Zoroastrianism's Original Texts 4: Influence on Monotheism and History

Thank you for visiting. This article is the fourth installment (the final one) in a series explaining the original texts of Zoroastrianism.

So far, I have looked at Zoroastrianism’s scripture, teaching, and worldview. In this final installment, I explain how great an influence Zoroastrianism gave to later religions, and the history that this ancient religion followed. Why a religion with so few believers is called “the hidden source of the world religions” — that reason comes into view.

For an overview map of Zoroastrianism’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.

Zoroastrianism's Original Texts: The Avesta and Good-Evil Dualismen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins-zoroastrianism/

The Influence on the Three Great Monotheisms — the Hidden Source

Zoroastrianism is called “the hidden source of the world religions” because its distinctive worldview is thought to be strongly inherited by the later Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Lining up the elements we have seen so far, one is astonished at the correspondence.

In particular, the bridge of judgment “Sirat,” which people are held to cross in Islam, resembles Zoroastrianism’s “Chinvat Bridge” astonishingly closely. The dualism opposing good and evil, the hierarchy of angels and demons, the end times and the Last Judgment, heaven and hell, and the resurrection of the dead and the appearance of the savior — these were ideas not clearly seen in the Judaism of an age older than Zoroastrianism (before the Babylonian Captivity).

An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon → A Complete History of Philosophy and ReligionView on Amazon →

Why the Influence Was Transmitted — the Babylonian Captivity and Persia

So, why were these ideas transmitted? What holds the key is the meeting of the ancient Persian Empire and the Jews.

In the 6th century BC, the Jews had their state destroyed by Neo-Babylonia and were carried off to Babylon (the Babylonian Captivity). After that, the Persian king Cyrus II conquered Babylon and, around 538 BC, freed the Jews and allowed their return to their homeland. This King Cyrus is a Persian king held to have professed Zoroastrianism. That the Old Testament praises this pagan king Cyrus even as “the one the Lord anointed (the messiah)” was exceptional.

With this event as a turning point, the Jews were placed under Persian rule for about two centuries, and came to touch Zoroastrianism’s worldview. And in Judaism after returning from the captivity, ideas like angels, demons, the Last Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead clearly appear. Many scholars of religion see Zoroastrianism’s influence here. These ideas were in time inherited from Judaism into Christianity and Islam.

However, how far the degree of influence can be asserted needs careful discussion. One cannot conclude that everything derives from Zoroastrianism. Even so, the fact that this many ideas correspond tells of the deep connection between the two.

The Magi of the East

A surprising point of contact between Zoroastrianism and Christianity appears in the “New Testament” too. It is the “three Magi of the East,” who came, led by a star, to worship Jesus’s birth.

These “wise men” are thought to refer, in the original word, to the “Magi (magos)” — that is, the priests of Zoroastrianism. The depiction of reading the stars and sensing the savior’s birth is the very image of a Zoroastrian priest versed in astronomy. Incidentally, the etymology of the English word “magic” also traces back to these “Magi.”

Also, one of the Zoroastrian gods, “Mithra,” who governs contract and light, later spread in the Roman Empire as “Mithraism,” becoming a powerful rival of early Christianity. There is also a theory that the festival of Mithra (the sun), held around the winter solstice, relates to the date of the later Christmas (December 25), held to be a remnant of this.

The History of Zoroastrianism — the State Religion of the Persian Empire

Here, let me look back at the history that Zoroastrianism followed.

Zoroastrianism was widely believed in Achaemenid Persia, established in the 6th century BC. The famous Behistun inscription left by Darius I repeatedly engraves gratitude to Ahura Mazda. It took a blow for a time with Alexander the Great’s conquest, but was established as the state religion in Sasanian Persia (3rd–7th centuries), and the scripture the Avesta, long transmitted orally, was finally compiled in this era too. A powerful priesthood supported the state, and Zoroastrianism reached its peak.

But when, in the 7th century, the Islamic forces destroyed Sasanian Persia, the situation changed completely. Conversion to Islam gradually advanced, and Zoroastrians, by being imposed a heavy poll tax and the like, were gradually driven into a minority.

The Parsis — the Faith That Kept Living in India

To escape persecution, some Zoroastrians migrated across the sea to western India (the Gujarat region) around the 8th–10th centuries. They were called the “Parsis (meaning Persians)” locally, and built a community while keeping their own faith and sacred fire.

The Parsis later achieved great success in commerce and industry, centered on Mumbai (Bombay). The Tata Group, which built one of India’s largest corporate groups, is also of Parsi origin. Also, it is well known that the vocalist of the rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury, was of a Parsi family.

At present, Zoroastrians number about 100,000 to 200,000 worldwide. The Parsis of India and the believers remaining in Iran are their center. Even with few believers, the light of one of humanity’s oldest revealed religions is still quietly kept.

”Another Religion” Born from Zoroastrianism — Manichaeism

Zoroastrianism’s influence does not stop at the three great monotheisms alone. “Manichaeism,” founded by the prophet Mani in 3rd-century Persia, was a grand world religion that, while having Zoroastrianism’s good-evil dualism as its framework, took in even elements of Christianity and Buddhism.

Manichaeism grasped the world as a place where “light (good)” and “darkness (evil)” fiercely contend, and regarded the human soul as a fragment of light captured in the matter of darkness. It aimed to release this light through practice and return it to the original world of light. Mani positioned himself as “the final prophet” and called himself the one following Zarathushtra, the Buddha, and Jesus.

Astonishing is its spread. Manichaeism was transmitted from the Roman Empire in the west (the young Augustine too was a believer for a time) to Tang-dynasty China in the east (called “Monijiao”), and for a time became a major religion crossing Eurasia. In time it was suppressed in various lands and perished, but the fact that Zoroastrianism’s dualism, changing form, spread around the world tells of the greatness of this old religion’s influence.

To Learn More

Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.

World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon → The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon →

Conclusion

In this article, I explained in detail the influence Zoroastrianism gave to the three great monotheisms, and its history. How was it?

Zoroastrianism’s ideas — angels, demons, the Last Judgment, heaven and hell, the resurrection of the dead, and the savior — are thought to have given a deep influence to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, through the meeting with Persia after the Babylonian Captivity. The Magi of the East were one surprising point of contact.

Flourishing as the state religion of the Persian Empire, and becoming a minority with the rise of Islam, yet keeping on living as India’s Parsis — I hope you have felt the journey of Zoroastrianism, the “hidden source” of the world religions.

With this, all four articles of the Zoroastrianism original-texts series are complete.

I also explain the original texts of other mythologies and religions. For the full list, please see the Summary of the World’s Mythology and Religion Original Texts.

World Mythology & Religion: The Original Texts Explained — Complete Indexen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins/

For the strength of the gods and heroes, please also refer to this ranking article.

Mythology & Religion: TOP 100 Gods, Monsters & Heroesen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-legends-ranking-1/

I hope you’ll read the next article too.