The book is written by phiroz nasarvanji tavaria assisted by burjor ratanji panthaki m. The zoroastrian representative of the kurdistan regional government in iraq has claimed that as many as 100,000 people in iraqi kurdistan have converted to zoroastrianism recently, with community leaders repeating this claim and speculating that even more zoroastrians in the. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. Kreyenbroek, professor and director of iranian studies in. Afghanistan does not officially recognize the modern pakistan afghanistan border. Yes, there are quite a few, in fact where i live in california, there are a lot of zoroastrians. The hindi kid would soon learn what the british learned earlier in the century, and what the russians would eventually learn by the late 1980s.
The state religion in pakistan is islam, which is practiced by 96. A cultural and political history by thomas barfield is a learned, detailed, well written book by an anthropologist, not a historian. Their religious beliefs and practices crc press book. Zoroastrianism circa timeline homeland afghanistan. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with abraham, moses, krishna, jesus, muhammad, the bab, and the founder of the bahai faith, bahaullah. It features a variety of objects that symbolize key figures and values of zoroastrian cosmology. A 2012 study featured in the fezana journal, a quarterly publication of the federation of zoroastrian associations of north america fezana, published a demographic picture of zoroastrians around the world and a comparison with a similar study done in a 2004 study gives a global estimate of 111,691121,962, but has over 300,000 as of february, 2020. Although it was the dominant religion in iran, afghanistan, and central asia, today zoroastrians remain primarily in iran, india, and pakistan. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law. After reading this book, i am able to talk to others about this religion as i have a good base, and i am ready to take the next step in ordering another book, maybe the avesta itself or the prayer book, to delve deeper into zoroastrian understanding. Tajikistan is a landlocked central asian state with a population of about seven million people.
Displayed is a page from the gathas, in the middle persian language pahlavi, and its translation into modern persian. The location of the tomb in afghanistan and its date also fits with selfidentification of the four world religions further east and others, as the zoroastrian avesta and the dead zee scrolls begin to function as the rosetta stone of religion described in part two of this book. The source stated that the majority of zoroastrians in afghanistan live in khander which he described as. The oldest part is the gathas, which includes a collection of hymns and one of the oldest examples of religious poetry attributed to the prophet zoroaster ca. According to mary boyce in her article maneckji limji hataria in iran in the k. A brief introduction to zoroastrianism commisceo global. The ancient land and the modern nation of afghanistan are the subject of louis duprees book. India has the largest population of zoroastrians in the world with an estimate placing the number of zoroastrians in the country to be as high as 100,000 followers. Norouz is believed to have been a holiday of the zoroastrian religion that was. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan books the.
Antinorouz campaign prompts backlash in afghanistan. Salaam aleikum, alredditiyun, as you may or may not know, the zoroastrian faith was the main religion of preislamic iran, as well as much of the middle east before islam. Tajikistan has very interesting connections to zoroastrianism and the history of the early zoroastrians. Zoroaster appears in the bahai 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. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. Bbc culture the obscure religion that shaped the west. The zoroastrian holy book, called the avesta, was written in the avestan. Zoroastrianism was one of the dominant religions in kurdistan before the islamic era. Zoroastrianism religion in india zoroastrian religious. He seeks and finds evidence of zoroastrianism in twentiethcentury iran and afghanistan, parses.
Yazd atash behram, the zoroastrian fire temple in the the city of yazd in iran. Balkh, bakhdhi, bakhtrish, bactria, afghanistan region. Wherever zoroastrians lived and practiced their faith could become a war zone or massacre, in this era. However, according to a representative of the zoroastrian society of ontario, there are only one or two hundred zoroastrians living in afghanistan 4 mar. Zoroastrianism now has an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 worshipers worldwide. Zoroastrians of afghanistan aryana 2,535 likes 3 talking about this. The persecution of zoroastrians increased significantly under the abbasids, temples and sacredfire shrines were destroyed. Mar 14, 2012 it appears, the tashkent zoroastrians know the kusti prayers but know nothing of the kusti itself. A very interesting account on zoroastrians in kabul, afghanistan. Zoroastrians were forced to bring their religious books to be thrown in the fire. The only reason i didnt give this little book a five is that it is a small book, and left some subjects uncovered i would have liked to see some information of anahita and mithra and maybe some of the daily prayers in it.
