Mazdaism (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

: Մազդէականութիւն) ( Persian: آیین مزدایی ) is a religion that arose in

western Iran Western Iran consists of Armenian Highlands, northern Zagros and the rich agricultural area of the Khuzestan Plain in the south. It includes the provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah Province, Kermanshah, Ilam Province, Ilam, Lorestan, and Hamadan ...

, Afghanistan, and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

beginning in the early centuries of the first millennium, Or much earlier, as it is considered the religion of the Medes and Turya people, some researchers believe that Zoroastrianism emerged from it due to Zoroaster's reforms. Unlike

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

, in Mazdaism

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

is one of the gods, equal to Mithra.

Definition of Mazdaism

Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin said that Mazdaism was an ancient Iranian religion predating Zoroastrianism, centered on the worship of Ahura Mazda, but lacking the ethical dualism that Zarathustra would later introduce.

Ahura Mazda

The worship of

, as some Zoroastrian historians believe, was not originated by Zoroaster, but existed before the prophet's message, According to Robert Zahner, pre-Zoroastrian Ahura was undoubtedly also associated with the concept of truth or the idea of some kind of "universal order," as well as with water, light, or the sun. Emile Benveniste points out that Ahura Mazda is a very ancient deity and that the Zoroastrians used this name to refer to the Zoroastrian god. Even the central role assigned to this god in Mazdaism is not a Zoroastrian innovation, the title Mazdaism (worshipper of Mazda) found in Aramaic papyri from the Achaemenid period cannot be evidence that the Achaemenids were Zoroastrian, and the mention of the name Ahura Mazda in stone inscriptions is not evidence of this either, in the Achaemenid inscriptions, not only is Zoroastrianism not mentioned, but nothing else is mentioned that could give these inscriptions a Zoroastrian signal. Long before

Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...

, the Iranians had specific religious beliefs and worshipped

as a great god. In the

Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription (also Bisotun, Bisitun or Bisutun; , Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the place of god") is a multilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions, Achaemenid royal inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun i ...

, Darius only mentions Ahura Mazda as "the greatest of the gods." Ahura Mazda's name appears 69 times in Behistun, and Darius claims to be under Ahura Mazda's protection 34 times. Darius did not claim that Ahura Mazda was the only existing god. Darius also did not mention Ahura Mazda's great rival Angremenu. Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin wrote: “It seems easier to believe that the Achaemenids had never heard of Zoroaster, nor of his religious reforms". Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob wrote: "In the Achaemenid era, the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

s did not have a Zoroastrian religion, nor did they have a royal family, considering the role that the Mongols played in performing Persian religious ceremonies, and considering that the Achaemenid and dynastic religion could not conflict with the beliefs of the common classes of the Persian clans. It is clear that the Zoroastrian religion had not yet had an influence among the Persians during these periods".

Trends

Turya religion

The northern branch of Mazdaism is known in modern historical studies as Turanism. Turanism is an ethnic name for a group mentioned in the Avesta and named after the region of Turan but the Turanians are not mentioned in historical records of the first millennium BC. Achaemenid sources consistently use the term "

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

" to refer to the nomads of the northern steppes, while Greek authors often refer to them as "

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

." However, scholars like Mary Boyce agree that the Turanians were Iranian steppe nomads living in the Eurasian steppes north of the ancient Iranians.

Sogdias religion

Kersi B. Shroff, Attorney-at-Law, is a Founding-member and Past-President of the Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Washington. Mentioned Scholars consider the Sogdian religious practice to be a polytheistic form of Mazdaism distinct from the later reformist one, although Kersi describes them as Zoroastrians, he acknowledges that they practiced a different version of Zoroastrianism that was polytheistic, not monotheistic

Medes religion

Some researchers believe that it seems likely that the people of Media practiced a Mazdaism-type religion in the two centuries preceding the Achaemenid period, The practice of a Mazdaism religion in Media during the Achaemenid,

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

, and Parthian periods is, however, attested by Greek accounts. Thus, a temple dedicated to the great Iranian goddess Anahita at

Ecbatana Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...

, mentioned by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, who reports its construction by the Achaemenid king

Artaxerxes II Arses (; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( ; ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II () and his mother was Parysatis. Soon after his accession, Ar ...

, is still mentioned in the Parthian period by Polybius and Isidore of Carax. The latter mentions another great temple to this goddess (whom he likens to the Greek Artemis) in Media, at Kangavar, the ruins of which have been excavated .

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, a Roman historian of the 1st century BC, referring to the ancient Greek historian of the 5th century BC, Herodotus, mentions ritual prostitution and tells us that the Medes, who served in the temples of Anahita:''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

'' 14 - 16

Definition of Mazdaism

Ahura Mazda

Trends

Turya religion

Sogdias religion

Medes religion

See also

References

Further reading