Zoroastrianism also called Zarathustraism,Mazdaism and Magianism, is an ancient Iranian religion and a religious philosophy. It was once the state religion of the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires.Estimates of the current number of Zoroastrians worldwide vary between 145,000 and 2.6 million. Zoroastrianism arose in the eastern region of the ancient Persian Empire, when the religious philosopher Zoroaster simplified the pantheon of early Iranian gods into two opposing forces: Spenta Mainyu (Progressive mentality) and Angra Mainyu( Destructive Mentality) under the one God, Ahura Mazda( Illuminating Wisdom). Zoroasters ideas led to a formal religion bearing his name by about the 6th century BCE and have influenced other religions including Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianityand Islam. Overview In Zoroastrianism, the creator Ahura Mazdais all good, and no evil originates from him. Thus, in Zoroastrianism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil (druj) trying to destroy the creation of Mazda ( asha), and good trying to sustain it. While Ahura Mazda is not immanentin the world, his creation is represented by the Amesha Spentasand the host of other Yazatas, through whom the works of God are evident to humanity, and through whom worship of Mazda is ultimately directed. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, of which a significant portion has been lost, and mostly only the liturgies of which have survived. The lost portions are known of only through references and brief quotations in the later works, primarily from the 9th to 11th centuries. In some form, it served as the national or state religion of a significant portion of the Iranian people for many centuries. The religion first dwindled when the Achaemenid Empire was invadedby Alexander the Great, after which it collapsed and disintegrated and it was further gradually marginalizedb y Islam from the 7th century onwards with the decline of the Sassanid Empire.The political power of the pre-Islamic Iranian dynasties lent Zoroastrianism immense prestige in ancient times, and some of its leading doctrines were adopted by other religious systems. It has no major theological divisions (the only significant schism is based on calendar differences), but it is not uniform. Modern-era influences have a significant impact on individual and local beliefs, practices, values and vocabulary, sometimes merging with tradition and in other cases displacing it.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 04:50:03 +0000
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