It encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological. A section of this avesta is known as the khordehavesta which read more and download pdf. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Centuries before dantes divine comedy, the book of arda viraf described in vivid. Sometimes called the official religion of ancient persia, zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than buddhism, older than judaism, and far older than christianity or islam. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. The religious texts of the zoroastrian faith of ancient persia are referred to as the. This encyclopaedia covers zoroastrianism, judaism, and islam, and how the religious life in india has been. In zoroastrian scriptures, ahura mazda is described as full of luster, full of glory, and hence his luminous creationsfire, sun, stars, and light. Judaism vs zoroastrianism difference and comparison diffen. How did zoroastrianism influence judaism, christianity.
Apr 26, 2020 khordeh avesta khordeh avesta bamayeni. I used this book in my research for zoroastrian influence of judaism then in turn christianity and islam. Zoroastrianism and judaism have ties that were knotted many centuries before christianity appeared on the religious stage of this planet. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. The development of zoroastrianism preceded judaism by some 700 years.
It was probably founded some time before the 6th century bce in persia iran. Followers of judaism believe in one god who revealed himself through ancient prophets. Compare and contrast zoroastrianism and judaism essay. The description of zoroastrianism reflects the authors personal. In summery, zoroastrianism and the persians were friendly with judaism and caused profound changes within the faith. The case of zoroastrianism, judaism, and christianity jstor. Christianity is the son of judaism and islam is the stepbrother of christianity so whatever the father teaches, the child will pick a bit of it up. Zoroastrianism, the ancient pre islamic religion of iran that survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in india, where the descendants of zoroastrian iranian persian immigrants are known as parsis, or parsees. Zoroastrianisms influence on judaism, christianity, islam. Zoroastrianism, once the dominant religion of ancient persia, has been all but wiped off the face of the planet today. The mobeds and herbeds were the levites and kohanim of zoroastrianism. Judaism and zoroastrianism are both revealed religions and share a great deal in common. Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen in the late second millennium b. Why is zoroastrianism considered to be older than judaism.
Judaism is the worlds oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. The most important are the tanakh and talmud, but there are thousands of jewish religious books. The adjective magian describes a group of related religions derived from the thoughts of the prophet zoroaster. The earlier volume in this series dealt with two religions of indian origin, namely, buddhism and jainism. The chronological comparation of zoroastrianism and judaism is complicated due to several reasons. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran. Judaism is considered by religious jews to be the expression of the covenant that god established with the children of israel. It has a special significance, being the supreme symbol of god and the divine life.
Zoroastrianism has considerable historical importance because of its geographical position astride the routes between east and west, and also because of its profound influence on judaism, christianity, and islam, especially in regard to beliefs on heaven, hell, resurrection of the dead and the final judgement. Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet zoroaster also known as zarathustra, in avestan. Apr 11, 2007 zoroastrianism is a founding belief system acknowledged to have heavily influenced both abrahamic judaism, christianity, islam and dharmic hinduism, buddhism, jainism and sikhism religions. The case of zoroastrianism, judaism, and christianity james barr it is customary to connect certain phenomena of the later old testament and of postbiblical judaism with iranian influence. Religion a thousand years of the persian book exhibitions. Its possible zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions founded in ancient. The development within jewish religion of such matters as angels, dualism, eschatology, and.
An introduction by jenny rose, demons of the flesh. Zoroastrianism was the original of all the truly universal religions, which toynbee saw working in history. Thus religious life in india has been enlivened throughout its history by the presence of religions of foreign origin on its soil almost from the very time they came into existence. Pdf a history of zoroastrianism download full pdf book. The zoroastrian way of life has markedly influenced the early hebrew religious fabric. If you research these two religions more deeply, you will find many more. These are just a few judaism and zoroastrianism similarities. Judaism is my vote, since they have been around to help construct the pyramids of egypt back in 2000 bc or so. God imparts his revelation and pronounces his commandments to zoroaster on the mountain of the two holy communing ones.
In religious matters the priesthood was supreme in authority, and the sacerdotal order was hereditary. The obscure religion that shaped the west bbc culture. But judaism rejected persian dualism of a devil that ruled world to be defeated by a god sent savior. The most important texts of the religion are those of the avesta, which. Which religion is older, zoroastrianism or judaism. Although i realize that israelite religion began in the 1800s bce, various doctrines of judaism, such as general resurrection, messiah. The term zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with mazdaism the worship of ahura mazda, exalted by zoroaster as the supreme divine authority. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The primary holy book of the jewish faith is known as the torah, which comprises the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy.
