Zoroastrianism states that for the righteous souls, a beautiful maiden, which is the personification of the soul's good thoughts, words and deeds, appears.

In later Zoroastrianism this was explained as fleeing from the experiences of life, which was the very purpose that the urvan ( most commonly translated as the ' soul ') was sent into the mortal world to collect.

In the original conception of Zoroastrianism, for example, Ahura Mazda was the spirit of ultimate good, while Ahriman ( Angra Mainyu ) was the spirit of ultimate evil.

Millennialism is also a doctrine of medieval Zoroastrianism concerning successive thousand-year periods, each of which will end in a cataclysm of heresy and destruction, until the final destruction of evil and of the spirit of evil by a triumphant king of peace at the end of the final millennial age ( supposed by some to be the year 2000 ).

Satan as a " deceiver " parallels to the evil spirit in Zoroastrianism, known as the Lie, who directs forces of darkness.

These were another mobed named Zardusht ( of the same name, but not the same person as the founder of Zoroastrianism ) and / or a Zoroastrian philosopher known as Mazdak the Elder, who taught a combination of altruism and hedonism: " he directed his followers to enjoy the pleasures of life and satisfy their appetite in the highest degree with regard to eating and drinking in the spirit of equality, to aim at good deeds ; to abstain from shedding blood and inflicting harm on others ; and to practice hospitality without reservation ".

Thus, central to Zoroastrianism is the emphasis on moral choice, to choose between the responsibility and duty for which one is in the mortal world, or to give up this duty and so facilitate the work of druj.

* Religious impact: Fishing has had an effect on all major religions, including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and the various new age religions.

While there is no absolute consensus on the kings before Darius, such as Cyrus and Cambyses, it is well established that Darius was an adherent of Zoroastrianism or at least a firm believer in Ahura Mazda.

In church matters, as in philosophy, the two were opposed — Pletho advocated a partial return to Greek paganism in the form of a syncretic union between Christianity and Zoroastrianism ; while Georgios, more cautious, pressed the necessity for ecclesiastical union with Rome on doctrinal grounds, and was instrumental in drawing up a form which from its vagueness and ambiguity might be accepted by both parties.

Nietzsche achieves all of this through the character of Zarathustra ( referring to the traditional prophet of Zoroastrianism ), who makes speeches on philosophic topics as he moves along a loose plotline marking his development and the reception of his ideas.

Photius mentions that Theodore wrote three books on " Persian Magic ", which not only attacked Zoroastrianism, but according to Photius betrayed his " Nestorian " views in the third book, and defended belief in the final restoration of all men.

* Mary Boyce ( 1920 – 2006 ), British scholar of Iranian languages, and an authority on Zoroastrianism

Ferdowsi's work draws heavily, with attribution, on the stories and characters of Mazdaism and Zoroastrianism, not only from the Avesta, but from later texts such as the Bundahishn and the Denkard as well as many others.

* Khurramites, a 9th century religious and political movement based on the 8th century teachings of Sunpadh, who preached a syncretism of Shia Islam and Zoroastrianism.

Although the movement is considered to have its roots in Zoroastrianism, Behafarid and his followers were executed on charges ( made by Zoroastrians ) of harm to both Zoroastrianism and Islam.

* ( 1400 BC to 600 BC )-Zoroastrianism: where the first prophet of a monotheistic faith arose according to some scholars, claiming Zoroastrianism as being " the oldest of the revealed credal religions, which has probably had more influence on mankind directly or indirectly, more than any other faith ".

* Zend-Avesta or Zand-Avesta: the commentaries (" Zend ", or " Zand ") on primary sacred texts of Zoroastrianism ( see Avesta )

The Epistles of Manushchihr ( Minocher ) are a response to comments made by the author's brother on the subject of purification in Zoroastrianism.

Back in Britain, Zaehner took up again his academic research on Zoroastrianism, while also continuing his work as an MI6 officer.

Initially his reputation rested for the most part on his studies of Zoroastrianism, notably his book, Zurvan, a Zoroastrian dilemma ( 1955 ), an original scholarly discussion of the theological deviation from the stark Zoroastrian dualism promoted by the newly ascendant Sasanian dynasty.