The term zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with mazdaism the worship of ahura mazda, exalted by zoroaster as the supreme divine authority. The dari speakers of yazd know mainstream farsi, the language spoken by muslim yazdis, as well. A famous massacre involved a group of fanatic muslims in the city of harat, which is located in afghanistan today, when they destroyed a mosque and blamed the incident on the local zoroastrians. Like any religion, zoroastrianism changed over the centuries, during which water and fire became important symbols. Even today, zoroastrians in central asia worship in fire temples and hold ceremonies in the presence of fire. The indian population of zoroastrians accounts for at least 50% of the total zoroastrian population in the world. Apr 25, 2017 the worldwide population of zoroastrians has been reduced to around 190,000 per most estimates.
The zoroastrian representative of the kurdistan regional government in iraq has claimed that as many as 100,000 people in iraqi kurdistan have converted to zoroastrianism recently, with community leaders repeating this claim and speculating that even more zoroastrians in the region are practicing their faith secretly. Bakhdhi is the fourth nation in the avestan vendidads list of nations airyana vaeja homeland of the aryans being the first. Cama oriental institute golden jubilee volume, bombay, 1969, there is only one piece of modern zoroastrian sculpture in iran, and that is a fine bust of maneckji limji. Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet zoroaster also known as zarathustra, in avestan. Oct 02, 2016 what is the worlds most peaceful religion. Why is iran the only native country where zoroastrianism didnt completely go extinct. On the other hand, circle dances combined with drumming are found in all kinds of cultures especially tribal cultures. Brookwood cemetery is about 4 miles west of woking in surrey. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global network of field.
Browne wrote in his book, a year amongst the persians 1893, this dari dialect is only used by the guebres a derogatory word that muslims called zoroastrians amongst themselves, and all of them, so far as i know, speak persian as well. Mar 15, 2019 farvahar, the symbol of zoroastrianism. Nov 14, 2011 there, zoroastrians worship in front of a blazing fire, as a symbol of gods grace, just like christians face a cross and muslims turn to a qibla pointing toward mecca. But what happened to the zoroastrians of afghanistan, central asia or other regions where zoroastrianism was commonly practised. It is aimed mainly at zoroastrians who live outside of iran and india. List of countries by zoroastrian population wikipedia. List of books and articles about afghan history online. Other than in kabul, there are still around 9 zoroastrians families living in afghanistan in the province of balkh. Cyrus the great 580529 bc founder of the persian empire. The religion zoroastrianism is believed by some to have originated in what is now afghanistan between 1800 and 800 bce, as its founder zoroaster is thought to have lived and died in balkh while the region at the time was referred to as ariana. Recently, i had a discussion with one of my favorite authors here about zoroastrianism.
It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. We also learn about its astral cosmology and how the zoroastrian calendar was inscribed on a silver plate from bactria afghanistan. Zoroastrian refugees, called parsis, escaped muslim persecution in iran by emigrating to india. The arrangement of this spread or most of its elements has historically emerged as a cultural practice shared among numerous peoples across west asia, the caucasus, and. This book was the first, and right now the only attempt to try and present a basic introduction to zoroastrianism. The princeton legacy library uses the latest printondemand technology to again make. Culture the obscure religion that shaped the west bbc. Iran is home to 30,000 practicing zoroastrians, while the indian parsis, especially those around mumbai and gujarat, number around 60,000. Many young zoroastrians, in particular, react to the increasingly bleak career opportunities in the autocratic islamic theocracy by simply turning their backs on the country. Bakhdhi is the ancient avestan name while balkh is the modern name for both the region and its old capital city. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m.
