Due to lack sufficient documentation, the exact date of Zarathustra’s birth is not clear. After the Arab invasion, almost all the existing written words were destroyed by the invaders. Therefore, historians have to base their search on relics of the past, antiquities, and any remaining documents written afterwards. However, as of yet they have not come up with an unanimous date. Some historians relate Zarathustra’s appearance to the fourth millennium BC, but the majority of the researchers record his birth in the middle of the sixth hundred BC, and his death to have occurred in 583 BC. The place of his birth is supposed to be either in the present state of Azerbaijan (Athropaten), or in south-east of Iran. They believe that he was killed on the steps of a temple in the city of Balkh, on 583 BC.
A Zoroastrian WeddingZarathustra established his new religion by adopting some of the older religions’ rituals. For instance, the duality (good vs. bad) is borrowed from Zarvanism that states that Zarvan, the creator of the world, when delivering his twins (Ahura and Ahriman) decided to appoint the one who appeared first, in charge of the world. However, Ahriman, deceiving Ahura, came out first (which is another story in itself), and Zarvan reluctantly put him in charge for a thousand years, to be replaced by Ahura to rule for another thousand years. This is the earliest record of dualism, which became a basic philosophy in many religions.
Zoroastrian Sign
Zoroastrian holly scripture, Avesta (burned by Alexander after his conquest) includes 21 Nasks. Avesta (Avesteh) is consisted of two words ‘a’ plus ‘visteh’ (meaning imperceptible). During Parthian, Blush the First collected Avesta. Zoroastrian books include: Gathas, Vispard, Vandidad, and Khordeh-Avesta. Gathas are the only relics linked to Zarathustra’s hymns, and is dated 610 to 583 BC. They include 72 Yasnas. Yasna (meaning veneration and worship) includes worship and religious rituals. Yasna has five parts; each part begins with the title of an anthem. Vispard consists of 24 chapters. Vandidad describes ethical rules and self-purification. It includes genesis and methods of conquering demonic thoughts. There are 24 anthems in yasht including odes to Izad and Amshasbandan. Khordeh-Avesta is the book of common prayers. As it was mentioned earlier, Ahura is the power against Ahriman. Ahura is in communication with light forces (Amshasbandan) who are in return, in communication with Zarathustra. According to Zarathustra’s teachings, there are two worlds of Meinoo (spiritual) and Giti (tangible). The world is also divided between two parts of ‘destiny’ and ‘deed’. The most important teaching of Zarathustra is good thoughts, good deeds, and good words.
