See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town This page deals with both Avesta Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Avesta Avesta Municipality is a Municipality in Dalarna, in central Sweden. ...

Zoroastrianism Portal

Faravahar, believed to be a depiction of a Farvashi, as mentioned in the Yasna, Yashts and Vendidad

The Avesta is a collection of the sacred texts of the Mazdaist (Zoroastrian) religion. Although some of the texts are very old, the term Avesta itself only dates to the second century CE. The term's etymological roots are the middle Persian Abestāg, old Persian Upastāvaka, "Praise [of God]". Image File history File links Portal. ... Faravahar, The depiction of the Human soul before birth and after death. ... Faravahar, The depiction of the Human soul before birth and after death. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrians. ... The Common Era (CE or C.E.), sometimes known as the Current Era or Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... See Aryan Language or Old Persian For more information visit: *[Ancient Iranian Languages & Literature The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) ...

History

Age of the texts

The texts of the Avesta was collated over several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas, in Gathic Avestan, are the hymns thought to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself, and dates linguistically to around 1000 BCE. The liturgical texts of the Yasna, which includes the Gathas, is partially in Older and partially in Younger Avestan. The oldest portions may be older than the Gathas, later adapted to more closely follow the doctrine of Zoroaster. The hymns of the Yasht, which are also attributed to Zoroaster but were almost certainly not composed by the prophet, are in Younger Avestan and thought to date to the Achaemenid era (648–330 BCE). The Vendidad, which is also in Younger Avestan, was probably composed even later, during the Parthian era (141 BCE-224 CE). The Visperad contains the youngest portion of the Avesta, which are in middle Persian and date to Sassanid times (226-651 CE). The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... Yasna 28. ... Zoroaster, in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. ... -1... The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 335 BC 334 BC 333 BC 332 BC 331 BC - 330 BC - 329 BC 328 BC 327... Parthia[1] (Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân), situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as the modern countries of Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain... (Redirected from 141 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC - 140s BC - 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 146 BC 145 BC 144 BC 143 BC 142 BC - 141 BC... Events Shah Artashir I wins Persian independence from Parthia and establishes the Sassanid dynasty. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire (in Persian: Sasanian) is the name used for the forth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226 - 651). ... Events: Accession of Wei Mingdi as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. ... Events End of Yazdegard IIIs attempts to drive out the Saracens. ...

Early transmission

Some Avesta texts are thought to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form. The Book of Arda Viraf, a work composed in the 3rd or 4th century CE, suggests that the Gathas and some other texts that were incorporated into the Avesta had previously existed in the palace library of the Achaemenid kings (648–330 BCE). According to the Shatroiha-i Airan, the palace library was lost in a fire caused by the troops of Alexander the Great. However, neither assertion can be confirmed since the texts, if they existed, have been lost. The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text which describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian through the next world. ... The Common Era (CE or C.E.), sometimes known as the Current Era or Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. ... The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 335 BC 334 BC 333 BC 332 BC 331 BC - 330 BC - 329 BC 328 BC 327... Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Αλέξανδρος[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC — June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering most of his known world before his death. ...

Nonetheless, Rasmus Christian Rask concluded that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature, as Pliny the Elder had suggested in his Naturalis Historiae, where he describes one Hermippus of Smyrna having "interpreted two million verses of Zoroaster" in the 3rd century BCE. As Peter Clark in Zoroastrianism. An Introduction to an Ancient Faith (1998, Brighton) points out, it is unlikely that the Gathas and older Yasna texts would have retained their old-language qualities if they had only been orally transmitted. Rasmus Christian Rask Rasmus Christian Rask (November 22, 1787 - November 14, 1832), Danish scholar and philologist, was born at Brandekilde in the island of Funen or Fyn in Denmark. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ...

Later redaction

According to the Dēnkard, a semi-religious work written in the 9th century, the king Volgash (thought to be the Parthian king Vologases IV, c. 147–191 CE) attempted to have the sacred texts collected and collated. The results of this undertaking, if it occurred, have not survived. The Denkard is the largest encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in 9th century. ... Parthia[1] (Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân), situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as the modern countries of Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain... Coin of Vologases IV. The reverse shows the throned king receiving a diadem from Tyche. ... Events First year of Jianhe of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Deaths Categories: 147 ... Events Serapion of Antioch becomes Patriarch of Antioch. ...

