ZOROASTRIANISM. The designation gen erally employed to denote the ancient religion of Persia prior to the Mohammedan conquest of Iran. Other terms are sometimes substituted, such as Mazdaism from its supreme god, Slag ism from its ancient priests, Parsiism from its modern adherents, and again fire-worship or dualism from certain characteristic tenets. The libitorieal development of the religion will be found briefly sketched under the separate titles AVESTA, (XIIEBERS, MAGI, PAHLAVI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, ZOROASTER.
One of the most striking features of Zoroas ter's faith, as taught in his metrical psalms or Otithiis (q.v.), is a pronounced but modified dual ism. It is pronounced because belief in a con stant warfare between the good and evil prin ciples that pervade the world is everywhere pres ent, and is markedly emphasized. Ahura Mazda or Ormazd (q.v.), the Lord Wisdom,' the su preme god of Iran. created the universe and rules it ; Anra IVIainyn or Ahriman (q.v.), `the Spirit ual Enemy,' or devil, invaded the world and ever disorders it. To the latter being, or rather to the evil principle whose wicked spirit he em bodies, the name Druj, 'Deceit, Satan,' is also given. The dualism is modified because it re gards the power of evil as limited in time. Al though nature is divided and rent asunder by the two conflicting principles, nevertheless man, as a free agent, will bring about the ultimate triumph of right by choosing right and extending the power of good for the overthrow and annihi lation of evil. This result in the end will estab lish the 'good kingdom' (Av. rohu ,rgaera), where evil shall he banished and good shall reign supreme after the general resurrection. To accomplish this end is the aim of the proph et's teaching; and the views which he maintains of the contending forces of right and wrong, the empires of light and darkness, are remarkable for their sharpness and logical precision.
According to Zoroaster's belief the heavenly hierarchy that rules the realm of good is headed by by the god Ormazd. Six attendant spirits, besides lesser divine beings, join with him in ad ministering the kingdom. These six presiding divinities, who with Ormazd make up his court, are called Amesha Spentas, 'immortal lloly f the later Persian Anishaspands. They represent personifications of virtues, good thought, right eousness, wished-for kingdom, harmony on earth, salvation, immortality. The allegory beneath their names and the various domains in the physical world—animal life, fire, metals, earth, water, plants—over which they preside, are easy to recognize and not difficult to understand. Next in rank to these, and nit little if at all below them, stands a company of angels, Yazatas, 'Worshipful ()nes,' who guide the force of na ture and perform the duties ineninlient upon their offices in the divine organization. Chief
among these is Mithra (see AlcrunAs), a per sonification of light and truth. Atar, the lire, Apo, the waters, and several idealized repre sentations of the sun, moon, and stars, together with a variety of lesser divine creations, fulfill the heavenly decrees in the management of the universe. To offset these, on the side of evil, is a vast host led by Ahriman and composed of a disordered rabble of archfiends, fiends, demons, and evil spirits, who contend against the well organized ranks of the good and strive to de stroy the soul of man. Foremost among this troop is the demon Aeshma-daeva, whose name is generally considered to be reflected in the fiend Asmiodeus (q.v.), of the Apocryphal Book of Tobit. The names and number of the hosts of evil are legion; it would be idle to try to enu merate them.
The struggle between these two conflicting kingdoms forms the history of the universe whose duration lasts for a world-period of 12,000 years. The Pahlavi Bundahishn gives us a no tion of the Zoroastrian ideas of cosmology and chronology. Ormazd and Ahriman are co-exist ent, though not eo-eternal, in the realm of light and darkness. Space primevally separated them. Time began with their conflict. During the first three thousand years the universe existed only in a spiritual state; everything was represented by its frara.i4, or heavenly prototype. in a trans cendental form. Ahriman, nut knowing this, arose from the abyss of darkness, but when he beheld the light he was dazzled and driven back, baffled by its radiancy and splendor. He at once created the infernal hosts to wage war against the realm of light. In the second 3000 years Ormazd cre ated the world and primitive man in a material form to fight against the powers of evil. Dur ing the third 3000 years, which is the historic period of the world known to Zoroaster, Ahriman invades the earth, mingles evil with good, marring all till the coming of Zoroaster drives him and the demons for a time away. The last three thousand years are millennial periods. Each of these three millennia is presided over by a prophet or savior, to be born from the seed of Zoroaster. The final one of these shall preside at the general resurrection, when the world shall be renewed and eternity shall begin. It is then that the powers of evil, united for a final struggle, shall be utterly routed by the forces of good; wickedness shall vanish at this final crisis, and righteousness shall reign su preme as Zoroaster foretold. See SAOSIIYANT.