Zoroastrianism

The Avestan alphabets which appear in different manuscripts have got
received a treatment not as systematic as they deserve. Especially from Geldner, they have been treated like recent texts without almost no value. This article aims to highlight their importance from the historical and palaeographic point of view as well as from the liturgical point of view in the Zoroastrian ceremonies.

Images of dragon-slaying by Eastern Christian warrior saints allegorise the overthrow of evil forces, a topos that appears first on the eastern confines of the Byzantine Empire in Transcaucasia. Representations of a triumphal rider trampling or slaying a fallen enemy are frequent in antiquity but acquire a moral significance only under the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century – a century later than analogous imagery on the investiture relief of Ardashīr I (r. 224–241) at Naqsh-i Rustam. Close parallels in iconography between the Iranian and the Judaeo-Christian traditions expressing the fundamental juxtaposition between victor and vanquished, and the latter often characterised by ophidian features, may in large part be due to the influence of Iranian dualistic notions, and specifically Zoroastrian eschatological thought systems. Conclusive evidence points to the fact that the iconographic semantics of the medieval Western Asian equestrian dragon-fighter in its heroic as well as saintly incarnation owe much to ancient prototypes that germinated in the syncretistic melting pot of the great Near Eastern religions. The visual representation of a fighter doing battle with a serpent or dragon employs a traditional and enduring iconographical formula of some antiquity and wide diffusion throughout the Near Eastern world. It is part of a stock of popular imagery that survived into medieval times. The fighter takes aim at an ophidian creature using a variety of weapons while the creature is shown either as a lively upright being imbued with fighting spirit, or, more commonly, in the guise of a vanquished being lying on its back beneath the horse's feet with gaping upturned jaws. The idea of connecting the cult and iconography of the Eastern Christian warrior saints with a serpent-dragon can be traced to at least the early seventh century. In the Christian church the dragon motif developed in the eastern confines of Byzantium, where the so-called holy rider vanquishing a dragon was a well-established literary topos and was represented in early wall painting. Depictions are found on portable items, ranging from magical amulets to luxury objects, as well as on sacred architecture, in particular churches and funerary settings. The motif fell on particularly fertile ground in the southern Caucasus region which was part of the pan-Iranian religio-cultural realm and was steeped in its artistic conventions.

Middle Persian zamān is one of the most important terms in the Iranian cultural and religious lexicon. Its origin, however, remains yet controversial, although, the scholarly debate on this lexeme has opened different perspectives with alternative solutions, particularly with regard to its ultimate roots—Semitic or Indo-Iranian. The present study is a thorough examination of all the aspects of the issue with new interpretation of the extant data. The word zamān is one of the most important of the Middle Persian cultural and religious lexicon; in spite of this significance the etymology of zamān remains controversial, in particular if we consider that the scholarly debate has produced three main solutions: 1) an Akkadian loanword in (Old) Persian (from simānu to *ǰamāna-); 2) an Iranian borrowing (from *ǰamāna-) in Aramaic and Hebrew z e man; 3) an Akkadian loanword in Old Persian followed by another one from Old Persian into Aramaic and Hebrew, in order to explain the initial z-of these (later) Semitic forms. In reality, the conspectus of the attestations of Parthian žamān(ak) (and Armenian žaman(ak)), Bactrian ζαµανο (žamā ̆ n) and Sogdian ǰamn-, zamnw-(plus other ones), all referring to " time " , strongly demonstrate the indisputable existence of an ancient Iranian stem *ǰamā ̆ n(a)-(and its possible varieties), which cannot be the fruit of a loanword from Akkadian or any other ancient Semitic language. Furthermore, this article outlines the

The evidence for a history of Mandaeism during the period of Late Antiquity (3rd–8th c. CE) and its evolution as a religious tradition prior to and immediately following the advent of Islam is surveyed. This evidence includes the Mandaean manuscript tradition, the testimony of outside witnesses, and the corpus of incantation texts from Late Antique Mesopotamia. It is noted that the study of this evidence has typically been subsumed under the study of related traditions, and that it could benefit from a reassessment. The issues addressed include Mandaeism’s relationship to other religions, such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Manichaeism, the antiquity and authenticity of its traditions, and the extent of Islamic influence upon them.