In the 3rd century, the Sassanian emperor Ardashir I (226-241 CE) commanded his high priest Tonsar (or Tansar) to compile the theological texts. According to the Dēnkard, the Tonsar effort resulted in the reproduction of twenty-one volumes, called nasks, in the Avestan language (though not in the original Gathic Avestan), subdivided into 348 chapters, with approximately 3.5 million words in total. The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... Silver coin of Ardashir I with a fire altar on its verso (British Museum London). ... Events: Accession of Wei Mingdi as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. ... Events Shapur I of Persia succeeds Ardashir I Births Deaths Ardashir I, first ruler of the Sassanids Categories: 241 ... The Denkard is the largest encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in 9th century. ...

One final redaction took place under Shapur II (309-379). The Avesta, as used today, is essentially the result of that revision, although important sections of the text have been lost since then, especially after the fall of the Persian empire, after which Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam. Head of King Shapur II (Sasanian dynasty 4th century). ... Events The Spanish provinces revolt from the control of Maxentius, acknowledging Constantine as their Emperor Pope Marcellus I is banished from Rome, as is his successor Eusebius later that year Shapur II becomes king of Persia. ... Events January 19 - Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ...

European scholarship

The texts became available to European scholarship comparatively late. Abraham Anquetil-Duperron travelled to east India in 1755, and discovered the texts in Parsi communities. He published a French translation in 1771, based on a modern Persian language translation provided by a Parsi priest. Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron (December 7, 1731 - January 17, French orientalist, brother of Louis-Pierre Anquetil, the historian, was born in Paris. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about (members of) the Parsi Zoroastrian community in and from India. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Persian (فارسی), also known as Farsi (local name), Parsi (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (an Afghan dialect), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. ... This article is about (members of) the Parsi Zoroastrian community in and from India. ...

Several Avesta manuscripts were collected by Rasmus Rask on a visit to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1820, and it was Rask's examination of the Avestan language that first established that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature of sacred texts of ancient Persia and Bactria (Ta-Hsia). Rasmus Christian Rask Rasmus Christian Rask (November 22, 1787 - November 14, 1832), Danish scholar and philologist, was born at Brandekilde in the island of Funen or Fyn in Denmark. ... Bombay redirects here. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau. ... It has been suggested that Ta-Hsia be merged into this article or section. ... Characters for Ta-Hsia. ...

Rask's collection now lies in the library of the University of Copenhagen. Other manuscripts are preserved in the East India House and the British Museum in London; the Bodleian library at Oxford and at various university libraries in Paris. The University of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Universitet) is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... East India House,was the headquarters of the East India Company,till the Crown took over India on November 1st. ... The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ... Entrance to the Library, with the coats-of-arms of several Oxford colleges The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library. ... The University of Oxford (often called Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur Tossed by the waves, she does not founder Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Département Paris (75) Région ÃŽle-de-France Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (PS) City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 86. ...

The Zend

The word Zend or Zand, meaning "commentary" or "translation", refers to late middle Persian and Pazend language supplementaries in Pahlavi script. These commentaries from the early Sassanid era were not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the texts of the Avesta proper remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in Avestan - which was considered a sacred language. Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... The Pazend or Pazand language is a reduction of the middle Persian language, sanctified by the removal or replacement (with Iranian language equivalents) of loan words that had been borrowed from Semitic languages such as Arabic. ... The Pahlavi script was used broadly in the Sasanid Persian Empire to write down Middle Persian for secular, as well as religious purposes. ... The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... A sacred language is a language, frequently a dead language, that is cultivated for religious reasons by people who speak another language in their daily life. ...

The use of the expression Zend-Avesta to refer to the Avesta, or the use of Zend as the name of a language or script, are relatively recent and popular mistakes. In 1759, Anquetil-Duperron reported having been told that Zend was the name of the language of the more ancient writings. In his third discourse, published in 1798, Sir William Jones mentions a conversation with a Hindu priest who told him that the script was called Zend, and the language Avesta. 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron (December 7, 1731 - January 17, French orientalist, brother of Louis-Pierre Anquetil, the historian, was born in Paris. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (September 28, 1746 – April 27, 1794) was an English philologist and student of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages. ...

The confusion then became too universal in Western scholarship to be reversed, and Zend-Avesta, although a misnomer, is still occasionally used to denote the older texts.

Rask's seminal work, A Dissertation on the Authenticity of the Zend Language (Bombay, 1821), may have contributed to the confusion. N. L. Westergaard's Zendavesta, or the religious books of the Zoroastrians (Copenhagen, 1852-54) only propagated the error.

Structure and content

In its present form, the Avesta is a compilation from various sources, and its different parts date from different periods and vary widely in character.

The 21 nasks mirror the structure of the 21-word-long Ahuna Vairya prayer: each of the three lines of the prayer consists of seven words. Correspondingly, the nasks are divided into three groups, of seven volumes per group. Originally, each volume had a word of the prayer as its name, which so marked a volume’s position relative to the other volumes. Only about a quarter of the text from the nasks has survived until today.

