C HAPTER ONE

The background

Introduction

/ Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and" it h:;:;-�'

probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly,
!

than any other single faith . In its own right it was the state religion of
three great Iranian empires, which flourished almost continually
from the sixth century B . C. to the seventh century A . C . , and
dominated much of the Near and Middle East. Iran's power and
wealth lent it immense prestige, and some of its leading doctrines!
were adopted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as by a host !
of Gnostic faiths, while in the East it had some influence on the "(
deye!opment of northern Buddhism . Today external forces have \
reduced the Zoroastrians themselves to tiny scattered minoritie 0
living mostly in Iran and India; but beliefs first taught by their
;
prophet are still subscribed to by other peoples throughout the
!
i world. "'-
\ Zoroastrianism was already old when it first enters recorded
Lhistory; and it has its roots in a very distant past. Indeed, so tenacious
are the Iranians of tradition that there are elements in living Zoro­
astrianism which go back, it seems, to Indo-European times. These
elements, blended with later revealed doctrines, make it a richly
complex faith, knowledge of which increases understanding of man's
spiritual progress over millennia. It is also a noble one, with some

I
 The background

unique and remarkable doctrines, which has been able to give its
adherents purposeful and satisfying lives, awaking in them deep
devotion. It is thus fully deserving of study for its own sake, as well as
for its place in man's religious history.
Zoroastrianism has been so named in the West because its prophet,
Zarathushtra, was known to the ancient Greeks as Zoroaster. He was
an Iranian, and lived in what for his people were prehistoric times. It
is impossible, therefore, to establish fixed dates for his life ; but there
is evidence to suggest that he flourished when the Stone Age was
giving way for the Iranians to the Bronze Age, possibly, that is,
between about 1 700 and 1 500 B . C.

The Indo-lranians
In still remoter times the ancestors of both the Iranians and the
Indians had formed one people, identified as the proto-Indo­
Iranians. They were a branch of the Indo-European family of nations ,
and they lived, it is thought, as pastoralists on the south Russian
steppes, to the east of the Volga. They were, it seems, semi­
migratory, herding their cattle, sheep and goats over limited areas on
foot with the help of dogs (for the horse had not yet been tamed) .
Their society was divided into three main groups: priests , warriors
(who would also have been hunters), and herdsmen. The demands of
life on the steppes allowed little room for development or change ; and
during centuries of this slow, stable way of existence - perhaps from
the fourth to the third millennium B . C. - the proto-Indo-Iranians
forged a religious tradition of immense strength, so that to this day
elements from it are preserved by their descendants, the Brahmans of
India and the Zoroastrians of Iran.
Eventually - it is thought early in the third millennium - the
proto-Indo-Iranians drifted apart, to become ident{fi�ble by speech
as two distinct peoples, the Indians and Iranians . They were still
pastoralists ; and they had contact, presumably through trade, with
the settled peoples to the south of them . From Mesopotamia they
learnt the use first of wooden carts pulled by oxen, and then 6f the
war-chariot. To draw these chariots they lassoed and tamed the wild
horses of the steppes; and at about the same time bronze came into
use. The mountains flanking the Inner Asian steppes - notably the
Altai -contained rich deposits of copper and tin; and so the steppe­
dwellers were able to equip themselves formidably as fighting-men.

