ZO'ROAS'TER (Lat. Zoroastres, from Gk. Zwpodarpns, from Av. ZaraThatra). The prophet of ancient Iran, a representative of the faith of the Magi (q.v.), and one of the great religious teach ers of the East. The tenets of his creed are preserved in the Avesta (q.v.), in the Pahlavi literature (q.v.), and in later writings, and they are still kept up by the small community of Ghcbers (q.v.) in Persia and by the Parsis (q.v.) in Indio. The fact that Zoroaster was a his torical character, not a mythical personage. is now generally accepted. and the outlines of his life have been made comparatively clear by recent investigations.
Much uncertainty formerly prevailed regard ing his date because of the statements of some of the classical authors that he flourished six thousand years before the Christian era, but these reports were due to a misunderstanding of the Persian chronology, which recognizes the ex istence of Zoroaster's spiritual essence or un born substance at an era corresponding approxi mately to such a date in the world's history, al though his birth did not take place till a time shortly before the middle of the seventh century B.C. On the basis of the traditional chronology of the Parsis. as found in the Bundahishn and else where in Pahlavi literature, the probable dates of Zoroaster's birth and death may be reckoned as falling respectively about B.C. GO and user 553.
The etymology and precise meaning of Zoroas ter's name, Zurathushtra in the Avesta, is not wholly certain, although the last element (Av. ittra) means 'came; hut there is a dispute whether the first element signifies 'old,' 'teasing,' or 'plowing,' or has a different force. The place of his birth is now generally accepted as being in the northwestern part of Persia, Azerbaijan (q.v.), to the west of the Caspian Sea, although a great part of his religious activity must have been in Eastern Iran. Tradition makes Azerbai jan (corresponding to the A frying l'aFjak of the Avesta) the home of his father Pourushaspa, and it connects incidents of Zoroaster's early life with Lake Urumiah, which answers to Coi.eista in the Avesta, and associates the religious de votee also with Mount SavaIan. Various cities, however, are mentioned directly or indirectly as his birthplace or as connected with him, and the ancient town of Rei (Avesta Ravi, the Ithages of the Book of Tobit), near the modern Teheran, is said to have been originally the home of his mother, Dughedha. Legend has gathered a num ber of miracles about Zoroaster's birth and child hood, and tradition leaves space for a period of religious preparation from his fifteenth to his thirtieth year, when he received a revelation of the faith and came forward as an opponent and reformer of the superstitious beliefs and heresies that existed in the old creed. Seven visions of
heaven, the divine being• and the archangels were revealed to Zoroaster in the following ten years of his life. lie then is said to have undergone the final test by a temptation from the evil spirit Ahriman (q.v.). but came off triumphant from the encounter with the archfiend. If we follow tradition we may identify, with some degree of likelihood, the scenes of these supernatural and actual experiences. They tend to show that Zoroaster traveled over a considerable part of Iran. for mention is made of his having been at one time in Seistan and even in Turan. The place where he made his first convert, his cousin Maillhyoi-maonha, or Medyomall. after the Con flict with the spirit of evil, is probably the dis trict of the great forest of reeds near the south west shore of Lake lIrmniah.
Zoroaster's first real success, however, was achieved when lie converted King Vishtaspa (Av. Kari Fiiilospa). This was accomplished in the prophet's forty-second year, or me. 618. if we accept 11w traditional chronology. As it is gen erally believed that Vishtaspa ruled in Eastern Iran. Ilactria, Seistan, and Khorasan, fresh sup port is given for the claim that. Zoroaster's teach ing was largely in the east, even though lie arose in the northwest of Persia. and his (Teed ulti mately spread over all Iran. After the King's conversion the religion wes adopted by the Queen, Ilutaosa, who has the same name as Atossa, the wife of Ilystaspes, father of Darius, although there is absolutely no historic ground for iden tifying Vislitaspa and Ilutaosa with llystaspes and Atossa, as has been done on the basis of iden tity of names. The nobles of the Court likewise adopted the religion of Zoroaster, and we may trace the history aml propaganda of the faith down to the time of the prophet's death, which occurred in 13.C. 583, at the age of seventy-seven, if we accept and correctly interpret the tra ditional chronology. Zoroaster's end seems to have been a violent one, and to have taken place during the invasion of Iran by Turan when Arejat-aspa, or Arjasp„ of the latter hostile country, waged a religions war against Vishtaspa. Firdausi (q.v.) and other later writers locate the scene where Zoroaster was slain at Italkh or Itaetria (q.v.). A full account of the life and legend of Zoroaster and of all the sources of information regarding him as a historic per sonage may be found in Jackson, Zw.oastcr the Prophet of Ancient Iran (New York, 1S99). Con sult also Tiele, Geschichte tier Religion inn Alter lum ((:otha, 189S) ; Lehmann, Zarathustra (Copenhagen, 1S99-1902).