"a minority mostly found in India and Iran. It worships a monotheistic god, Ahura Mazda, and was founded by Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan), probably founded some time before the 6th century BC. The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority. In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil originates from Him. Thus, in Zoroastrianism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil (druj)"
"comparison because of Ahura Mazda’s role as father and chief god of the pantheon. His name implies that that he was sought by worshippers for his wisdom. Based on the expressions of Darius and Zoroaster, it is reasonable to assume that he was the object of a personal devotion which seems to have been absent with other deities. Along with Ahura Mazda, Mithra was the most important deity in the ancient Iranian pantheon. He may have occupied a position almost equal to him. In the Achaemenid inscriptions, Mithra is along with Anahita the only deity specifically mentioned. In the ancient"
"""daevas"" were evil spirits created by Angra Mainyu to sow evil in the world and that all people must choose between the goodness of Ahura Mazda and the evil of Angra Mainyu. According to Zoroaster, Ahura Mazda will eventually defeat Angra Mainyu and good will triumph over evil once and for all. Ahura Mazda was the most important deity in the ancient Achaemenid Empire. He was originally represented anthropomorphically, but, by the end of the Sasanian Empire, Zoroastrianism had become fully aniconic. Attempts to rationally explain belief in deities extend all the way back to ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher"
"Moses, Jesus and Muhammad had all brought them, so why did you not believe in any of these prophets, having believed in Zoroaster, through the tales that came to you about him, informing that he brought forth what others did not?” Ahmadi Muslims view Zoroaster as a Prophet of God and describe the expressions of Ahura Mazda, the god of goodness, and Ahraman, the god of evil, as merely referring to the coexistence of forces of good and evil enabling humans to exercise free will. Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in his book ""Revelation,"
"of all goodness was the only Ahura worthy of the highest worship. He further stated that Ahura Mazda created spirits known as ""yazata""s to aid him, who also merited devotion. Zoroaster proclaimed that all of the Iranian ""daevas"" were bad spirits and deserved no worship. These ""bad"" spirits were created by Angra Mainyu, the hostile and evil spirit. The existence of Angra Mainyu was the source of all sin and misery in the universe. Zoroaster claimed that Ahura Mazda was not an omnipotent God, but used the aid of humans in the cosmic struggle against Angra Mainyu. Nonetheless, Ahura Mazda"
"Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism, or Mazdayasna, is one of the world's oldest religions that remains active. It is a monotheistic faith (i.e. a single creator god), centered in a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate destruction of evil. Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra), it exalts a deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (""Wise Lord""), as its Supreme Being. Major features of Zoroastrianism, such as messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will have influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. With"
"appeared to be corroborating Haug. Reinforcing themselves, Haug's ideas came to be iterated so often that they are today almost universally accepted as doctrine. Some scholars (Kuiper. IIJ I, 1957; Zimmer. Münchner Studien 1984:187–215) believe that Ahura Mazda originates from *vouruna-mitra, or Vedic Varuna (and Mitra). According to William W Malandra both Varuna (in Vedic period) and Ahura Mazda (in old Iranian religion) represented same Indo-Iranian concept of a supreme ""wise, all-knowing lord"". In Manichaeism, the name ""Ohrmazd Bay"" (""god Ahura Mazda"") was used for the primal figure Nāšā Qaḏmāyā, the ""original man"" and emanation of the Father of Greatness"
"In Sogdian Buddhism, ""Xwrmztʼ"" (Sogdian was written without a consistent representation of vowels) was the name used in place of Ahura Mazda. Via contacts with Turkic peoples like the Uyghurs, this Sogdian name came to the Mongols, who still name this deity ""Qormusta Tengri"" (Also Qormusta or Qormusda) is now a popular enough deity to appear in many contexts that are not explicitly Buddhist. The pre-Christian Armenians had Aramazd as an important deity in their pantheon of gods. He is thought to be a syncretic deity, a combination of the autochthonous Urartian figure Ara and the Iranian Ahura Mazda. In"
"one. In ""Yasna"" 31.11 of the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is said to have created the universe with his ""thought"". In other passages, such as ""Yasna"" 45.4, he is described as the metaphorical ""father"" of the individual Amesha Spenta, which, even though it is figurative, suggests a familial closeness. In particular, the relationship between Ahura Mazda and ""Spenta Mainyu"" is multifaceted and complex and ""as hard to define as that of Yahweh and the Holy Spirit in Judaism and Christianity."" A veneration for the 'divine sparks' through the living world is still present in modern Zoroastrian tradition and is evident in"
