This page provides an overview of the ancient history of Zoroastrianism.
Last updated 2009-10-02
This page provides an overview of the ancient history of Zoroastrianism.
In 549 BCE, the Persians, led by Cyrus the Great of the Archaemenian family, overthrew the Median court of Western Iran. Cyrus thus founded the first Persian Empire.
The Archaemenian kings are known to have been very pious Zoroastrians, trying to rule justly and in accordance with the Zoroastrian law of asha (truth and righteousness).
Cyrus the Great was relatively liberal. While he himself ruled according to Zoroastrian beliefs, he made no attempt to impose Zoroastrianism on the people of his subject territories. The Jews most famously benefited from this; Cyrus permitted them to return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, and rebuild their temple. This act of kindness made a huge impact on Judaism. Zoroastrian philosophy powerfully influenced post-Exilic Judaism.
Darius the Great was famously pious and showed the same general tolerance for other faiths as his predecessor Cyrus. His piety is expressed in religious inscriptions left on his tomb.
Alexander of Macedonia defeated Darius III in battle in 331BCE. Within five years he had conquered most of the Persian territories.
Zoroastrianism received a savage blow. Many priests were killed and texts destroyed. Much was lost forever, but the core of the religion - recorded in the Gathas - survived.
The Seleucids were Greeks and took power after the death of Alexander. Zoroastrianism became regionally autonomous under the Seleucids. The Parthian Arcasids overthrew the Seleucids and ruled for a much longer period than the Archaemenian, but their rule was less centralised.
The Sasanian, Ardashir, was an unknown who had succeeded to the usurped throne of a Persian vassal king. He rebelled and overthrew the Arcasids. This caused shock and resentment throughout Iran. However, Ardashir was a great politician and used religious propaganda to assert his authority. He cleverly based one of his claims to the throne on Zoroastrian orthodoxy, stating that the Arcasids were not orthodox Zoroastrians.
Important developments during the early Sasanian period were:
Important developments in the later Sasanian period were:
By the end of the Sasanian period the authoritarian Zoroastrian church-state was immensely wealthy. This had positive and negative effects on the religion.
The umbrella of the Persian church kept Zoroastrianism dominant in Persia. This meant Zoroastrianism stayed free from the influence of other religions becoming popular at the time (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism etc). However, Zoroastrianism became more ritualised and oppressive under this church, demanding a large amount of time and money from ordinary Persians.
Zoroastrianism in Persia at the end of the Sasanian period is considered to have been as ripe for reform as Christianity was in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Founded in 226 AD, the Sasanian Empire lasted over 400 years. It traded goods from Constantinople to Beijing, handed regular defeats to the Roman army and only fell to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. It still influences Persian identity to this day.
In the 7th century the Islamic Arabs invaded and conquered Persia. The disastrous effect this had on Zoroastrianism surpassed that of Alexander. Many libraries were burned and much cultural heritage was lost.
The Islamic invaders treated the Zoroastrians as dhimmis (People of the Book). This meant that, like Jews and Christians, they could retain their religious practices, but must pay extra taxes. There were also many other laws and social humiliations implemented to make life difficult for the Zoroastrians in the hope that they would convert to Islam. Over time many Iranians did convert and Zoroastrianism became a minority religion in Iran.
Zoroastrianism suffered again at the hands of the invading Turks. Even more damaging were the Mongol invasions which destroyed more religious texts. This time Islamic texts also suffered irreparable loss.
Within half a century of the conquest, Gazan Khan converted to Islam and Zoroastrianism dwindled even further through renewed persecution.
BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.