2
The old Iranian word for 'warrior' was 'nar', which also means simply
'man'; but as the use of the war-chariot spread, this was replaced by a
new word, 'rathaeshtar', literally 'one who stands in a chariot'. With
the horse-drawn chariot the old way of life seems to have given place
to a more restless, dangerous one, a typical 'heroic age', in which
chieftains and their followers set out in quest of gain and glory, and
were as ready to raid a neighbouring tribe as to pillage alien settle­
ments. In an ancient verse in the Zoroastrian scriptures supernatural
spirits are said to contend 'even as a mighty chariot-warrior should
fight, having girt on his sword-belt, for his well-gotten treasure' (Yt
1 3.67)' Sometimes the warrior's booty consisted of herds of cattle,
carried off by force; and the fame of a great champion had to be paid
for with the blood of the slain, and the sufferings of the weak and
unprotected. It was during this turbulent and restless age, it seems,
when might ruled rather than law, that Zoroaster lived, and sought a
revelation of the purpose of man's troubled days on earth.
Zoroaster himself was a priest; and to understand the nature of his
revelation it is necessary to learn what one can of the old religion
which nurtured him. Fortunately much can be discovered through a
comparison of the most ancient elements in the Zoroastrian scriptures
and cult with the oldest religious works of India (notably the Rigveda)
and the Brahmanic rituals . The Zoroastrian scriptures are known
collectively as the 'Avesta' (a title which probably means something
like 'Authoritative Utterance'); and the language in which they are
composed is called simply 'Avestan', since it is known only from this
source. By comparing these diverse materials one can reconstruct the
essentials of the proto-Indo-Iranian faith, and trace some of the
subsequent developments among the Iranians before Zoroaster
himself was born.

The old religion

THE C U LT

Cult, it is generally admitted, is more enduring than theology, and the

basic objects of the Zoroastrian cult are still those of the ancient Stone
Age pastoralists, namely water and fire. Water made life on the
steppes possible (they had been barren desert, it is held, down to the
fifth millennium B . C . , through lack of rain); and the proto-Indo­
Iranians .eersonified the wat�rs a�<2-ddesses, the�<ls , praying to

3
 The background

them and offering them libations (called in Avestan 'zaothra', a word

which came to mean 'offering' in general). In Zoroastrianism the
libation to the waters consists essentially of three ingredients��!lle!y
milk and the sap or leaves of two plants . The number three was a
sacred one for the proto-Indo-Iranians, and still regulates many
Zoroastrian and Brahmanic observances. In the libation the three
ingredients represent the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which are
nourished by water; and so, consecrated by prayer, the zaothra was
believed to return to that element the vital force which it had given
out, and thus keep it itself pure and abundant. As in traditional
Zoroastrianism, the libation was probably made regularly of old by
each household to the nearest pool or spring, as well as forming part
of the priestly rites.
The other chief cult object, fire, was also essential for the steppe­
dwellers, the source of warmth in the bitter winters, and the means of
cooking the meat which (whether from wild or domestic animals) was
the staple of their diet. In ancient times, when it was a labour to light a
fire, it was prudent to keep a hearth fire always burning (the live
embers could be carried in a pot on migration) ; and a cult of ever­
burning fire seems to have been widespread among the Indo­
Europeans, who saw a divinity in its flames . The Brahmans knew him
by the old name of Agni (cognate with Latin 'ignis'), but the Zoro­
astrians called him Atar. They made a threefold offering also to fire,
consisting of clean dry fuel, incense (such as the dried leaves of herbs),
and a small portion of animal fat. (It was this third offering ;hich in
particular was called the zaothra to fire.) Thus fire, like water, was
strengthened by two offerings from the plant world, and one from the
animal one. Fuel and incense were probably given thrice daily, at the
times ordained for prayer (sunrise, noon and sunset), while the
zaothra of fat was presumably offered whenever the family had meat
to cook, of which the fire thus received its share. By this it was visibly
strengthened, as the melti�gl.at m��i�s._ga!E_��):>laze up .
The offerings to fire and water formed the basis also of the daily
priestly act of worship, called by the Iranians the 'yasna'; by Indians
the 'yajiia' (from the verbal root yaz- 'sacrifice, worship'). At this
service the zaothra to fire was obtained from the blood sacrifice,
which was evidently regularly made. The Indo-Iranians felt a sense of
awe and danger at taking life, and never did so without consecrating
the act by prayer, whereby, they believed, the creature's spirit was
enabled to live on. There was a strong sense of kinship between man