"The Star of the Magi" explores a new chronology of Jesus, based upon historical considerations of Nikos Kokkinos' that prove that John the Baptist died in 35 CE.  Since Jesus' ministry is subsequent to that of John's, his own death cannot be placed earlier than 36 CE.  Attempts to date it earlier have always been predicated upon false assumptions about what astronomical event, or series of events, could explain the appearance of the Star of the Magi, approximately 33 years earlier, provided that Jesus indeed was "about 30," when he began his ministry (Luke 3:23).  But there are no viable stellar events corresponding to the traditional date of Jesus' birth in ca. 6-4 BCE.  Rather, the only probable astronomical event associated with the Nativity can be that of the appearance of the great comet, Halley's, in the year 12 BCE, the true approximate date of the Birth of the Messiah -- a saviour (saošyant) expected from Zoroastrian sources to inaugurate a new Golden Age.  The reference in Luke is corrupt (an incomplete sentence), and the remark on Jesus' age in John 8:57 ("not yet 50 years old") fits more perfectly a birth of Jesus in 12 BCE and a death in 36 CE (thus, 12 + 36 = 48 years old, sc., the "not yet 50" complicit with John and other sources).  The article further discusses the rôle of Zoroastrianism in science and star-lore (but not zodiacal astrology), and the interface between cometology and the body of ancient magical and apocryphal literature.  The contribution concludes with a presentation of a hypothetical pre-Matthean version of the birth narrative and the rôle of entheogenic drugs in Zarathustrian revelation, which may have contributed to the events surrounding the Magi's historical discovery of the Child.

A través de la inscripción del jefe de los magos zoroastrianos Kartir, asistimos a un episodio de represión religiosa dirigida hacia los demás cultos religiosos presentes en el territorio del Irán antiguo durante los primeros reinados de la dinastía sasánida. __________________________________... the reading of the inscription of the chief of the Zoroastrian magicians Kartir, we are present at an episode of religious repression directed to other religious cults present in the territory of the ancient Iran during the first reigns of the Sassanian dynasty.

The Sasanian era was clearly a vitally important phase in the history of Zoroastrianism. As a state religion, and one of the pillars of Sasanian ideology, Zoroastrianism was able to develop practically without restraints, and it was in this period that the Zoroastrian tradition assumed or developed some of the features that later came to seem characteristic of Zoroastrianism generally. It has been said with some justice that this was the period in which a Zoroastrian 'church' came into being-an ecclesiastical organisation based upon a coherent, hierarchical system of priests and firetemples which covered much of the Sasanian Empire. However, our knowledge of this important stage in the history of Zoroastrianism is based on a limited range of sources, most of whose data need to be evaluated critically before they can be used as evidence, and is both incomplete and imprecise.

The pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica (hereafter PsAH) are a group of texts surviving in Arabic that claim to record conversations between Aristotle and Alexander the Great. In these conversations, Aristotle instructs Alexander about the cosmos, the comingto-be of everything in it, and astral magic-more precisely, talismanry, rituals for attracting the spiritual and planetary forces of the cosmos, the creation of amulets, and extensive astrological rules. The purpose of the instruction is to support Alexander's military career and personal life. Aristotle claims to have received this knowledge from Hermes Trismegistus. There are very few studies dedicated to these fascinating and influential texts; therefore, this article offers a preliminary study of the PsAH that introduces the texts and their contexts systematically.

A characteristic aspect of Zoroastrianism is its veneration of light/fire. The elaborate cult of fire is one of the most distinctive and striking aspects of the Zoroastrian faith and goes back to the earliest periods of the ancient Indo-European spiritual beliefs. Fire altars and eternal flames featured on Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid coins, seals, rock inscriptions and images are the most visible icon of Zoroastrianism. The most meticulous tending of fires and eternal flames, their ritual purity and sacred songs, enchantments said before light/fires are at the core of the Zoroastrian religious experience.

