Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism was founded by Zoroaster, also known as Zarathrustra, though many of the traditions in the religion have roots that go back centuries earlier. There is no scholarly consensus on when Zoroaster lived, and estimates vary wildly from the 2nd millennium B.C. to the 6th century B.C. It is believed that Zoroaster had founded the religion by challenging many of the existing traditions of the then-dominant ancient Indo-Iranian religion.

From about 650 B.C. to A.D. 600, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in the Persian Empire. and influenced both the Abrahamic religions to the west and the Dharmic religions to the east. It was the state religion of numerous ancient Persian empires prior to Muslim conquest of Persia. Zoroastrianism gradually declined after the Islamic conquest of Persia in A.D. 651.

Today there are two main communities of Zoroastrians: the Parsis of India who fled and sought refuge in Gujarat in the 7th century after they became a minority and persecuted in Iran, and the Iranian Zoroastrians who have remained in Iran and Central Asia but continue to face discrimination and persecution. As the Parsis had been isolated from the Iranian Zoroastrian community for centuries, their traditions differ significantly from that of the Iranian Zoroastrians; the descendants of Iranian Zoroastrians who moved to India in the 19th and 20th centuries are known as Iranis, and are legally recognised as a separate group from the Parsis. During the days of British rule in India, many Parsis became successful businessmen. Parsis founded some of India's largest corporations, such as Tata, Godia and Wadrej, which retain that status in the Indian economy today. Many Parsis also migrated to far-flung corners of the British Empire, putting down roots in places such as Singapore and Hong Kong, where they form small but influential minorities. In modern times, many Zoroastrians have now emigrated and live in Western countries; perhaps the most famous Zoroastrian in the West was the singer Freddie Mercury from the British band Queen, who was born to a Parsi family in Zanzibar.

The Zoroastrian place of worship is known as a fire temple, in reference to the eternal flame that is kept burning within its sanctum. Contrary to popular belief, Zoroastrians do not worship fire itself, but instead regard fire as a symbol of God's wisdom, and hence turn towards a flame when they pray.

The Zoroastrian holy book is known as the Avesta.

The holy book of Zoroastrianism, the Avesta, is written in Avestan, a language related to Old Persian and Sanskrit, and more distantly to Latin and Ancient Greek.

Non-Parsis are strictly forbidden from entering Parsi fire temples. Iranian Zoroastrian fire temples may usually be visited by non-Zoroastrians, though they may not enter the sanctum with the eternal flame.

• Persian Empire
• Yazidism is a belief system among a minority of the Kurdish people that shares a common origin with Zoroastrianism. As with Zoroastrianism, it became a minority religion after the introduction of Islam. A number of shrines in Lalish, Iraqi Kurdistan are considered to be the holiest in the Yazidi faith.
• Prior to Christianization, Armenians predominately adhered to Zoroastrianism—the belief survived among a minority of Armenians in parts of Anatolia well into the early 20th century. Much influence of Zoroastrianism can be found in the modern reconstruction of the ancient Armenian faith, Armenian neopaganism, or Hetanism as it is locally called, the believers of which hold regular ceremonies in the Temple of Garni.
• Religion and spirituality
• Baha'i Faith