"a son respectful of his father?"" Neither the Avesta nor the Achaemenid instripctions identify Ahura Mazda with a natural phenomenon. In the hymn of the goddess Rti (Reward), Ahura Mazda is identified as her father and Spenta Ariamati (Earth) as her mother. This implies that he has assumed the role of the Indo-European Father Heaven (*Diēus Pater, Vedic Dyaus Pitar), who is paired with Mother Earth. Herodotus apparently makes this identification when stating that Zeus in Persian mythology ""is the whole circle of heavens"". Zeus is also equated with Oromazes (Ahura Mazda) in other Greek sources. These Greeks made this"
"most of the Gathas and also consciously uses a masculine word for one concept and a feminine for the other, as if to distract from an anthropomorphism of his divinity. Zoroaster claimed that Ahura Mazda is almighty, though not omnipotent. Other scholars assert that since Zoroastrianism's divinity covers both being and mind as immanent entities, it is better described as a belief in an immanent self-creating universe with consciousness as its special attribute, thereby putting Zoroastranism in the pantheistic fold where it can be easily traced to its shared origin with Indian Brahmanism. In any case, Ahura Mazda's creation—evident is"
"in a late Achaemenid temple at Persepolis which invoked Ahura Mazda and two other spirits, most likely Mithra and Anahita. On the Elamite Persepolis Fortification Tablet 377, Ahura Mazda is invoked along with Mithra and Voruna (Apam Napat, probably Vedic Varuna, ""water-god""). Artaxerxes III makes this invocation to the three spirits again in his reign. The early Achaemenid period contained no representation of Ahura Mazda. The winged symbol with a male figure who was formerly regarded by European scholars as Ahura Mazda has been shown to represent the royal ""xvarənah"", the personification of royal power and glory. However, it was"
"in many ways as Ahura Mazda. In the Younger Avesta Spenta and the Gathas Mainyu is paired with the evil antagonist Angra Mainyu (""the Evil Spirit"", Ahriman in Middle Persian). In later sources it is Ohrmazd (Middle Persian for Ahura Mazda) who is paired with Ahriman. The Avesta contains cryptic allusions to the creations of two antagonistic spirits. It is Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride 47), who conducts the first discursive exposition of world creation by two spirits. Plutarch describes the Persians as telling mythical tales about Oromazes (i. e., Ahura Mazda), who is born from light, and Areimanios (i."
"in Iraqi Kurdistan. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds. The most important texts of the religion are those of the ""Avesta"", which includes the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, enigmatic poems that define the religion's precepts, and the Yasna, the scripture. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is: Ahura, The Lord Creator, and Mazda, Supremely Wise. The religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition, but focused on responsibility, and did not create a devil per se. Zoroaster proclaimed that there is only"
"in the first act of creation, distinguishing his Holy Spirit Spenta Mainyu, the Archangel of righteousness. Ahura Mazda also distinguished from himself six more Amesha Spentas, who, along with Spenta Mainyu, aided in the creation of the physical universe. Then he oversaw the development of sixteen lands, each imbued with a unique cultural catalyst calculated to encourage the formation of distinct human populations. The Amesha Spentas were charged with protecting these holy lands and through their emanation, also believed to align each respective population in service to God. The Amesha Spentas (amesha meaning eternal and spenta meaning brilliance and beneficence)"
"take the Buddhist form of the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王). The Sutra of Golden Light became one of the most important sutras in Japan because of its fundamental message, which teaches that the Four Heavenly Kings protect the ruler who governs his country in the proper manner. The Hindu god of death, Yama, is known in his Buddhist form as Enma. Garuda, the mount (vahana) of Vishnu, is known as the Karura (迦楼羅), an enormous, fire-breathing creature in Japan. It has the body of a human and the face or beak of an eagle. Tennin originated from the apsaras. The"
"Angra Mainyu Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: ""𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎‎"" ""Aŋra Mainiiu"") is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the ""destructive spirit"". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩‎ (Anglicised pronunciation: ). Angra Mainyu is omnimalevolent. Angra Mainyu is Ahura Mazda’s adversary. Avestan ""angra mainyu"" ""seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's."" In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to the prophet himself, ""angra mainyu"" is not yet a proper name. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept spoken of is that of a ""mainyu"" (""mind"","
