The battle of Nehavend (A. D. 641) sealed the fate of Persia and of its religion. Most of its followers accepted the faith of the victor; of those who refused to forsake their ancient belief, some remained scattered throughout their native country, oppressed and despised by the proud con queror, but most of them sought refuge in India. where they established flourishing communities, and where their descendants, the Parsecs, are found even at the present day. The most uumer ous of these communities is at Bombay, contain ing upwards of ninety thousand souls. About ten thousand are scattered throughout Persia, so that the entire number of modern Zoroastrians is not more than one hundred thousand.
During its golden age under the Sassanian Em pire, Zoroastrianism was not free from sects. or from heretical movements. The heresy of Mazda]: shook for a moment the union of church and state; the powerful movement of Manichirisin is familiar to every student of philosophy.
\Vhen we now come to examine the teachings of the Avesta, we are struck by their exalted 'character. If we except our own Bible. it would not be easy to find other sacred writings con taining a more clear idea of right and wrong. a more strenuous insistence on purity of body and soul, a nobler conception of a resurrection and a life hereafter, and a firmer faith in the com ing' of a Savior. For these reasons the Zoro astrian writings merit the attention, not only of the biblical or philological student, but also of everyone interested in the history of ethics and of religion.
In the development of the old Iranian faith, three stages are discernible. First. there was the pre-Zoroastrian stage, when nature and ancestor worship prevailed. The worship of the sun-god Mithra, the moon-god Mah, the star-god Tish trya, of the sacred Haoma-plant.and probably also the worship of the Fravashis, or souls of the de parted. goes back to this stage. Then came the second or Zoroastrian stage, when these elements were thrown into the background. and the faith became more spiritual, especially through the ideal conception of Dualism. The third or post Zoroastrian stage exhibited a tendency to restore some of those primitive elements to their old po sition without degrading the new ones brought in by the great reformer. The Avesta shows these stages clearly. the faith in its purity Being best reorescnted by the Gathas, of which Zoro aster himself was the author.
(2) Dualism—Angels and Demons. From
the beginning of time two principles, good and evil, have existed. Ormazd represents the good, Ahriman the evil. Unceasing warfare goes on between these two principles. Ornzazd 'flakes, Ahriman mars; the one dwells in endless light, the other in eternal darkness. But although the teaching of Zoroaster is dualistic in this respect, it is monotheistic in so far as it postulates the ul timate triumph of the good and the disappear ance of evil from the regenerated world. It also foretells the advent of the Kshathra Vairya, the "Wished-for Kingdom," and exhorts man, a free agent, to contribute to its coming by deliberately choosing the good in preference to the evil.
At the head of all the celestial host stands Ahura Ala:4a. The form of the name here given is that of the Avesta. In modern Persian it appears as Ormazd, in the ancient Persian inscriptions as Auranzazda, in Pahlavi as Auharmasd. Ahura probably means "lord," and Mazda, Skt. Med has (compare Greek root I.Lue), according to Pah lavi tradition, means "great wisdom." Herodotus tells us that the Persians had no images of the deity, and this is in keeping with the spiritual character of the religion. The soli tary picture Auramazda which is found on the rock-inscriptions of Behistan is really not Iranian, but is borrowed from Babylonian art. In the "Arda-i Viral," the " Divina Commedia " of Iran, Ormasd is described as appearing in the majesty of flame, but no definite concrete descrip tion of him is ever attempted.
Ahura Afasda is invested with lofty titles and attributes. Wisdom and power are implied in his name ; he is described also as promoting growth and progress, as beneficent and holy, as radiant, glorious and righteous, most great, most good and most fair. He is the keeper or guardian, watch ful, infallible, all knowing. His most prominent title in the Avesta is datar, "creator." All the good in the world has been created by him; it is Ile also who created the light, the earth and the plants. Ornzazd's creation is preeminently an intelligent one, and his creative wisdom is per sonified as Khratu, "Wisdom." Nor is it in the Avesta alone that the creator idea is emphasized. In the ancient Persian inscriptions the kings thank fully acknowledge Auramazda as their Creator and Preserver. All through the Pahlavi writings we meet with the epithet datar, and passages from the Greek authors may be adduced in confirma tion of the creator-idea.