The contents of the Avesta, that is, the contents of the nasks supplemented by other (semi-)theological texts, are generally divided into five categories. This divisions are topical (even though the organization of the nasks is not) and are by no means fixed or canonical. Some scholars prefer to place the five categories in two groups, the one liturgical, and the other general.

The texts are preserved in two languages: the more ancient in the Avestan language, the oldest attested Indo-Iranian language still very closely related to Sanskrit and the younger texts in Middle Persian with Pahlavi script. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... The Pahlavi script was used broadly in the Sasanid Persian Empire to write down Middle Persian for secular, as well as religious purposes. ...

The Yasna

Yasna 28.1 (Bodleian MS J2)

• The Yasna (middle Persian yazišn "worship, oblations", cognate with Sanskrit yajña), is the primary liturgical collection. It consists of 72 sections called the Ha-iti or Ha. The 72 threads of lamb’s wool in the Kusti, the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians, represent these sections. The Yasna includes all of the 21st nask (the seventh and last volume in the third and last group), which in turn includes the Gathas, the oldest and most sacred portion of the Avesta, and believed to have composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. The Gathas are structurally interrupted by the Yasna Haptanghāiti ("seven-chapter Yasna"), which makes up chapters 35-42 of the Yasna and is almost as old as the Gathas, consists of prayers and hymns in honour of the Supreme Deity, Ahura Mazda, the Angels, Fire, Water, and Earth. The structure of the Yasna, though handed down in prose, may once have been metrical. Six of the nasks from the first group of nasks, which are commentaries on the Gathas, also belong to the Yasna category.

Download high resolution version (930x503, 94 KB)Bodleian Library, MS J2 fol. ... Download high resolution version (930x503, 94 KB)Bodleian Library, MS J2 fol. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... In Hinduism, Yajña यज्ञ (Sanskrit yajñá worship, prayer, praise; offering, oblation, sacrifice) is a Vedic ritual of sacrifice performed to please the Devas, or sometimes to the Supreme Spirit Brahman. ... The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... Zoroaster, in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. ... The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ...

The Visparad

• The Visparad (middle Persian vîspe ratavo, "all lords") is a collection of supplements to the Yasna. The Visparad is subdivided into 23 karda (sections, singular: kardo), which deal with a description of the angels, and the worship thereof.

Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ...

The Yashts

• The Yašts (yešti, "worship by praise"), of which there are twenty-four, are hymns in honour of various divinities, many of whom also have days of the month dedicated to them (see Zoroastrian calendar). The hymns are an important source of Persian mythology, and were incorporated by Ferdowsi, with due acknowledgement, in his Shahnameh epic. Among the divinities to whom special Yašts are devoted we find Ardvi Sura, the goddess of waters; Tishtrya, the star Sirius; Mithra, the divinity of light and truth; Fravaši, the guardian spirits; Verethragna, the genius of victory; and the Kavaya Hvarenah, "kingly glory", the divine light illuminating the ancient kings. The Yašts are for the most part metrical in structure, and some hymns show considerable poetic merit, an attribute that is not common in the Avesta texts. The older Hôm Yašt is part of the Yasna and is not counted among the twenty-four Yašts.

The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith, and it is an approximation of the (tropical) solar calendar. ... The beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Iranian Plateau and its borderlands, as well as areas of Central Asia from the Black Sea to Khotan (modern Ho-tien, China), form Persian mythology. ... Ferdowsi Tousi (فردوسی طوسی in Persian) (more commonly transliterated Firdausi, Ferdosi or Ferdusi) (935–1020) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night-time sky, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ... This article is about the Zoroastrian yazata Mithra (Miθra). ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

The Vendidad

• The Vendidad (corruption of Avestan Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, "Given Against the Demons") is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. The Vendidad includes all of the 19th nask, which is the only nask that has survived in its entirety. The text consists of 22 Fargards, fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. The first fargard is a dualistic account of creation, followed by the description of a destructive winter on the lines of the deluge of mythology. The second fargard recounts the legend of Yima (Jamshid). The remaining fargards deal primarily with hygiene (care of the dead in particular) [fargard 3,5,6,7,8,9,10,16,17,19] as well as disease and spells to fight it [7,10,11,13,20,21,22]. Fargards 4 and 15 discuss the dignity of wealth and charity, of marriage and of physical effort, and the indignity of unacceptable social behaviour such as assault and breach of contract, and specify the penances required to atone for violations thereof. The Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual, and there is a degree of moral relativism apparent in the codes of conduct. The Vendidad's different parts vary widely in character and in age. Some parts may be comparatively recent in origin although the greater part is very old.