Nora Elisabeth Mary Boyce ( 2 August 1920, Darjeeling – 4 April 2006 ) was a British scholar of Iranian languages, and an authority on Zoroastrianism.

The results of her research there were formative to her understanding of Zoroastrianism and she discovered that much of the previously established scholarship on the ancient faith was terribly misguided.

In 1992, she published Zoroastrianism: Its Antiquity and Constant Vigour as part of the Columbia Lectures on Iranian Studies which she had delivered there in 1985.

Especially the Luwian pantheon exerted a strong influence on the ancient Greek religion, while Assyro-Babylonian religion influenced Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism and Judaism.

Historians of Islam have sometimes considered the Barmakids to have been Zoroastrian priests before converting to Islam, an erroneous view based on the fact that Balkh was known as an important centre of Zoroastrianism, or from a simple failure of early

According to non-Orthodox Jews and critical historians, Jewish law too has been affected by surrounding cultures ( for example, some scholars argue that the establishment of absolute monotheism in Judaism was a reaction against the dualism of Zoroastrianism that Jews encountered when living under Persian rule ; Jews rejected polygamy during the Middle Ages, influenced by their Christian neighbors ).

In Zoroastrianism, good transpires for those who do righteous deeds.

In Zoroastrianism, the priesthood is reserved for men and is a mostly hereditary position.

A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians.

Ahura Mazda ( Persian: اهورا مزدا ; Ahura Mazdā ), ( also known as Athura Mazda, Athuramazda, Aramazd, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hourmazd, Hormazd, Hurmuz, and Azzandara ) is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism.

However another reason for why this may be is that, in Manichaeism, the religions of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Buddhism were in fact deviations of the true religion that Mani taught and in a way they were the same religion, hence making it easier to identify the cosmological figures of Mani with the cosmological figures of Zoroastrianism.

Conder's work still adheres to the four-way classification, but in his eye for detail he puts together much historical work to create something resembling our modern Western image: he includes Druze, Yezidis, Mandeans, and Elamites under a list of possibly monotheistic groups, and under the final category, of " polytheism and pantheism ", he lists Zoroastrianism, " Vedas, Puranas, Tantras, Reformed sects " of India as well as " Brahminical idolatry ", Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Lamaism, " religion of China and Japan ", and " illiterate superstitions ".

What Westerners referred to as Nestorian Christianity flourished for hundreds of years, until Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty adopted anti-religious measures in 845, expelling Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism and confiscating their considerable assets.

It was once the center of Zoroastrianism and subsequently also a home for Buddhists and Hindus kings.

Through Isaac's efforts the churches and monasteries destroyed by the Persians were rebuilt, education was cared for in a generous way, Zoroastrianism which Shah Yazdegerd I tried to set up was cast out, and three councils held to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline.

" In Zoroastrianism those who oppose conversion as being against the religious tradition generally deem themselves to be a force for " traditional values.

Such name roots back to the " Zoroastrianism " era of Persia ( Iran ); However after the Arab invasion of Persia ( Iran ) many Persian words lost their original form as in Arabic there are no letter for pronouncing " G / P / ZH / CH "; Hence " Azar Paigān " came to be known as Azarbaijan.

Zoroastrianism, another of Jaspers ' examples, is crucial to the development of monotheism -- although Jaspers uses the Seleucid-era estimate for the founding of Zoroastrianism, which is actually the date of Cyrus ' unification of Persia.

Zoroastrianism was the national faith of Iran for more than a millennium before the Arab conquest.

A possible source for the Greek hylozoists was the Persian philosopher Zarathushtra, founder of the religion of Zoroastrianism.

Zahedan and the area of Sistan has a very strong connection with Zoroastrianism and during Sassanid times Lake Hamun was one of two pilgrimage sites for followers of that religion.

He claimed that Abu Muslim was a prophet who was sent to reform Zoroastrianism, thus starting one of many movements claiming prophethood or divinity for Abu Muslim.

The concept, as well as the philosophical and theological consequences drawn from the purported existence of a more or less clearly defined summum bonum, could be traced back to the earliest forms of monotheism: for instance, Zoroastrianism and Judaism.