism
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Because of this, fire and light symbolized the truth or wisdom and existence of god, as well as the cosmic laws of the universe, or ‘asha,’ which became the central focus of Zoroastrianism’s religious practices. In its scriptures, the word ‘athra’ means flame, but also defined the energy within an entity (Min-Ju, 5). According to the Zend Avesta, “Truth exists and is to be reverenced with the scared fire” (Zaehner, 54). Followers of the faith were also believed to have prayed several times a day, and always in the direction of a source of light or fire (Min-Ju, 5). No rituals or ceremonies were held or performed without the presence of the sacred fire. Fire was also viewed as the transition between spiritual and material creations (Eduljee, …show more content…
During the Archaemenian period, from 549 B.C.E. until 331 B.C.E., Persian sovereigns were known to be very pious followers of Zoroastrianism, ruling justly and in accordance with the law of asha, or truth and righteousness. Because of this, Cyrus the Great, who founded the Persian empire, did not impose his religious beliefs on his subjects or those that resided within Persian territories. As a result, the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, in the process, rebuilding their temple. Due to this great act of kindness, Zoroastrianism philosophy has made a huge impact on Judaism (Religion Facts, 1). The intermingling of these two monotheistic faiths eventually gave rise to one of the largest monotheistic religion in the world, Christianity (Boyce, 91). Christianity has even been referred to as a Mithraic cult, due to the amount of Christian beliefs, ideas, practices, and teachings that have been adopted from Zoroastrianism (Min-Ju, 6). However, according to most academic sources, archaeological evidence does not support this claim (Beard & North,
Because of this, fire and light symbolized the truth or wisdom and existence of god, as well as the cosmic laws of the universe, or ‘asha,’ which became the central focus of Zoroastrianism’s religious practices. In its scriptures, the word ‘athra’ means flame, but also defined the energy within an entity (Min-Ju, 5). According to the Zend Avesta, “Truth exists and is to be reverenced with the scared fire” (Zaehner, 54). Followers of the faith were also believed to have prayed several times a day, and always in the direction of a source of light or fire (Min-Ju, 5). No rituals or ceremonies were held or performed without the presence of the sacred fire. Fire was also viewed as the transition between spiritual and material creations (Eduljee, …show more content…
During the Archaemenian period, from 549 B.C.E. until 331 B.C.E., Persian sovereigns were known to be very pious followers of Zoroastrianism, ruling justly and in accordance with the law of asha, or truth and righteousness. Because of this, Cyrus the Great, who founded the Persian empire, did not impose his religious beliefs on his subjects or those that resided within Persian territories. As a result, the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, in the process, rebuilding their temple. Due to this great act of kindness, Zoroastrianism philosophy has made a huge impact on Judaism (Religion Facts, 1). The intermingling of these two monotheistic faiths eventually gave rise to one of the largest monotheistic religion in the world, Christianity (Boyce, 91). Christianity has even been referred to as a Mithraic cult, due to the amount of Christian beliefs, ideas, practices, and teachings that have been adopted from Zoroastrianism (Min-Ju, 6). However, according to most academic sources, archaeological evidence does not support this claim (Beard & North,