"be historic parallels between the Avestan ""ahurani""s and the RigVedic ""varunani""s, the ""wives of Varuna."" These parallels are one of the points of comparison for the theory that Ahura Mazda and Varuna both descend from a common predecessor (see Ahura Mazda for details). Ahurani Ahurani is the Avestan language name of a Zoroastrian (class of) divinity associated with ""the waters"" (""āpō""). In scripture, the expression ""ahurani"" appears both in the singular and in the plural, and may - subject to context - either denote a specific divinity named Ahurani, or a class of divinities that are ""ahurani""s. The Avestan feminine"
"participation in life through good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will, and Zoroastrianism rejects all forms of monasticism. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail over the evil Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation—even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to ""darkness""—will be reunited in Ahura Mazda, returning to life in the undead form. At the end of time, a savior-figure"
"and the ""destructive spirit"" in Avestan-language called Angra Mainyu. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman. They are in eternal struggle and neither is all-powerful, especially Angra Mainyu is limited to space and time: in the end of time, he will be finally defeated. While Ahura Mazda creates what is good, Angra Mainyu is responsible for every evil and suffering in the world, such as toads and scorpions. Buddhism contains a devil-like figure called Mara (Sanskrit: ""māra""; ; Tibetan Wylie: ""bdud""; ; ; ; ), who is a tempter figure in Buddhism, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making"
"and Daena. What might loosely be called ""weeks"" are the divisions of days 1–7, 8–14, 15–22, and 23–30 of each month – two weeks of seven days followed by two weeks of eight. The Gatha days at the end of the year do not belong to any such week. Twelve divinities to whom days of the month are dedicated also have months dedicated to them. The month dedicated to Ahura Mazda is a special case – that month is named after Mazda's stock epithet, ""Creator"" (Avestan ""Dadvah"", whence Zoroastrian Middle Persian ""Dae""), rather than after His proper name. Seven of"
"strengthens this scenario. The religious practices depicted in the ""Rigveda"" and those depicted in the ""Avesta"", the central religious text of Zoroastrianism—the ancient Iranian faith founded by the prophet Zoroaster—have in common the deity Mitra, priests called ""hotṛ"" in the ""Rigveda"" and ""zaotar"" in the ""Avesta"", and the use of a ritual substance that the ""Rigveda"" calls ""soma"" and the ""Avesta"" ""haoma"". However, the Indo-Aryan ""deva"" 'god' is cognate with the Iranian ""daēva"" 'demon'. Similarly, the Indo-Aryan ""asura"" 'name of a particular group of gods' (later on, 'demon') is cognate with the Iranian ""ahura"" 'lord, god,' which 19th and early"
"is then held in honor of the respective ""yazata"" on those day/month intersections. Four of the name-day feasts are dedicated to ""Dae"" ""Creator"" (Ahura Mazda), who has the tenth month of the year plus four days per month dedicated to Him (1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd day of the month). Accordingly, the 1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd day of the tenth month are each feast-days of Ahura Mazda, and each of those four days is called ""Jashan of Dadvah"" (""Creator""). Six of the ""Jashan"" days are dedicated to the six ""Ameshaspand""s (Amesha Spentas). These six days are respectively: Dates in parentheses are"
"of Sassanian emperors. Under the reign of Shapur I, Zurvanism spread and became a widespread cult. Zurvanism revokes Zoroaster's original message of Ahura Mazda as the uncreated spirit, and the ""uncreated creator"" of all, and reduces him to a created spirit, one of two twin sons of Zurvan, their father and the primary spirit. Zurvanism also makes Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu of equal strength and only contrasting spirits. Other than Zurvanism, the Sassanian kings demonstrated their devotion to Ahura Mazda in other fashions. Five kings took the name Hormizd and Bahram II created the title of ""Ohrmazd-mowbad"" which was"
"derived from the Indo-European verb, *reg (""to be, make straight, direct, judge""). In particular he seems to have been the god of oaths and ordeals administered in trials. In several ways he was responsible for the same judicial functions as the Vedic god Varuna, who was the ultimate judge presiding over oaths, often inseparable from the Vedic Mitra. While it is uncertain whether Ahura Mazda had any judicial responsibilities, Rashnu and Mithra were connected with two separate areas of law. While Mithra was concerned with covenants, Rashnu mainly had jurisdiction of legal matters, in particular those of criminal nature. He"