As one of the oldest and most complex Indo-Iranian deities, Vayu has been characterized outstandingly in the Avesta. Although Wāy's dual character is the product of late thinking and he was considered as a dual-faced single character in early periods, there is a very clear distinction between the Good Wāy (Wāy i weh) and the bad Wāy (Wāy i wattar) in Pahlavi literature. The constructive aspect of Vayu's nature is illustrated and his destructive aspect is pointed in Rām Yašt, but the destructive aspect is explicitly expressed in the Aogәmadaēcā and Vayu is the messenger of death in this text. It also seems that Vayu has been the supreme deity in a society that has had its own cult, rituals and special idioms. Some features of his cult are comprehensible by examining specific parts of Aogәmadaēcā. Later, with the advent of Zoroastrianism, this high-ranking deity was reduced in to a subordinate. However, the old pre- Zoroastrian religion lost its color, but because of the importance and popularity among its followers, it survived, and later transferred many of its features to the Zoroastrian religion. It has been tried, in present study, to recognize Vayu's character and some aspects of his religion in Aogәmadaēcā.

Le personnage de Phéraulas est le plus original de la Cyropédie, et il le tient de son caractère présenté comme représentatif de la population perse. Il convient donc de le prendre au sérieux, même s'il se livre à des activités qui semblent insensées. Dans cette étude, on prendre en compte deux de ses interventions, pour l'instant inexplicables : un discours dans lequel il se vante de son enfance violente et désordonnée, puis une folle cavalcade durant laquelle il reçoit par hasard une motte de terre sur la figure, mais à son avantage. L'un comme l'autre de ces épisodes n'ont d'explication qu'en ayant recours à des structures anciennes, dogmatiques, rituelles ou magiques, présentées dans les religions iraniennes. Ils ne doivent pas être entièrement dus à la fantaisie de Xénophon.

The character of Pheraulas is the most original in the Cyropaedia, and it is due to the fact that he is presented as fully representative of the Persian population. It should be taken seriously, even if, at first sight, he pursues meaningless activities. In this study, two of his actions will be taken into account, for now inexplicable: a speech in which he boasts about his violent and troubled childhood; then, a wild horse run, during which he gets a clod of earth on his face, just by chance, but to his advantage… Both episodes cannot be explained without recurring to several ancient and structures dogmatic, ritual or magical, within Iranian religions. They may not be entirely due to the Xenophon's imagination.

A significant movement of apostasy from Islam is underway in the Middle East, one that is simultaneously birthing a new religious minority. Kurdistan is experiencing a gradually intensifying revival of Zoroastrianism as increasing numbers of Kurds are converting to the tradition or affiliating with it at varying levels.

Deyoces (708- 665), hijo de Fraortes, unificó las “tribus” medas: busas (en Ecbátana), paractenos (en Isfahán capital), estrucates (en Markazi), arizantos (en Kashan, N de Isfahán), budios (en Markazi) y magos; Fraortes estableció Ecbátana como capital, expulsó a los asirios y fijó una legislación; su hijo Fraortes (665- 663) sometió a los persas y murió bajo Asurbanipal; su hijo Ciaxares (663- 549) reinó sobre Medos, Persas, Partos y Sagartios, enfrentó a Lidia que había dado refugio a unos escitas opositores, es el Asuero bíblico?; su hijo Astíages o Istuvegü (549- 539) se tuvo por mal gobernante, encargó a Hárpago dar muerte a su nieto Ciro, hijo de Mandana, pero Hárpago lo entregó a un pastor cuya esposa no cumplió la orden sino que lo cambió por su hijo muerto.