It is one of only two festivals mentioned by zoroaster in the avesta, the only holy zoroastrian scriptures written by zoroaster himself. Oct 02, 2009 zoroastrianism at a glance zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Zoroaster forgotten prophet of the one god judaism the. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran approximately 3500 years ago. Is zoroastrianism the oldest religion in the world. Syncretism and the zoroastrian influence on judaism. Differences between jews and zoroastrians difference between. Zoroastrianism is a founding belief system acknowledged to have heavily influenced both abrahamic judaism, christianity, islam and dharmic hinduism, buddhism, jainism. So to sum it up, zoroastrianism influenced the abrahamic faiths enormously, whether it be parallels in laws, worship of divinity, and a divine plan that is in motion to restore order to the universe.
World religion zoroastrianism, judaism, christianity test. According to historians like peter stearns and marc jason gilbert, zoroaster lived between. Nov 06, 2015 though zoroastrianism was never as aggressively monotheistic as judaism or islam, it does represent an original attempt at unifying under the worship of one supreme god a polytheistic religion comparable to those of the ancient greeks, latins, indians, and other early peoples. Zoroastrianism and judaism and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Zoroastrianism is a preislamic iranian religion and one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Starting from the first civilizations in sumer and ur to the vast metropolitans of today like new york and london, religion has been around and played a key part in lives of people. Of those few remaining, the plurality 70,000 live in india and are known as. The identity of the religions, strongly suggests that the exiles brought back with them the zoroastrian traditions, including the erection of a temple, which was carried. Religion has been a major focal point in any society and in any culture. First taught among nomads on the asian steppes, zoroastrianism became the state religion of the three great iranian empires and had a remarkable influence on other world faiths. Islam, judaism, and zoroastrianism zayn kassam springer. Although the exact date zoroastrianism was founded is unknown, archaeological evidence and linguistic comparisons with the hindu text rig veda suggest that it emerged around 12001500 bce. Both zoroastrianism and judaism are revealed religions. The founder of zoroastrianism was zoroaster zarathustra haechataspa who lived from 660 to 583 bc in the area that is now part of western iran although some claim that his birthplace is todays azerbaijan.
Gier, theology bluebook, chapter 12 zoroastrian influences on late judaism was pervasive, profound, and continues with us today. The oldest zoroastrian religious scripture, as preserved at present, is known as the avesta. Compare and contrast zoroastrianism and judaism essay 383 words. This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by zoroaster down to the present day a span of about 3,500 years. This volume covers three such religionszoraoastrianism, judaism, and islam. The first encounter between the ancient peoples who developed historical judaism and the persian religious ideas of zoroastrianism seems to have come either during or shortly after the captivity. According to the tradition in the parsee books, zoroaster was born in 660 b.
Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. Zoroastrianism, ancient preislamic religion of iran that likely. A religious leader named zoroaster developed the religion that bears his namesake, zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian holidays and festivals learn religions. Fire is the major symbol in zoroastrianism and has a central role in the most important religious ceremonies. Zoroastrianism at a glance zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions.
Oct 12, 2018 for instance, when describing the 650,000 yazidi people of iraq, many of whom have been attacked and slaughtered by isis,12 12 dan scribner of the u. The name for priest, athaurvan, in the avesta corresponds to atharvan in india. This interaction produced true monotheism, a more universal god, and imparted the strict purity laws into judaism. Jul, 2010 the first encounter between the ancient peoples who developed historical judaism and the persian religious ideas of zoroastrianism seems to have come either during or shortly after the captivity. Later judaism and then christianity came to persia via mesopotamia, with. Judaism and zoroastrianism similarities 6 important. Zoroaster forgotten prophet of the one god judaism. What are the similarities between hinduism, judaism. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. Modern zoroastrian priest wearing mouth cover while tending a temple fire. In a world of seven billion people, roughly 150,000 zoroastrians make up less than onepercent of onepercent of the global population. It likely influenced the other major western religionsjudaism, christianity, and islam.
Zoroastrianism may have been the first monotheistic religion, and its emphasis on dualities, such as heaven and hell, appear in judaism. Hinduism, zoroastrianism and judaism are all systems which contains much more than just a set of religious beliefs and. There is no general title for jewish religious literature. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Due to the fact that zoroastrianism is a few hundred years older than judaism, many consider that the later borrowed some of their concepts from the older one. The teachings of zoroaster, and the philosophy of the parsi religion. The yazidi people follow an old religion which has remnants of zoroastrianism, hinduism, judaism, and christianity.
How did zoroastrianism influence judaism, christianity, and. This influence is clearly visible in the later jewish writings such as the book of. The iranian prophet and religious reformer zarathustra flourished before the 6th century bcemore widely known outside iran as zoroaster, the greek form of his nameis traditionally regarded as the founder of the religion. Zoroastrianism either began in the 1200s bce or the 500s bce. Nawruz, also spelled nowruz as well as other variants, is an ancient persian holiday celebrating the new year. To begin with, jews follow the religion known as judaism whereas the religion of zoroastrians is zoroastrianism.
320 1027 1550 1362 1604 1010 139 251 1197 1270 730 298 696 1100 204 926 487 83 817 782 1424 1086 208 1263 6 730 600 739 504 1067