"religions as it was founded 3500 years ago. It was also one of the most powerful religions in the world for about 1000 years. Now, however, it is considered one of the smallest religions with only 190,000 followers worldwide. There are two deities: Azhura Mazda, who fights for a person’s goodness, and Ahriman, who fights for a person’s evil. It is ultimately up to the individual to decide which deity they will follow. Zoroastreans follow the Avesta which is their primary sacred text. According to a 2012 WIN-Gallup International ‘Religiosity and Atheism Index’, atheists are a small minority in the"
"Thus, Zoroastrianism can be said to be a universalist religion with respect to salvation. In addition, and strongly influenced by Akkadian and Babylonian practices, the Achaemenids popularized shrines and temples, hitherto alien forms of worship. In the wake of Achaemenid expansion, shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of Mithra, Aredvi Sura Anahita, Verethragna and Tishtrya, all of which, in addition to their original (proto-)Indo-Iranian functions, now also received Perso-Babylonian functions. According to the Zoroastrian creation myth, Ahura Mazda existed in light and goodness above, while Angra Mainyu existed in darkness and ignorance below. They have"
"will not be harmed."" Eventually, Ahura Mazda will triumph, and his agent Saoshyant will resurrect the dead, whose bodies will be restored to eternal perfection, and whose souls will be cleansed and reunited with God. Time will then end, and truth/righteousness (""asha"") and immortality will thereafter be everlasting. Messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior or liberator of a group of people. Religions with a messiah concept include Zoroastrianism (Saoshyant), Judaism (the Mashiach), Buddhism (Maitreya), Hinduism (Kalki), Taoism (Li Hong), and Bábism (He whom God shall make manifest). In Judaism, the"
"Ahura Mazda and Ahriman under the names of Allah and Iblis. At times, Muslim leaders in their effort to win converts encouraged attendance at Muslim prayer with promises of money and allowed the Quran to be recited in Persian instead of Arabic so that it would be intelligible to all. Later, the Samanids, whose roots stemmed from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility, propagated Sunni Islam and Islamo-Persian culture deep into the heart of Central Asia. The first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian occurred during the reign of Samanids in the 9th century. Richard Bulliet's ""conversion curve"" and relatively minor rate"
"used in place of Ahura Mazda. Via contacts with Turkic peoples like the Uyghurs, this Sogdian name came to the Mongols, who still name this deity Qormusta Tengri; Qormusta (or Qormusda) is now a popular enough deity to appear in many contexts that are not explicitly Buddhist. And has become synonymous with the old Turkic god Kürmez Han or Kormos Han. Qormusta Tengri Qormusta Tengri (Qormusata Tngri ""King of the Gods"", also transliterated as Qormusta Tngri and Hormusta) is a god in Mongolian mythology and shamanism, described as the chief god of the 99 ""tngri"" and leader of the 33"
"whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations"" acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years (Herodotus iii. 68). Darius I and later Achaemenid emperors acknowledged their devotion to Ahura Mazda in inscriptions, as attested to several times in the Behistun inscription, and appear to have continued the model of coexistence with other religions. Whether Darius was a follower of Zoroaster has not been conclusively established, since devotion to Ahura Mazda was (at the time) not necessarily an indication of an adherence to Zoroaster's teaching. A number of the Zoroastrian texts that today"
"14; ""haurvatāt-"": 11 times. In the context of Zoroastrian view of creation, the group of the Amesha Spenta is extended to include Ahura Mazda, together with (or represented by) ""Spenta Mainyu"". However, in most scholastic texts, an unqualified referral to the ""Amesha Spenta"" is usually understood to include only great six. In ""Yasna"" 44.7, 31.3, and 51.7, Ahura Mazda's ""Spenta Mainyu"" is the instrument or ""active principle"" of the act of creation. It is also through this ""Bounteous Force"", ""Creative Emanation"", or ""Holy Spirit"" that Ahura Mazda is immanent in humankind (""Yasna"" 33.6), and how the Creator interacts with the"
"In tradition, ""yazata"" is the first of the 101 epithets of Ahura Mazda. The word also came to be applied to Zoroaster, but Zoroastrians to this day remain sharply critical of any attempts to deify the prophet. In a hierarchy that does not include either Ahura Mazda or the Amesha Spentas amongst the ""yazatas"", the most prominent amongst those ""worthy of worship"" is Mithra, who ""is second only in dignity to Ohrmazd (i.e. Ahura Mazda) himself."" In the 1860s and 1870s, the linguist Martin Haug interpreted Zoroastrian scripture in Christian terms, and compared the ""yazata""s to the angels of Christianity."