Top 10 Facts about Zoroaster

Zoroaster – Page 567 of the 1849 Bombay Shahnama.jpg Photo by Muḥammad Ibrāhīm al-Shahīr bi-Āqā Khalaf – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about Zoroaster

He is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He was an Indian prophet who founded the religious movement that challenged the existing traditions of ancient Iranian religion. He was a native speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian plateau. Scholars used linguistic and socio-cultural evidence that was somewhere in the second millennium BC. The religion eventually became the official state religion of ancient Iran its distant subdivisions from around the 6th century BC until the 7th century AD.

Zoroaster is credited with the authorship of the Gathas as well as the Yasna Haptanghaiti. Most of his life is known from scant texts. There is no evidence that can place him into any fixed period and the historicization surrounding him was part of a trend before the 10th century AD. His name is his native language Avestan, scholars have noted that the name is derived from a later Greek transcription.

1. He had a Recorded History in the field of Scholars

Zoroaster – Page 567 of the 1849 Bombay Shahnama v2.jpg Photo by Muḥammad Ibrāhīm al-Shahīr bi-Āqā Khalaf – Wikimedia Commons

Scholars such as Mary Boyce dated Zoroaster to somewhere between 1700 and 1000 BC. She used linguistic and socio-cultural evidence that placed Zoroaster between 1500 and 1000 BC. However, other scholars propose the period between the 7th and 6th century BC. This date gains credence for mainly connecting figures that the mythical Vishtaspa appears in an account of Zoroaster’s life. Other pseudo-historical constructions suggest that there were two Zoroaster. 

The first one lived thousands of years ago while the second one accompanied Xerxes I in the invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Some scholars believe that the chronological calculation for Zoroaster was developed by Persian magi in the 4th century BC, they also note down that the early Greeks learned about him from the Achaemenids, which indicates they didn’t regard him as a contemporary of Cyrus the Great.

For more information about other early-century powerful personalities, click here.

2. The Record of Zoroastrian Sources in History

According to these sources, they place Zoroaster in the 6th century BC. The traditional Zoroastrian date originates in the period immediately following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BC. They counted back the length of successive generations, they concluded that Zoroaster must have lived 258 years before Alexander. This estimate then reappeared in the 9th to 12th century Arabic and Pahlavi texts of Zoroastrian tradition.

3. Places Where He was Cited by Scholars

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It has been noted that the birthplace of Zoroaster is proposed to be the northwestern and north-eastern regions. It has been noted that the Airyanem Vaejah was the home of Zoroaster and the scene of his first appearance. The Avesta doesn’t mention the Achaemenids or any West Iranian tribes such as the Medes, Persians, or even Parthians. Middle Persian sources show that there are multiple birthplaces for Zoroaster.

There are many Greek accounts of Zarathustra that locate him in Bactria, Diodorus Siculus placed him among Ariaspai in Sistan, and Cephalon and Justin suggest east of greater Iran. Most scholars have settled on an origin in Eastern Greater Iran. It is considered that the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex region was the native land of the Zoroastrians.

4. The Genesis of Life History of Zoroaster 

Depiction of Zoroaster inside the Fire Temple. Yazd, Iran Photo by LBM1948 – Wikimedia Commons

He is recorded as the son of the Pourusaspa of the Spitamans. All of the names from his family appear to come from the nomadic tradition. According to tradition, he had four brothers whose names are given much later in Pahlavi’s work. It is noted that he started his training for the priesthood at the early age of seven, and he later became a priest at the age of fifteen. He gained knowledge from other teachers and personal experience from traveling.

By the time he was thirty years old, he experienced a revelation during a spring festival, he was taught about Ahura Mazda and five radiant figures. He decided to spend his life teaching people to seek Asha, he later received further revelations and saw a vision of the seven Amesha Spenta, and his teachings were collected in the Gathas and the Avesta. 

