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Zoroastrianism
Persian state faith from c. 550 BC; founder's date debated· Religion or tradition· Ancient, indigenous & folk
Mostly agreed by scholarsMost historians agree; some details uncertain.
The religion built on Zoroaster's teaching: Persia's leading faith until the Arab conquest, now a small community centered in India and Iran.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda, the wise creator, opposed by the destructive spirit Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). Each person takes sides through 'good thoughts, good words, good deeds.' Fire, a symbol of truth and purity, burns in fire temples. Teachings include judgment at death, a bridge the soul must cross, heaven and hell, and a final renewal of the world. It was the faith of Persia's empires, especially the Sasanians, until the Arab conquest of the 600s.
Why it matters
Its ideas of heaven, hell, angels, final judgment and a coming savior may have shaped Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Only about 100,000–200,000 followers remain, mostly Parsis in India and Zoroastrians in Iran.
Sources and history
The Avesta scriptures, written down around AD 500 from much older oral tradition; Achaemenid royal inscriptions invoking Ahura Mazda; Greek accounts such as Herodotus; living Parsi and Iranian communities.
Questions and debates
Whether the early Achaemenid kings, like Cyrus and Darius, were fully Zoroastrian, and how much the faith shaped Jewish beliefs under Persian rule, remain debated.
Inside this (2)
Connections (4)
▸Zoroaster (Zarathustra) founded ZoroastrianismMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Zoroaster reformed the older Iranian religion, a close cousin of the Vedic one, raising Ahura Mazda above all other divine beings and recasting the daevas, older gods, as demons. His Gathas set the faith's core: moral choice between truth and the lie. Followers built a full religion around it over centuries.
When and where
Eastern Iran or Central Asia, at a debated date, often put at c. 1200–1000 BC; tradition says he converted a local ruler, Vishtaspa.
How do we know?
The Gathas, attributed to Zoroaster himself, differ in language and outlook from the rest of the Avesta, suggesting a single founding voice.
Questions and debates
How much of later Zoroastrianism, with its priests and rituals, he would recognize, and whether he reformed or rejected the old religion.
▸Zoroastrianism is often credited with first teaching Resurrection of the dead and Last JudgmentDebated by scholars
The connection
Zoroastrian teaching holds that history is a struggle between the wise lord Ahura Mazda and the destructive spirit Angra Mainyu. At the end a savior, the Saoshyant, will raise the dead, and all will pass through molten metal that purifies the righteous and destroys evil. Many scholars see this as the earliest Last Judgment.
When and where
Zoroaster's hymns, the Gathas, composed in eastern Iran perhaps around 1000 BC; the full end-time story appears in later Avestan and Middle Persian texts.
How do we know?
The Gathas speak of a final reckoning and a bridge the dead must cross; the detailed resurrection account is in works like the Bundahishn, written down in the 800s AD.
Questions and debates
Because the detailed texts are late, some scholars argue Zoroastrians developed resurrection alongside, or even after, Jews and Christians, rather than before them.
▸Zoroastrianism may have influenced Monotheism: belief in one GodDebated by scholars
The connection
Judeans lived under Persian rule from 539 BC, and Isaiah hails Cyrus as God's anointed. Ideas prominent in Zoroastrianism, a supreme good God opposed by an evil adversary, angels, resurrection and final judgment, become clear in Jewish texts from then on and passed into Christianity and Islam.
When and where
The Persian Empire, 539–330 BC, especially Babylon and Persian-ruled Judah (Yehud); later contact under the Parthians.
How do we know?
Timing and parallels only; no text records borrowing. Late biblical books such as Zechariah, Job and Daniel show new ideas of Satan, angels and resurrection.
Questions and debates
Some scholars see strong influence; others say the ideas grew within Judaism and that Zoroastrian texts were written down too late to prove which came first.
▸Caliphates: Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid brought Islam to Persia, gradually displacing ZoroastrianismHistorical record
The connection
Arab armies destroyed the Sasanian Empire, whose state religion was Zoroastrianism, between 636 and 651. Zoroastrians got protected status in exchange for a poll tax (jizya) but lost royal patronage, and conversion to Islam spread over about three centuries. Persia was majority Muslim by about the 900s; some Zoroastrians moved to India, becoming the Parsis.
When and where
Iraq and Iran, from the battles of Qadisiyya (636) and Nahavand (642) to the last Sasanian king's death in 651; Parsis reached Gujarat sometime in the 700s-900s.
Historical evidence
Arabic chronicles of the conquest; Zoroastrian texts of the 800s-900s lamenting their decline; and Richard Bulliet's study of Muslim names in biographical dictionaries, which traces the conversion curve.
Questions and debates
How much conversion was pressured versus voluntary is debated. Estimates vary, but perhaps 100,000–200,000 Zoroastrians remain today, mostly in India, Iran and North America.