The book of arda wiraz is a zoroastrian religious text of the sasanian era written in middle. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of three persian dynasties, until the muslim conquest of persia in the seventh century a. Persecution of zoroastrians by muslims islamic conquest. Zoroastrianism remained a potent force in afghanistan for centuries and there are residual elements of it today. Arguably the worlds first monotheistic faith, its one of the oldest religions still in. Thus we are privileged to see the landscape, the people, and rulers, the events through different eyes. Top countries of the world by zoroastrian population. Zoroastrians became a minority in iran after centuries of persecution, enslavement, forced conversion and massacre. Currently, zoroastrianism is an officially recognized religion in iraqi kurdistan and iran. Zoroastrian founder zarathustra through the nineteenth century novel thus. Christians, zoroastrians, and iranian political culture. Religion a thousand years of the persian book exhibitions.
Also during abbasid rule, the status of zoroastrians in persian lands was reduced from zimmi or dhimmi, people who were protected by the state and generally considered people of the book to kafirs nonbelievers. Zoroastrian parsi immigrants to britain would have long preceded that date. Political posts and nonrelated discussions are not allowed. He claims to be a zoroastrian, a scholar of the avesta book and language, and a teacher of zoroastrian history in public schools around tashkent. This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by zoroaster down to the present day a span of about 3,500 years. Sep 19, 2017 countries with the highest population of zoroastrians india. Rustam is 53 years old, frugally dressed and wears a blue baseball cap with an asho farohar the ubiquitous winged angel printed on it. Information on the treatment of the zoroastrian community in afghanistan could not be found among the sources currently available to the dirb. The seasonal zoroastrian celebrations of nowruz, tirgan, mehregan, and ylada birth of mithra, sun, light are most definitely intertwined with the psyches and lives of up to 250 million inhabitants in iran, afghanistan, tajikistan, and the kurds in the central asian, asia minor and mesopotamian and the caucuses regions. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated. Apparently balochi people have a similar dance to attan as well so it could just be rooted in zoroastrianism and old iranian culture. Until the arab invasion and subsequent muslim conquest, in the mid 7th century persia modernday iran was a politically independent state, spanning from the mesopotamia to the indus river and dominated by a zoroastrian majority. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status.
Is there a time period when we know the last zoroastrians of central asia were living, and what their dilemmas were. Some of the best books out there about the wars in iraq and afghanistan score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. A brief introduction to zoroastrianism the blog for culture vultures satiate your inner culture vulture with regular news and posts about cultural awareness, doing business abroad, working in a multicultural environment, hr diversity and global mobility. A fire temple is the place of worship for zoroastrians. South eastern afghanistan and tibet have a history of buddhism so maybe theres a link there. In ancient times zoroastrians had traditionally referred to themselves as mazdayasna, from which the inscriptional parthian form mazdezn, inscriptional middle persian form mazdesn, and book pahlavi book middle persian form mazdesn plural mazdesnan mazdaworshiper were derived. Persecution of zoroastrians luke seydel silk road religion. According to estimates, the number of zoroastrians in iran has decreased from 60,000 in the late 1970s to 30,000 today.
A very interesting account on zoroastrians in kabul, afghanistan posted on 1 february, 20 by yazdi leave a comment shernaz who along with freny khodaiji were in afghanistan in november or december 2011, is the author of this interesting compilation. Perhaps the most widely known among these is the ceremonial spread called the khane nowruz or the haft chin. To highlight the impact of zoroastrianism on western thought and the other religions in the world, we conducted an interview with dr. The umayyads were followed by the abbasid dynasty which came to power with the help of iranian muslims. Zoroastrians the library of religious beliefs and practices. Zoroastrianisms impact on western thought and world. The magi are in chapter two confirming what matthew states in chapter one that jesus is the future ruler and savior of the world. Both in the text and in over a hundred illustrations, he identifies the major patterns of afghan history, society, and culture as they have developed from the stone age to the present. This is a public forum for both those who are zoroastrians and for people who are curious about the religion. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. This practice is popular among the zoroastrians of iran, afghanistan and tajikistan and indeed for the rest of the mainly muslim population in these countries. To change the magi and make them kings takes away the power of the opening book of the gospels. Not only an enthralling travel book, in search of zarathustra is also a revelation of the importance of the prophet, and a brilliantly conceived and lucid explication of the belief systems that helped shape the european enlightenment, the middle ages, the dark ages, and the beginning of the christian era. Zoroastrianism is the ethnic religion of the parsi people.