5. There is a Recorded Adventures at An Old Age

At the age of forty-two, he received the patronage of queen Hutaosa and a ruler named Vishtaspa. Tradition notes that he lived for many years after Vishtaspa’s conversion and managed to establish a faithful community. It has also been recorded that he was married three times, his first two wives bore him three sons Isat Vastra, Urvatat Nara, and Hvare Chithra, and three daughters Freni, Thriti, and Pouruchista. His third wife was childless.

Zoroaster died when he was 77 years old. Shahnameh claims that an obscure conflict with the Tuiryas people led to his death. That he was murdered by a Karapan, a priest of the old religion, named Bradres.

6. He had Great Philosophical Influence in His Time

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There have been a number of parallels have been drawn between Zoroastrian teachings and Isalm. Islamic tradition understands Zoroaster to be the founding prophet of the Magians. In the 11th century, there have been a lot of references to the Zoroastrians in the Zahiri School.

The Ahmadiyya community views Zoroaster as a Prophet of Allah and describes the expressions of the all-good Ahura Mazda. They refer to the coexistence of forces of good and evil enabling humans to exercise free will. In Manichaeism, they consider Zoroaster to be a figure in a line of prophets of which Mani was the culmination. Zoroaster’s ethical dualism is viewed as being locked in an epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil.

In the Baha’i’Faith, Zoroaster appears as one of the prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster shared an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, and the Bab. In the 20th century, Baha’u’llah is seen as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy.

Read more about another great philosopher here.

7. The Philosophy of Zoroaster and its Impact to Mankind

Zoroaster is noted for seeing the human condition as the mental struggle between Asa and Druj. He taught that the purpose of humankind is to sustain and align itself to Asa. For humankind, this occurs through ethical participation in life, ritual, and the exercise of good thoughts.

Elements of Zoroastrian philosophy entered the West through their influence on Judaism and Platonism and have been identified as one of the key early events in the development of philosophy. Among Greek philosophers, Heraclitus is often referred to as inspired by his thinking. He emphasized the freedom of the individual to choose right or wrong and individual responsibility for one’s deeds. 

8. He Trained for Priesthood at an Early Age

The training for priesthood started very early around seven years of age. The records show that he became a priest probably around the age of fifteen, and according to Gathas, he gained knowledge from other teachers and personal experience from traveling when he left his parents at the age of twenty. In addition, at the age of thirty, he experienced a revelation during a spring festival; on the river bank, he saw a shining Being, who revealed himself as Vohu Manah meaning Good Purpose, and taught him about Ahura Mazda which means Wise Lord. He also saw five other radiant figures. He soon became aware of the existence of two primal Spirits, the second being Angra Mainyu meaning Destructive Spirit, with opposing concepts of Asha which means order, and Druj which is deception. Thus he decided to spend his life teaching people to seek Asha. Notwithstanding, he received further revelations and saw a vision of the seven Amesha Spenta, and his teachings were collected in the Gathas and the Avesta.

9. His Believe he Had a Strong Connection to Islam

Like the Greeks of classical antiquity, Islamic tradition understands Zoroaster to be the founding prophet of the Magians. The 11th-century Cordoban Ibn Hazm (Zahiri school) contends that Kitabi’s “of the Book” cannot apply in light of the Zoroastrian assertion that their books were destroyed by Alexander. Citing the authority of the 8th-century al-Kalbi, the 9th- and 10th-century Sunni historian al-Tabari – I, 648 reports that Zaradusht bin Isfiman who was an Arabic adaptation of Zarathustra Spitama was an inhabitant of Israel and a servant of one of the disciples of the prophet Jeremiah. According to this tale, Zaradusht defrauded his master, who cursed him, causing him to become leprous as per the cf. Elisha’s servant Gehazi in Jewish Scripture.

Read more about the Islam faith that is related to this fact here.

10. His Faith Connected to Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad

He appears in the Baháʼí Faith as a “Manifestation of God”, one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, Bahá’u’lláh. Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼí Faith in the first half of the 20th century, saw Bahá’u’lláh as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy that saw a return of Sassanid emperor Bahram. Shoghi Effendi also stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus.

Read more about other faith related to God’s manifestation here.