Yasna 28. ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all (God). ... An origin belief is any story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe (cosmogony). ... The Deluge by Gustave Doré. The story of a Great Flood sent by God or the gods to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme in myths. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other partys performance. ... This article attempts to confine itself to discussion of relativism in morality and ethics. ...

Other material

• All material in the Avesta that is not already present in one of the other four categories falls into a fifth category. This category does not have a name, and is generally considered to include shorter texts and prayers (as included in the Khordeh Avesta, see below), the five Nyaishes (worship and praise of the Sun, Moon, Mithra, Water, and Fire), the Sirozeh and the Afringans (blessings).

The Khordeh Avesta

The Khordeh Avesta, literally meaning 'abridged Avesta', or 'a selection of Avesta prayers', is a selection of texts from the Yasna, Visparad and Yasht, as well as minor texts and brief prayers, such as the five Nyaishes. The collection, taken together, is considered the prayer book for general daily use.

Other Zoroastrian religious texts

Although the Avesta is by far the most important of the Zoroastrian theological texts, other works, in both middle and modern Persian, are also included in the sacred canon. The most notable among the early middle Persian texts are the Dēnkard ("Acts of Religion"), dating from the 9th century; Bundahishn, ("Original Creation"), finished in the 11th or 12th century, but containing older material such as the nasks; the Mainog-i-Khirad ("Spirit of Wisdom"), a religious conference on questions of faith, and the Arda Viraf Namak ("Book of Arda Viraf"), a sort of Zoroastrian Divina Commedia, which is especially important because of its account of the Persian ideas concerning the future life. Later Zoroastrian literature in modern Persian include the Zartushtnamah ("Book of Zoroaster"), the Sad-dar ("Hundred Doors, or Chapters"), and the Rivayats (traditional treatises). The Denkard is the largest encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in 9th century. ... The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text which describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian through the next world. ... ...

Legends

At the time of Alexander's invasion of Persia in 330 BCE, the palace library of Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty, encompassed some 12,000 volumes (not necessarily of a religious nature) in the Gathic Avestan language. According to the Book of Arda Viraf, a work composed in the 3rd or 4th century CE, the religious and semi-religious texts were inscribed in gold ink on parchment. During the looting of Persepolis by Alexander's League troops, a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. It is not known if this was a drunken accident or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the (first) Parthenon during the second Greco-Persian War. According to the Shatroiha-i Airan, the palace library was lost in the fire, and although this text specifically names the Avesta among the destroyed works, this latter assertion is doubtful since the Avesta is thought to not have existed in written form until much later. Equally doubtful is a Zoroastrian legend in which Alexander commanded the Avesta be thrown into the river Zeravshan near Samarkand. It was not until the second century CE, during the reign of Volgash (presumed to be the Parthian king Vologases IV), that any attempt was made to reconstruct the contents of the library from other sources. Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Αλέξανδρος[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC — June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering most of his known world before his death. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 335 BC 334 BC 333 BC 332 BC 331 BC - 330 BC - 329 BC 328 BC 327... Darius III (near middle) battling Alexander the Great (far left) Darius III or Codomannus (c. ... The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text which describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian through the next world. ... The Common Era (CE or C.E.), sometimes known as the Current Era or Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. ... Xerxes (the Greek form of the Persian Khshayārsha) is the name of two Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty: Xerxes I, reigned 485–465 BC. Xerxes II, reigned 424 BC. Xerxes may also refer to: Xerxes, an Armenian king, killed about 212 BC by Antiochus III the Great. ... The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Combatants Greek city states, particularly Athens and Sparta Persian Empire Commanders Miltiades Themistocles Leonidas I Pausanias Kimon Pericles Mardonius Datis Artaphernes Xerxes I Megabyzus The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC... The Zeravshan or Zarafshan river, whilst smaller and less well-known than the two great rivers of Central Asia, the Oxus or Amu-Darya and the Jaxartes or Syr-Darya, is if anything more valuable as a source of irrigation in the region. ... , Colour photograph of a Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ... The Common Era (CE or C.E.), sometimes known as the Current Era or Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. ... Parthia[1] (Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân), situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as the modern countries of Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain... Coin of Vologases IV. The reverse shows the throned king receiving a diadem from Tyche. ...

References

Bibliography

• Ilya Gershevitch, Approaches to Zoroaster's Gathas, Iran 33, 1995
• Gherardo Gnoli, Zoroaster in History, New York 2000

External links

• avesta.org: Translations of the Avesta texts
• The Avesta (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• The Avesta at LIVIUS
• Avesta entry in the Encyclopedia Iranica

Passages in this article incorporate text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11...