We gain a clear understanding of Islamic eschatology when we are able to observe how the prophecies regarding the Dajjal's first appearance in Khorasan may be tied to Zoroastrianism. Because the last remnant of Zoroastrianism fled Khorasan before migrating to India in the 7th century, Khorasan becomes the focal point regarding a resurgence of Zoroastrianism in Iran. During the Muslim conquest of Persia from 637 - 651, the Arab armies drove out the remaining Zoroastrians before converting the remaining Persian population to Islam. Over the years under many attempts by outside forces to resist Islam in Iran, the majority of Iranians nonetheless remained Muslim. The Arab influence during this Islamicization of Persia/Iran and the fact that Islam is tied to Arab identity did not curtail the spread of Islam throughout Persia, nor did it discount the fact that much of the scholarship surrounding the schools of thought which are prevalent today is very much centered around Persian intellectual discourse.

The Iranian Expanse explores how kings in the ancient Iranian world utilized the built and natural environment—everything from royal cities and paradise gardens, to hunting enclosures and fire temples—to form and contest Iranian cultural memory, royal identity, and sacred cosmologies over a thousand years of history. Although scholars have often noted startling continuities between the traditions of the Achaemenids and the art and architecture of medieval or Early Modern Islam, the tumultuous millennium between Alexander and Islam has routinely been downplayed or omitted. The Iranian Expanse delves into this fascinating period, examining royal culture and identity as something built and shaped by strategic changes to architectonic and urban spaces and the landscape of Western Asia. Canepa shows how the Seleucids, Arsacids, and Sasanians played a transformative role in developing a new Iranian royal culture that deeply influenced not only early Islam, but also the wider Persianate world of the Il-Khans, Safavids, Timurids, and Mughals.

Religion is often criticized for failing to uphold animal concerns, yet Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion that underlies the Abrahamic traditions as well as Eastern religions, offers some strikingly contemporary concerns regarding the kinship of human and nonhuman animals. Human and nonhuman animals alike have souls, free will, and life after death. In the middle of the second millennium BCE, Zoroaster called attention to the treatment of animals as necessary to the divine order and righteousness that has been disturbed by evil and sin. How humans treat animals also affects their own well-being in this world and the next.

Persian Translation of Shenkar, M. (2011), "Temple Architecture in the Iranian World in the Hellenistic Period”, in Kouremenos, A., Rossi, R., Chandrasekaran, S. (eds.), From Pella to Gandhara: Hybridisation and Identity in the Art and Architecture of the Hellenistic East, Oxford.

Resumen: Como en tantos otros cultos a lo largo de la historia, la vida después de la muerte y el destino final de la humanidad estuvieron presente en el pensamiento zoroástrico y en sus textos sagrados. Al mismo tiempo que recogió el testigo de creencias anteriores y contemporáneas, aportó sus propias innovaciones para terminar convirtiéndose en uno de los temas literarios más recurrentes en su última etapa. El artículo propone un recorrido por la escatología zoroástrica y sus fuentes para profundizar un poco más en el conocimiento de esta religión milenaria.

Abstract: As in many other cults throughout History, the afterlife and the final destiny of humankind were present inside the Zoroastrian thought and its sacred texts. It gathered the knowledge of former and contemporary beliefs while providing as well with its own innovations, and eventually turning into one of the most recurrent literary topics during its last period. The paper proposes a look through Zoroastrian eschatology and its sources to delve into this millenary religion.

Within this close textual analysis of the Babylonian Talmud, the book explores rabbinic discussions of sex in light of cultural assumptions and dispositions that pervaded the cultures of late antiquity and particularly the Iranian world. By negotiating the Iranian context of the rabbinic discussion alongside the Christian backdrop, this volume presents a balanced and nuanced portrayal of the rabbinic discourse on sexuality and situates rabbinic discussions of sex more broadly at the crossroads of late antique cultures. The study is divided into two thematic sections: the first centers on the broader aspects of rabbinic discourse on sexuality while the second hones in on rabbinic discussions of sexual prohibitions and the classification of permissible and prohibited partnerships, with particular attention to rabbinic discussions of incest.