Zoroastrianisms influence on judaism, christianity, islam. In may nato forces killed the top taliban field commander, mullah dadullah, but taliban forces mounted some guerrilla attacks on the outskirts of the capital and in the north during 2007. Zoroastrianism was the national religion of the various preislamic persian dynasties the achaemenides, the seleucids, parthians, sasanids. Zoroastrian sacred sites approach through the great desert to chak chak the primary religion in iran today is the shia sect of islam but the far older faith of the prophet zoroaster is still openly practiced, particularly in the central and northwestern regions of the country. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The remaining 4% practice hinduism, christianity, ahmadis, sikhism and other religions. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the pakistani constitution, which established a fundamental right of pakistani citizens, irrespective of their religion, to equal rights. The religious texts of the zoroastrian faith of ancient persia are referred to as the avesta. Zoroastrians kids in the usa have virtually nothing to study unless they go on line. Mar 27, 20 william dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan from 16thcentury mughal rulers, to daring victorian spies and todays taliban, the travel writer and historian picks his favourites from a rich. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century bce in persia iran.
This came up because of his well written diary that inadvertently included zoroastrianism. Parsis or parsees are an ethnoreligious group who migrated to the indian subcontinent from persia during the muslim conquest of persia of ce 636651. This estimate then reappeared in the 9th to 12thcentury arabic and pahlavi texts of zoroastrian tradition, like the 10th century almasudi who cited a prophecy from a lost avestan book in which zoroaster foretold the empires destruction in three hundred years, but the religion would last for a thousand years. The 1980 population of british zoroastrians was estimated as 2,000 by john hinnells in zoroastrians in britain. Ranked as the 93rd most influential person in world history on in harts book the 100. No special place for the dead although there are several ancient dakhmas towers of silence all over uzbekistan. Many zoroastrians left iran and india to settle elsewhere, mainly in. When did zoroastrianism become extinct in afghanistan and. An online campaign by religious conservatives in afghanistan.
The tata family have mausoleums in the parsee section. Espand commonly refers to the dried seed of peganum harmala, a perennial herb shrub from the zygophyllaceae or caltrop family, sometimes mistakenly called wild or syrian rue. Discoverer of proto zoroastrian civilization in turkmenistan passes away posted on 31 december, 20 by yazdi leave a comment prominent grecorussianuzbek archeologist, victor sarianidi or sarigiannidis, who discovered a proto zoroastrian civilization in turkmenistan ancient margiana died on december 23, 20 at the age of 84. Many kurdish individuals converted from islam to zoroastrianism, especially after isil attacked iraqi kurdistan. The kind of duality that they brought in between good and evil, the monotheism that they practiced, did have an impact when afghans started moving towards other monotheistic religions. A heretical form of zoroastrianism was also followed in armenia before the kingdom converted to christianity, with its own native deities thrown in. A very interesting account on zoroastrians in kabul.
I will always keep my the zoroastrian faith book handy as my reference source. The religion zoroastrianism is believed by some to have originated in what is now afghanistan between 1800 and 800 bce, as its founder zoroaster is thought. The description of zoroastrianism reflects the authors personal beliefs and should be read with a critical mind and a large dose of sound skepticism. It is home to the pamir mountains, also called the roof of the world.